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A review by robzuwu
Lotus by Jennifer Hartmann
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I found the mystery to be far more compelling than the romance and honestly at times I wished the romance wasn't a part of the story at all. That being said, I did think the mystery was pretty easy to figure out and not because it was predictable or anything but because the author sprinkled in a bunch of clues throughout the book that I had been highlighting and I was very happy when my suspicions were confirmed.
I found Sydney to be insufferable, to be honest, she was kind of judgey in the way she thought about other women. I also didn't get why the main characters fell in love, like it all felt kind of forced. The parts of the book I really enjoyed were Oliver's chapters where we got to see a bit of how his captivity affected him, seeing him interact with the world and experience things that we would consider mundane with such a fresh perspective was some of the most compelling writing I've read. The ending though, the meaning of lotus...big effing eye roll omg, I did think the epilogue dragged on a bit and the secondary couple (which wasn't really secondary they barely appeared in the book) felt even more forced than Sydney and Oliver. I will say that aside from forcing myself to read Sydney's chapters (because her chapters usually had the most clues) I had a lot of fun reading this book, it was an overall enjoyable experience but I probably won't read another one like it, like the two genres (mystery and romance) didn't complement each other in this particular book, I found myself to be more invested in one aspect of the book and was really annoyed when the book then spent several chapters just on the romance haha.
I do recommend it though, and maybe you might like Sydney. (Oliver is a gem though but also maybe because he's such a blank slate its hard to be annoying when you have a very non descript personality)
I found Sydney to be insufferable, to be honest, she was kind of judgey in the way she thought about other women. I also didn't get why the main characters fell in love, like it all felt kind of forced. The parts of the book I really enjoyed were Oliver's chapters where we got to see a bit of how his captivity affected him, seeing him interact with the world and experience things that we would consider mundane with such a fresh perspective was some of the most compelling writing I've read. The ending though, the meaning of lotus...big effing eye roll omg, I did think the epilogue dragged on a bit and the secondary couple (which wasn't really secondary they barely appeared in the book) felt even more forced than Sydney and Oliver. I will say that aside from forcing myself to read Sydney's chapters (because her chapters usually had the most clues) I had a lot of fun reading this book, it was an overall enjoyable experience but I probably won't read another one like it, like the two genres (mystery and romance) didn't complement each other in this particular book, I found myself to be more invested in one aspect of the book and was really annoyed when the book then spent several chapters just on the romance haha.
I do recommend it though, and maybe you might like Sydney. (Oliver is a gem though but also maybe because he's such a blank slate its hard to be annoying when you have a very non descript personality)
Content Warnings
Minor: Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Confinement