Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - House of Cotton

I have no idea what the plot of this book was. They end up right where they started and nothing of substance actually happened. I felt like I was reading badly written smut with stereotypical characters that had no real weight to them. The characters weren’t fully fleshed out or likable in anyway. There was something archaic about the descriptions in this book, which painted an older time period, but apparently it’s modern day. This book made no sense and I do not see what the “point” of this story was, because entertainment certainly wasn’t.

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elle_e_d_light's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It was a wonderfully written Southern Gothic, although I didn't actually like it very much. Everyone in this book is several layers of messed up. Everyone hurts each other—and gets hurt in return—because of their issues. It's a novel exploring black womanhood in regards to poverty, sexuality, and racism with a whole lot of macabre moments thrown in.

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corriejn's review against another edition

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3.0

I guess this book is for some people, but not for me. I didn't mind the darker stuff, but found the story to be fairly slow-moving, many of the characters pretty flat and undeveloped, and the ending unsatisfying.

One thing I did not expect from the book synopsis is the amount of graphic sexual content, so just a heads up if that's not something you're looking for.

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ecn's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The technical writing was really beautiful and great overall. However, the story itself was majorly lacking. I will say, this is definitely not a book for me since I cannot stand unlikeable characters, but there wasn’t a single thing to grab onto to enjoy the story.

The concept was intriguing but the shitty characters, bad sex, stupid decisions, and rushed ending take away from every good aspect. It felt like, between the last major event the and the final 3 chapters, there was a HUGE missing chapter. I needed something to bridge that gap bc I genuinely do not think it was properly finished and I could not tell you *at all* how this story actually ended or what happened? Maybe if I were to physically read the book (I listened to the audio) it would have made more sense but I highly doubt it. It was just really lackluster :/

Also wtf was going on with the grandmother and her absolute NEED for the MC to see/talk with her aborted fetus??? I cannot tell if this is supposed to be pro-life or not and I have no idea why ANY aspect of that storyline needed to be included? Unless I missed something huge but????

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jade_0222's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The writing style of this novel is poetic, I was arrested by the rhythm and movement of the narrative, it's not something I've come across before. The author truly has a lyrical way of telling a story. The modernity of it, mingled with magical realism is an added plus. My only issue with the book, is that it feels like there were still loose ends of the story to tie up. When I finished the book, there were still questions I had regarding the main characters actions after "dealing with her demons" so to speak. It all seemed to dive in a sprint to the end.

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bex_inada's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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laurenbookwitchbitch's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A chilling, absorbing, mysterious haint of a novel set against the backdrop of a Tennessee mountain storm. Okay that's a bit of a florid description, but that's what comes to mind when I think of this story. Magnolia is working a dead-end job, she might be pregnant and she just lost her grandmother, Mama Brown who's wisdom and secrets know no bounds. When a strange man named Mr. Cotton shows up at her cash register one day he slips her his card, offering for her a modeling gig. A modeling gig at his funeral home. Skeptical but intrigued, Magnolia accepts. She soon realizes the true scope of Mr. Cotton's eccentricities and must reckon with the ghosts of her own past. Dark, emotional and utterly engrossing, Monica Brashears prose is every bit as sweet and enticing as the landscape she conjures. "House of Cotton," is a southern gothic tale that is one-part ghost story, one-part commentary on poverty, race and sex in a society that is as terrified of it's past as it is brash in its bigotry.

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