Reviews tagging 'Grief'

House of Cotton by Monica Brashears

16 reviews

segreene111's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

This book was a trip and pretty disturbing at times. (Be sure to check trigger warnings.) Reminded me of a Southern Gothic Horror meets Get Out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Abortion, and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Sexual assault

tyler_machotka's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Wow, when heading into this book I thought it was going to be a weird mystery for some reason. Boy was I wrong, but yet i'm glad it wasn't. I'm kind of lost for words with this book(for me is a good thing!). Very fast read though, and for her first novel I think she killed it! This book felt like a A24 movie and I love that feel, it was weird and strange but leaves you thinking. If you are looking for a book with a big plot this is not going to be for you, the book took on some social commentary for poor, Black, woman in the south. It almost feels a little like black mirror! Can't wait to see whats coming next for Monica Brashears!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, Abortion, and Grief

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Death

ecn's review against another edition

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 :/

Spoiler

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Classism, Medical content, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Pregnancy, Addiction, and Abortion

sbcrra's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Grief, Body horror, and Death

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Pedophilia

martinj's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Addiction and Sexual assault

amywhatyougonnado's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, and Abortion

Minor: Child abuse and Drug use

jraley_writes's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.5

Nothing ever really seemed to happen. There was suspense not realized...I wanted more and kept waiting and then nothing really happened...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Grief, Drug abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Abortion, Addiction, and Sexual content

bullockae's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Grief, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Rape and Child abuse

bex_inada's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Incest, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Dementia, Drug use, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

rorikae's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

 ‘House of Cotton’ by Monica Brashears is a haunting (both literally and figuratively) story about a young Black woman trying to find her way in life and the strange job she finds herself accepting. 

After her grandmother’s funeral, Magnolia is trying to figure out how to pay the rent on her grandmother’s house when a promising job opportunity drops in her lap. A white man named Cotton, who owns a funeral parlor, proposes Magnolia act as the dead family members of mourning families so they can get closure. The job pays well and so Magnolia accepts. But as the jobs get more and more strange and Magnolia begins to see her grandmother’s ghost, she starts to second guess her decision. 

Brashears’ writing is crisp and evocative. For the main characters in the story including Magnolia, Cotton, and Eden, she quickly conveys such a clear sense of their characters. They feel lived in, in all of the horrific and human ways. The job that Magnolia takes on is both a fascinating look at how people seek closure after a loved one’s death as well as a morbid take on how one funeral parlor makes money. There is a creeping sense of unease that permeates the book, especially as we learn more about Cotton and Eden. Ultimately, I think this is a fascinating character study with ghost elements. If you are looking for something a little bit unsettling but that does an excellent job of diving into the lived experience of the characters, this is a great book to pick up. I highly recommend the audiobook.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Abortion, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Child abuse