Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

12 reviews

spot_the_book_unicorn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty

kam_h's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I think this book was a pretty good start to a series.  I enjoyed the characters a lot, and a queer 1950s mystery is definitely my cup of tea. I think my biggest disappointment was the mystery itself it wasn't very shocking or hard to figure out. However, this book was used to introduce a lot of characters I assume will be reoccurring, and if my suspicions are correct, this was more of an introductory novel than just a mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexism, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, and Alcohol

daryn'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: Death, Homophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Suicide

purplepenning's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

"People are always trying to claim you, without ever listening to who you are."

I usually choose mysteries on the cozier side, with a good dose of humor and shenanigans, and this is definitely not that. This is closer to straight noir. Well, not "straight," since most of the characters are queer and the tone is just slightly less cynical by the end, but definitely more noir than cozy. Anyway — I'm glad I stuck with it! The mystery itself is intriguing. Though it's not too difficult to figure out, there are plenty of surprises and layers to discover along the way. It's the gilded cage 1950s setting and the found family of characters that really shine, however. The historical era comes to life and I love how the ending sets the stage for the rest of the series. Pair this with Last Night at the Telegraph Club, a multi-award-winning YA historical set in the same era and area (San Francisco, but Chinatown).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Outing

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent

Blackmail, historically accurate portrayals of the criminalization and brutalization of LGBTQ people

katygurll's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed it! I think it could've been a little longer and fleshed out the mystery a little more but it was well paced. The author also repeated a couple of phrases often enough that I found it distracting but I overall enjoyed it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Alcohol

kharlan3's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and War

This is a creepy murder mystery with tons of period accurate homophobia. Also,

rodents, poison, shaming of sex work, and attempts at gay conversion

beesbeesbeez's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Homophobia

melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Thank you to MacMillan and Netgalley for an ALC of this book.

Set in the '50's, ex-cop Andy gets a private detective job investigating the death of a woman after he is fired from his job when his homosexuality is discovered. His new job takes him to Lavender House and he discovers a world where queer people are able to exist happily with each other--if only in secret.

This was a page turner! I'm not usually a big fan of historical fiction and it can be really hard especially when it is set in such a homophobic era, but this was really good and had me gripped from the start. It is about queerness but it is NOT a romance at all. It's a murder mystery and it is so so good. This is gripping and chilling and definitely worth the read if you are looking for some suspense!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

jasmine256's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Murder

Minor: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

mandkips's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Murder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Grief