Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper

31 reviews

cathy_alice's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Moderate: Rape and Violence

carmentxx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

a very solid sequel to an incredible first instalment. harper kept me hooked the whole way and i am still keen to read the last of the tale, which is always a good sign. i do think parts of the plot could be more thoroughly written; some actions that amara takes deserve more than the few lines that are given as explanation. but the novel is very entertaining, quite stressful (in a good way) and i am interested to know what happens next, so you can’t complain. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Grief

emiliedr_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Panic attacks/disorders

thelindystone's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-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

4.25

Much like the first book, this is beautifully written even though the subject matter can be difficult at times. 

If you haven’t read the first book yet, it’s important to start there. This book won’t make as much sense if you haven’t read that first.

It was interesting to see how Amara’s lifestyle is different now that she is a free woman. However, life is still extremely difficult for her. I also love the complex relationships between many of the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

caelfind's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Slavery

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child abuse, Death, and Grief

olliev15's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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

3.0

i adore the writing style, and the first half of the book was as strong as book one. however, amara makes some really dumb decisions that just made her unlikeable in my opinion. brittanica was the best character and i wholeheartedly agree with her on basically everything. so, well written book, but the main characters decisions made it a slog to finish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Classism

bookswithlauren's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

withlivjones's review

dark emotional sad 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

4.75

I’ve only had Rufina for a day and a half but if anything happened to her I’d kill everyone in this room and then myself

Wow. What an incredible continuation of Amara’s story that takes us away from the brothels of Pompeii and to the extravagant but tenuous life of the city’s courtesans. Pompeii springs to life through Harper’s writing, and so do its inhabitants! I said this with The Wolf Den and I’ll say it again here, Harper creates some of the most well-written female characters and relationships I have read in a very long time, maybe ever. Amara is a fantastic protagonist, and even if some of her decisions are so reckless they cause you to bang your head against a wall in frustration, you can so easily see her desperation to protect herself and those she loves. Britannica and Victoria are also incredibly deep characters, and even the more minor female characters like Martha and Drusilla are explored with a lot of depth and empathy. A special mention of course goes to Felix for being such a slimy, awful, sinister villain whose pursuit of Amara really helps keep the tension high. 

I adored the development of the relationship between Amara and Philos, I’m usually not a fan of forbidden romances but their devotion to each other is so beautiful that I have no choice but to root for them.

Alas, in the end their relationship did fall victim to the miscommunication trope and there wasn’t enough time in the book for them to fully resolve that mess, but I do hope they manage to reconcile in the third book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Colonisation

masav's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

Moderate: Rape and Violence

neverlandangel's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death and Rape

Minor: Eating disorder