Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper

13 reviews

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

abi_dutton's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Toxic friendship

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

gondorgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, 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

kirareads02's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative tense fast-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? No

5.0

I enjoyed this one just like the first one. The more I think about it the more I dislike the two main characters and I don't know why. However, this has not hindered my enjoyment. 

Can I nicely ask for a felix prequel? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement and Pregnancy

Minor: Genocide, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

booksjessreads's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed the Wolf Den when I read it in 2021 and I have only just got round to reading The House with the Golden Door. I thought this was overall an excellent read and has left us with yet another adventure for Amara to go on, which continues in the final instalment of this series. 

At first, I felt the direction of the story wasn't where I wanted it to go, but actually, as I got through it, I did enjoy it and felt the progression was natural. I was definitely anxious reading a lot of this book, anticipating the myriad of possibilities that could happen to our characters we we work our way through the 500 page book. I must admit, that at times, it did feel a little long, but in some aspects, I wanted it to be longer. 

I did struggle to remember what happened in the first one, but I did feel that the House with the Golden Door made lots of reference to the past book, without being overbearing and whilst also following a new plot. I thought there was good balance here and I appreciated the references because it allowed me to jog my memory. 

I wish that some of the previous aspects could have been explored a little more though. I felt as though her money-lending to other women in Pompeii could have been more consistent (although with the circumstances in the book I can understand perhaps why it wasn't), but also I felt that

Rufus was away far too much and a little bit too conveniently so that her relationship with Philos could prosper. Despite how much they grew on me as a couple, I wanted some more struggle in there. I was also anticipating Rufus to find out, which shocked me that he didn't, and I think this is some nice drama for the next book. However, I feel that Rufus was just away all the time and I wanted him to be there more to make things more difficult.

Other than this though, it was a really great read. I am excited to see how the trilogy finishes with the new book out in November. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Slavery, Violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, and Murder

anne_shouseofdreams's review against another edition

medium-paced

• 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: Toxic relationship and Stalking

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Fatphobia, Incest, and Sexual harassment

eclectic_hellscape's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Antisemitism