Reviews tagging 'Grief'

A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson

9 reviews

vivavia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Chronic illness, Classism, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders

_ladypearce_'s review

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I think that this is a really solid ya fantasy, but I just didn’t care about the characters that much. About halfway through I was like “im just gonna finish this because I want to know who the killer is.” I got to a point where I just didn’t really care but I did finish it so there’s that.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Child death, Chronic illness, Vomit, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

Minor: Torture and Panic attacks/disorders

jesshart8's review

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, and Murder

ofpagesandink's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is heavy and dark. It's mysterious and beautiful. Jessica Olson is so descriptive with her work it's like you're there. 

So many twists and turns and it really kept me guessing. Nothing felt obvious or used as just a way to drive the plot. Everything was well planned and well executed.

Pacing was great. A good mix of slow where necessary and fast when needed. 

The magic is balanced and there is growth and character development. There are lessons to be learned here. I really enjoyed this read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Miscarriage, and Medical content

Moderate: Gaslighting, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Grief

Minor: Child death, Grief, Pregnancy, Classism, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

tarfish's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

tylerbriggs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.5

Full of twists, well written characters, keeps you engaged the whole time

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Stalking, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Body horror, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Minor: Vomit

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I 100% see the comparison to Stalking Jack the Ripper in this book! It's definitely a read-a-like I would use. My favorite thing about this was probably the magic system. I loved that it was art based and it just felt so unique to me. Myra's journey with her own magic also helped in driving the story forward, and I appreciated the way she eventually came to accept it. It felt natural and realistic for the world and I loved every moment of it.

The driving mystery behind the story was also effective, even if I found pieces of the mystery a bit predictable. There was definitely an overall atmsophere of mystery, which also helped in adding to the world building and the overall atmosphere of the book. Also, unreleated, but lately I've been reading a lot of painting books and I really should get back into painting.

All in all, if you're looking for a new, twisty fantasy mystery, definitely check out this book!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, and Miscarriage

Minor: Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

caidyn's review

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I went into this book with high expectations because of the comparison to The Picture of Dorian Gray. However, this book was more like the other book it was compared to, Stalking Jack the Ripper. Overall, disappointing. The writing was meh, I didn't really like the characters. I expected a Victorian world -- given that both the above books were set in Victorian England -- but then the book started talking about cars and telephones. Also, I expected much more of Dorian Gray in this? I see the inspiration, but this isn't a retelling. Also, it was so straight when Dorian Gray is a queer classic. All in all, this read was disappointing for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Miscarriage and Grief

urlocalvocaloidstan's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

 This book was an absolute page turner and addicting from the beginning to the end. The plot did get a tiny bit predictable but the reveal at the end was completely unexpected and it was a mystery trope that has never been heard of before. Myra and the other characters were written very well and their feelings and reactions to certain events felt very rational and impactful. The romance between Myra and August was very messy and complicated and had its struggles, just like a real relationship. Lucy was a little bit too mature for a 13-year-old, but her experience with chronic illness and the fact that she pushes past it shows that she is very resilient, and her sister relationship with Myra is hilarious and those two would do absolutely anything for each other. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Torture