Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland

6 reviews

jstilts's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

2.0

Beautifully written, I nevertheless found this book an absolute slog of a read. Terrible things happen to Alice throughout the book, which is heartbreaking, but terrible things fill the lives of the dozens of other characters as well to the point of ridiculousness. Everyone is damaged by death or abuse - even the most minor of characters - for instance a vet, who appears in a handful of paragraphs, has a dead wife and child on his mind. It's eye rolling and exhausting. A character we meet early on and only return to very late in the book has a child die at 5 because everyone needs a tragedy. Everyone has a story and every story is miserable.

Characters make the worst possible decisions at all times just to drive the grimness onwards and make Alice's life as miserable as possible. Her lov ng grandmother absolutely ruins Alice's life and the motivations are all incomprehensible beyond the author wanting their character to suffer.

Where I really gave up is when - SPOILER - Aluce falls ridiculously deeply and savagely in love literally at first sight with someone who of course turns out to be an abuser. I realise that it's not uncommon for victims of abusive families to find themselves with abusive partners but she didn't gravitate towards him, she didn't know the guy at all, so that's not what is happening here - it's just Alice Must Suffer!

Honestly, I wouldn't have finished this book if it wasn't chosen for a book club I'm hosting.

Utterly exhausting, which is a shame as it's beautifully written. One quirk is that most chapters feel like they could be the ending - at times it's like reading a collection of short stories that tell one narrative. I'd be tempted to try the author again so long as the subject matter is entirely different.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Deportation

alicejm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

2.0

A good first novel, but very clearly a first. The writing style was disrupted and jolty. The main characters weren't given room to breath, and the side characters (who were by far the best characters) weren't given enough time. The lack of communication between family members was infuriating and unnecessary. This is not the book for you if you find miscommunication frustrating. The first half and the second half were written very differently. The mystery aspect was really compelling though and I enjoyed wondering about things. The exploration of generational trauma was also very well done. If you want to find out more about flowers, this book ain't it sadly. All the flower meanings are made up.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

triciasreadings's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

This is a heart wrenching story. The first few chapters I cried and cried, but it did not stop me from reading.  I’m knee it had to get better.  Each chapter is headed with a different t Australian native flower and it has sent me on a journey of replanting my garden.  I’m so glad n live with this book I have not stopped talking or thinking about it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Violence, and Death of parent

erynn223's review against another edition

inspiring 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Addiction and Sexual assault

ellie_reads_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Genocide, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Stalking, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

aoifemarie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail