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A review by secre
The House With the Golden Door by Elodie Harper
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.0
The House With the Golden Door starts off where the last book left off; Amara is free of the brothel and the violently cruel pimp who owns it. She's technically a freedwoman, but she finds that her freedom has lines she cannot cross and her life is just as precarious in different ways. Haunted by the loss of one of her closest friends, Amara's well-being depends on how happy she can make her patron.
This is an excellent follow up to what was an excellent series starter. Despite focussing on mainly new characters, all of them - good, bad and grey in between - are fully realised and interesting characters. Some characters from the previous novel make come backs in unexpected ways, adding to the cast of vibrant characterisations. I particularly liked how the antagonists were fully realised, with well thought out backgrounds and motivations rather than just being there for the sake of a plot. In turn, the plot shifts and turns in unexpected ways, yet feels cohesive and true to itself. And the setting and place is vividly imagined.
It is in many ways a very different novel to it's prequel. The setting is completely different from the slum like whorehouse Amara was trapped in, yet Harper excels at drawing parallels about how the trappings may have changed but the insecurity and lack of freedom is the same. It's well written and powerful, bringing the characters and the message to life along with the time period and place. It also shows how the demons of our past don't let go easily, as Amara struggles with her tense relationship with Felix and her previous 'colleagues'.
All in all, this is an excellent continuation to the series and I'm excited to see what happens next.
This is an excellent follow up to what was an excellent series starter. Despite focussing on mainly new characters, all of them - good, bad and grey in between - are fully realised and interesting characters. Some characters from the previous novel make come backs in unexpected ways, adding to the cast of vibrant characterisations. I particularly liked how the antagonists were fully realised, with well thought out backgrounds and motivations rather than just being there for the sake of a plot. In turn, the plot shifts and turns in unexpected ways, yet feels cohesive and true to itself. And the setting and place is vividly imagined.
It is in many ways a very different novel to it's prequel. The setting is completely different from the slum like whorehouse Amara was trapped in, yet Harper excels at drawing parallels about how the trappings may have changed but the insecurity and lack of freedom is the same. It's well written and powerful, bringing the characters and the message to life along with the time period and place. It also shows how the demons of our past don't let go easily, as Amara struggles with her tense relationship with Felix and her previous 'colleagues'.
All in all, this is an excellent continuation to the series and I'm excited to see what happens next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence and Slavery