Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

31 reviews

_bailey_reads_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book…. Wow. I am stunned by how well written this book is.  

There are so many things I could say about this book. I loved it so much. It will always hold a special place in my heart, mostly because it hurt me deeply to my core. 

I highly recommend reading this book but only if you are in a good mental health space. It is extremely triggering! I felt very healed by how relatable I found Vanessa at points but mad because of how upset her character made me. She is such a complex and well written character and is such a realistic depiction of someone struggling with PTSD and severe trauma. 

Kate Elizabeth Russell, did a phenomenal job at depicting what a real therapist & client relationship actually looks and sounds like. The first accurate one I’ve ever read in a book. It blew me away. Ruby is Vanessa’s therapist. The dynamic between the two characters was brilliant and very thought out and realistic! The language and descriptions in this novel are so beautiful and made me my heart hurt. 

It’s the most disturbing book I’ve ever read 

Warning ** Do Not Read if you are in a bad mental health space. Please be gentle if you have gone through any type of abuse. I wish someone would’ve warned me before reading. It’s HIGHLY triggering. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

sunflowersarepretty's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident, Medical content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Animal death, Eating disorder, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, and Death of parent

reneetrinket's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Grief, Animal death, Death, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

Minor: Dysphoria, Vomit, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Sexism

abitofapoet's review against another edition

dark sad

disgustingly, sickeningly real. your stomach will feel like it’s rotting inside of you. 

please take trigger warnings seriously before reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Alcoholism

Minor: Medical content

jamie_reads_stuff's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

So beautifully written but also very heavy. Not everyone should read this, but if you have capacity to, I do recommend. Check the content warnings

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Death, Suicide, Vomit, Sexual assault, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Pedophilia, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Medical content, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking

pengi's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Grief

Minor: Medical content, Vomit, and Mass/school shootings

francescazksxmc'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Car accident, Drug use, and Death of parent

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexual content

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent and Animal death

emilyspex's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is difficult for me because of how much I saw myself in Vanessa. I've never experienced the type of trauma that she goes through in the book, but I deeply related to her flaws and insecurities. Because of this, I found her very sympathetic, even when she was making decisions that might not make any sense from an outsider's perspective.

This is a book that will stick with me for a very long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Alcohol, Cursing, Suicide, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Vomit

junebugreads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

The book was heavy starting out but it truly didn't hit me until the very end.

It's when she finally gets the dog and begins healing that you realise the amount of trauma she's been through because it's so much more lighter than the flashbacks, especially the ones from her college years.

It's awful knowing that Vanessa's story isn't purely fictional, that it's the truth for so many women out there. I just hope they also can start to heal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Toxic relationship