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tarnya_smith's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
We follow Cleo and Frank who meet and quickly marry. He's much older, successful and an alcoholic and Cleo is a young English artist who is seduced by his charm. We follow their relationship, their friends, family and life as it changes.
This was beautifully written with so many tender moments. I listened to the audiobook and immediately bought the physical copy after so I can sit and go through tabbing all the moments I want to remember.
As a modern romance story with some very dark themes, this is still easy listening, fun in parts and honestly raw in others. It's been compared to Sally Rooney and I agree but would say this felt well rounded and darker, like the 18 rated version of Conversation with Friends.
An author to keep an eye on in the future for me!
Graphic: Addiction, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Self harm, Body shaming, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Cursing, Alcoholism, and Drug use
babsi_222's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Soooo many ts songs reminded me of this book!!!
Deeply flawed characters and toxic relationships. Everyone struggles.
I Never liked Cleo and Frank‘s Relationship (i don’t like the age gap) and I don’t like them both that much. I like Cleo sometimes too, she can be relatable. The chapters are quite long but that didn’t bother me very much- the usual POV‘S are Cleo and Frank but you got like 1-2 chapters in the POV of Zoe, Eleanor, Quentin and Santiago
The two chapters that were Eleanor‘s POV i didn’t like, I don’t know why there were that many small paragraphs with stuff I don’t care about. Her and Frank‘s relationship was something I also never liked. A lot of things were predictable in this book but there were also plottwists so it’s fine if.
Quentin is very strange and I was always a bit scared of him tbh because he’s just so uncomfortable. I kneeew that Alex was bad for him tbh (I thought it was cute in the beginning in Quentin‘s POV but then in the other people‘s POV i saw the problematic)
I loveee Zoe. I think she was my fav person in the book. I could sympathies with her (more in the end not so much in the beginning) Santiago is I think the only unproblematic character in the book. I love him and I’m sooo happy for how his life‘s like now.
My fav scene is the one where Audrey, Cleo and Zoe spend time together (p 82- 91) especially the part when they went home to Cleo‘s (i think) ❤️❤️❤️
Cleo:
+ an artist
+ a feminist that puts people in their place
+ „ you want credit for not leaving me? Are you joking? Sorry Frank, but you married me…“ (p261)
+ she has a smooth way of feeling and she feels so much
- she complained about her pain when they had THAT fight but didn’t care about Frank‘s pin at all
- in general made some poor ass arguments in that fight
- „Could it be? Are we back here again? At Frank pity party?“ (p261) HUGE L
- compared her trauma to Frank‘s 💀
- had an affair
Frank:
+ changed for the better!
+ cares about Eleanor
+ finally cried in the end
+ supported Cleo financially
+ super rich but then not too cocky
- a man
- killed their pet that they loved and lied about it
- bought an illegal pet
- had an affair
- gave his sister money all the time
- alcoholic for the most time of this book
Zoe:
+ has her struggles but powerful
+ sweet and kind
+ the whole thing with Jiro :))
+ the way she connected w Cleo
+ idk but her sexual struggles make her so much more sympathetic
+ the scene were she layers on the ground next to Cleo (p 312) ❤️❤️
- asking her brother for money all the time
- doesn’t know how to spend money
„The parties, Sex, alcohol and drug use is so New York City aesthetic“…. Girl wtf no it’s literally not.
„ everyone we know in NY is an addict, aren’t they?“ (p355) lol yeah they are. The way drugs are used in the book is sooooo bad holy shit especially like Quentin and Alex and stuff but actually they all.
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Self harm, Sexism, Cursing, Death of parent, Outing, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Blood
skyfluff8's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Outing, Self harm, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, and Drug abuse
nialiversuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Classism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Vomit, Animal death, and Violence
emilyanna_q's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
xbernadette's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Homophobia, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Suicide, Sexual violence, Self harm, and Infidelity
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Classism, and Antisemitism
josxphinchen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Sexism, Animal cruelty, and Death
aseel_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, Drug abuse, Medical content, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Addiction, Mental illness, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Infidelity, and Vomit
tawny0wl's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Cursing, Alcoholism, Self harm, Death of parent, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Death, and Emotional abuse
minxtte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Drug use, Vomit, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Pregnancy