Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

173 reviews

dany_casimiro's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

Check out the trigger warnings beforehand!

Long Story Short: New York in a whirlwind of art, sensible depictions of mental illness and heartbreak seasoned with a strong sense of irony.

Coco Mellors has terrific writing skills: each POV reads like being inside the character's mind, and the recurring humor never gets old. I particularly enjoyed the switching between Cleo and Frank and their friends and acquaintances. The pacing helped to maintain a constantly refreshed narrative while providing each character with the breathing time they needed to be explored and developed. This includes the city as well since we get the feeling that New York is always present, its lights glistering in the background.
Perfect for anyone who enjoys Sally Rooney's representation of toxic relationships looking for a more hardcore read! 


 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Self harm, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Mental illness, Medical content, Vomit, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Cursing, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Abandonment, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Drug use

zitronendrops's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Suicide

virgcole398's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

I don’t know what to rate this book. Some of the dialogue was great but Cleo & Frank were insufferable.  I loved Eleanor’s storyline and the relationship with her mother. Honestly, I wish the entire book was from her POV. However, the constant comparisons to how “beautiful” and “special” Cleo versus how “masculine” Eleanor was were depressing to read. Especially, given that Cleo is a blatant self-insert character. Don’t even get me started on how Mellors wrote the POC characters in this book. For instance: “She learned to dance like a Black American.” I beg your finest pardon? 🤨 It was all so fetishtic and…weird. Has Mellors ever interacted with any POC in real life?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Drug use, and Medical content

Minor: Antisemitism and Animal death

3rdeyeopen's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Toxic friendship

sammyjogeara's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

I finally fucking finished this book. And I want to cry about it. This was an emotional roller-coaster and a real coming of age story — of all ages. Self-harm, self-hate, self-sabotage, trauma, depression, dysmorfofobia, addiction, alcoholism, co-dependency. I’m really happy I paced myself reading this since it turned out to be one of the best — yet most painful — books I’ve read this year. I feel empty and full at the end of this and through it all still a message of hope, of overcoming once own adversities and somewhat killing your darlings. I genuinly recommend you to read this. However beware — you’re going to need to eat your feelings at the end of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Addiction, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

thetainaship's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

lochnessmonster's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Cleo and Franks relationship is like watching a high speed car crash in slow motion. You know what’s going to happen but you can’t look away. Fantastic look into trauma, how it changes you/ effects every part of your life, and how healing can really turn your everything around for the better. 
It’s also interesting to see our titular characters from not as glamorous but relatable Eleanor’s perspective and through her I warmed up to Frank a bit. Also loved what little we got of Zoe and her journey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Grief, Drug use, and Blood

wild_er_ness's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Racism, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Toxic relationship

lilalhreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Addiction, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

desired_moon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. it felt so raw, so real. In man was i found myself in this book. 

but man - i fucking hate Frank. every other character i could still see their good sides, but not Frank. i will never forgive him for what he did to the sugarglider. i will die a Frank hater.
also im really sad about quentins end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual assault

Minor: Grief