Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Moja mroczna Vanesso by Kate Elizabeth Russell

123 reviews

shakattxck's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Vomit, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Stalking, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Grief, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Misogyny, Drug use, Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Sexism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol

alicia_belcourt's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

This book for me was a very slow read. It had taken me forever to finish it once I had started it, due to the fact that I had to keep taking breaks every so often. This book had a very dark plot about a student who is faced with the reality that she was abused by her teacher when she was in high school. 

The concept of the plot alone intrigued me because I have never read anything like this book before, and it quickly continued to intrigue me the more I read. The writing style of this book was beautifully executed in my opinion because I feel that not many authors could so greatly execute a juxtaposition of the mind quite like Kate Elizabeth Russell did. She was constantly building on the idea of the relationship being romantically sought after by the main character, Vanessa. I also really loved reading how she continued to recount the key details that sparked and arose during the abusive relationship. As well as when Vanessa had continued to age and was still in contact with her abuser, I enjoyed the way Kate wrote about how Vanessa felt 'out of her body' because there were times when she described herself walking around or being 'far off' during scenes of the abuse. However there were aspects of the book that made it a bit of a tougher read for me. For example, Vanessa was at times made to be extremely unlikeable, and I mean this in the way that there were times of her recounting the events of abuse where she was constantly in a state of denial, even when presented with substantial 'evidence'. I understood the reasoning for this as I reached the end of the book, but at the moment it was very hard to stay focused in the book when the main character seemed so unlikable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

peachyykenn's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Medical content, Cancer, and Bullying

reechiebun's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent

as a clear response to lolita this book deals with complicated, layered issues that involve the main character's mental health and her being abused since she's 15 by a trusted teacher. some of the depicted sex scenes are midly graphic and/or statutory rape. there's an instance of a moderately graphic explicit rape scene.

reallbee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.0

This is a tough read but it is a window into the pain and confusion of experiencing trauma and it's after effects. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use

clo_l's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This was a really great book. It filled me with so many emotions from the very first page. It felt so incredibly real & I guess, in a way, it was.
Dark, beautiful, captivating, nauseating, intense. 
Amazing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Drug use, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Excrement, and Animal death

va1entine's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

a deeply complicated book, with a lot of pain in it. the author delivers every detail with familiarity and grace. not once did i feel vanessa’s defense of strane to be unnatural—it is hard to break from the safety of your abuse. a really good book, with ebbs and flows of speeding whirlwinds and slow meanders. 

i find it deliciously frustrating to not know and understand what goes on in strane’s head. we never know if she was the only one. we never know how far things went with others. 

i also find the depictions of vanessa’s dissociation from the sexual acts perfectly showcases what she experienced in this relationship. for strane, that was his priority—that’s why he forces so quickly to that point once they reached it the first time. but for vanessa, the parts she fixated on and remembered so deeply are the emotional moments. she remembers the moments they shared together that were emotionally intimate and vulnerable. at her core, vanessa wanted camaraderie and for people to be around her. strane took advantage of that, as a predator, to get what he wanted. 

it’s a haunting, chilling story. i found it hard to read and harder to put down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Drug use

rebekka's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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: Sexual content, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, Gaslighting, Drug use, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pedophilia, Misogyny, Vomit, Mental illness, Grief, Death, and Cursing

trishnasaha's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Grief

matildaesandell's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

This book is so fucked up, which is the whole point. Definitely read with caution and a lot of trigger warnings. This book had me feeling actually sick and making facial expressions of pure disgust in public. Please proceed with caution, this is a story of grooming, manipulation and trauma. This book honestly deserves 5 stars but I never want to read it again or recommend it to anyone because it is deeply traumatic, maybe an important one to read if you haven’t experienced these things, to help you better understand the lifelong damage and how hard it is for a victim to even grapple with the truth

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Stalking and Suicide

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism