Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert

20 reviews

pvp_niki's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Blood, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

infinite_harness9030's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Stalking, Body horror, Death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood

Minor: Lesbophobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Addiction, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Self harm

spicycronereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I enjoyed this. The plot centers on a witchy mystery that activates mother-daughter conflict between Ivy (the daughter) and Dana (the mother), the backdrop of which is Dana’s childhood trauma. There are many analogies to be drawn to real life mother-daughter relationships, which is normally reading territory that I try to avoid. 

The story is a split POV between Ivy and Dana, with Dana’s chapters in part one set in the past. I would consider them both FMCs. There is a light romance subplot but no real MMC. Most of the story centers on unfolding the mystery that underlies all of the tension in Ivy and Dana’s relationship. Even the magic is somewhat underdeveloped and sublimated in favor of the mystery and the family drama. 

The secondary characters include Marian, the primary antagonist and Fi.  Fi is short for Felicita, Dana’s Latina BFF. There is a robust cast of tertiary characters who help move the story along. 

Fi is the only racial diversity. There is a bit of class diversity with Dana and Fi being from a lower class neighborhood than Marian (though Dana’s father is a small business owner). Grown up Dana seems very firmly middle class. 

I think if I were going off of plot alone, this would have been three stars. But there are some other elements to consider. Albert's writing has a lyricism that was delightful. Her use of imagery and figurative language really painted pictures of what was happening, including the characters’ emotions, and was lovely to listen to. The performances by Chloe Cannon and Emma Galvin were engaging. There was a bit of an issue - the sardonic scratchy quality of voice of whichever of them performed Dana was perfect for the character but it made it hard to hear, especially when driving with all the road noise. I had to constantly adjust the volume between chapters. 

Overall I enjoyed this audiobook. It kept me entertained on my commute. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Animal death

Moderate: Death

Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent

zsometimesreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Blood and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death of parent and Addiction

fordlaura33's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Animal death, and Blood

fionamatilda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Violence and Addiction

Minor: Car accident

planetesastraea's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Blood, and Confinement

h_reads98's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent

sunnydale's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

3.0

I wasn't as in love with this story as I was with the Hazel Wood books, but the character interactions were compelling. The ending was disappointing because I'm not a fan of

the chosen one trope, and the third-act reveal that the protagonist was a super-powerful witch all along cheapened her journey for me.

I really enjoyed the chapters focused on the Mom and her teenage coven.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, and Cursing

Self-harm is ritualistic, not due to mental illness, but is described explicitly

tspice24's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Death, Blood, and Animal death