Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

As irmãs Blue + brindes by Coco Mellors

79 reviews

gwenswoons's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This was good — it came to me as part of a monthly book subscription I have with a literary fiction-ish bent, and it definitely fit that bill. The prologue immediately captured me; I love a complicated-family saga (or a complicated family saga, true either way), and I loved the immediate characterizations of the different sisters.

I struggled at points to stay really engaged with the book. I actually love that it basically does nothing but watch our main characters reckon with grief, but to my reading there were so many moments that I felt could have been crafted ever so slightly more specifically: specific repetition done either less often or more intentionally; inconsistencies of voice that felt again less intentional than they might be (particularly in the back and forth American/British-ness of certain characters and relationships); a good number of typos, oddly. I don’t often think about this stuff but I guess I felt that as good as this is, there was an even more special book within reach and it felt a little disappointing even as I thought it was good in many ways. The choice to write in multiple POVs — one I often do love — felt like it caused   the sisters to be deliberately kept separate for so much of the book; perhaps why I felt the prologue and epilogue were some of the most effective moments in the novel.

Anyway — it’s good, not (for me) great, and I’m not sure I would read more by CM. It’s sad but without big lingering impact, I think, which breaks my heart a little bit since there’s potentially so much intense and powerful stuff in here about family, addiction, grief.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

whatannikareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

amazing dialogue. sometimes felt wordy but written with so much love and care. each main character is so fully fleshed out. grief is handled with so much care here. she is the girl the streets say she is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

emily_schlegel's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

janienejulia's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Pregnancy

readmollyread's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, and Vomit

noveltay's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

How can a book contain so much pain? Such a realistic novel of 4 sisters. The epilogue had me sobbing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

amayalo's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

novellearts's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

hardcover_hazel's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5 ✨

A delicious book! The way Coco makes words melt on your tongue is just magic.

This book made me deeply want a sister. And it also made me find small parts of myself in a variety of characters, based on being human, and being a woman.

This is a story about addiction, about messy (realistic) characters, and about grief.

We follow the Blue sisters - who used to be four, and are now three. A year later, we enter into their lives in time to see their worst mistakes, their lowest lows, their deepest regrets. 

And we watch them heal, pull themselves back together, and rebuild their lives.

The metaphors and meaning scattered throughout is just stunning. 

(The only thing that disappointed me is one of the stereotypes that bi people struggle with. It’s a bit of a spoiler so I can’t say the word but can we stop the stereotype please).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Abortion

juanat77'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

This is a beautiful, captivating and heartfelt story about the Blue Sisters which reminds me somewhat of Little Women. The sisters suffer a heartbreak in their family and each sister expresses their grief through different forms of addiction (pain, kleptomania, drugs/alcohol). Throughout the saga the sisters learn to forgive themselves, let go and live again. 

The author captures the bond between and the complexity of the sisters beautifully. She displays such dreamy prose. Some novels hit a lull or boring point but I did not experience that at all in Coco Mellors’ writing. I loved this. I can’t wait to read what else the author has in store for us!

4.5 stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail