Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Goddess of Nothing At All by Cat Rector

6 reviews

ginalucia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I've been craving exactly this type of Norse Mythology retelling for such a long time, and now that I have it, I couldn't be more thrilled.

Instead of seeing the story of Ragnarok from a male god or character’s perspective. We get to see it unfold through the eyes of Sigyn. A character that Cat Rector has perfected into one that’s relatable, strong, and full of feminine rage. 

If you love feminine rage in Greek Myth retellings and have been seeking that out in your Norse books - this is it guys!

The writing style is effortless, making it easy to get lost in the story. But what really stands out are the characters - they're front and center, driving the story forward, and everything else flows around them seamlessly. I had an absolute blast immersing myself in their world.

The Goddess of Nothing at all is absolutely fantastic. I loved every moment of this long and winding journey, and what's even better, there’s queer rep throughout.

If you're a fan of Norse Mythology, but want a different perspective, or you’re a fan of myth retellings that focus on women, this book is a must-read.

For more reviews and book recommendations, check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ginaluciayt

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, and Torture

dcnireads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment, Death, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Child death, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Death of parent, Infidelity, Torture, Homophobia, Cannibalism, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism

nelldiaz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I couldn't put this book down. It was very good however,  I will be sending my therapist bill to the author lol. This book is very dark. I would check trigger warnings,  but its so good! Can't wait to read more in this series 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, War, Abandonment, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Homophobia and Pregnancy

jura_atmos's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, War, Toxic relationship, Violence, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

bookishfaye's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

Boy oh boy has this book ever given me ✨ feelings ✨ (I dnf’d with 50 pages left, but I’m counting it as read because I read the majority of it)

🍂 Positives:

- Loki’s gender-fluidity is straight up the best representation of being gender-fluid that I have come across thus far. It deserves a full star in itself for that & was amazing. Same with the queerness in this book, I adored how gay it was.
- the writing style was super fast paced and easily accessible & the romance writing I found to be quite fun at times. This book does a good job getting you invested.
- the physical copy of the book is so stunning 

🍂 negatives:

-This one might just be a personal opinion; I don’t really get triggered by much, but some of the things Loki had to go through felt unnecessarily traumatic, & by the end of the book so many things I just couldn’t stomach & had to put it down.
- how Loki absolutely lied to Sigyn to basically trick her into having a family with him?? & then how he gaslighted the fuck out of Sigyn throughout that 3rd quarter of the book was actually so unbearable to read. Also the fact that he had the audacity to go off and create a whole other FAMILY while occasionally taking Sigyn to bed & thought she didn’t have a right to know???? Like I’m sorry???? 
- also really hated how Angrboda was being written in here versus the witches heart 


I was really trying to push through because I adored The Witches Heart, & I did actually thoroughly enjoy the first chunk & definitely got invested, but I can’t handle the rage this book makes me feel & I have to say enough is enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

5.0

An outstanding debut novel from master story weaver Cat Rector.

From Grace Zhu's awesome cover art to the intriguing synopsis, I knew this book was meant for me.

As someone already acquainted with most of the myths included, this heart-rendering retelling of Sygin's life in the likeness of Circe surpassed my expectations.

The Goddess of Nothing At All has one of the best romances I've read. It includes my favorite depiction of Loki: he's complex, dreamy, and flawed. Sygin, while being a goddess, is still relatable. I loved the portrayal of gods as humane and spiteful, the display of the hardships of partnership and parenthood, and the queer representation.

I was fortunate to be an ARC reader and I want to thank the author for the opportunity to read such an amazing tale. This is a dark novel not suited for the faint of heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Grief, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

Minor: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Vomit, and War