Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

64 reviews

eloisey's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring slow-paced

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

2.75

I guess this just wasn’t for me. 

Although I thought the actual premise was really interesting, the execution of it was not what I expected at all. Sometimes the writing was not clear and timelines were not consistent between chapters. 
For example, you learn so much about Stella through the middle of the book but I would have preferred a more “compare and contrast” approach, with the other twin woven through this, instead of a big block of just Stella (who also happens to be the more boring 3rd person narrator imo) and then it goes more in depth about their daughters and their daughters boyfriends too. I felt like it should have kept it more simple, just about the twins more so than their children and boyfriends. Some parts of this felt more like a YA novel to me. 
All in all I did finish it and didn’t mind reading it too badly, just had to push myself to sometimes.

TLDR: Great premise but slower pacing and different timelines made it a bit of a slog. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse

radfordmanor's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Murder, Racism, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, and Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence

hardy314's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

A challenging book about family, race, identity, and sacrifices. A fantastic read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Grief, Death of parent, and Racism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

chaos_and_chapters's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Violence, Classism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Medical content, Murder, Sexual violence, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol and Grief

sjduncan's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Cursing, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Dementia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Hate crime

Minor: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Transphobia, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Sexism

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Such a fascinating premise for a setting and for a storyline of a book. I knew that colorism existed, even among Black folx, but never thought about how far a group of people could take it. The main characters are all so different and yet so glaringly similar, even if they refuse to see it. The secrets we carry as daughters, sisters, mothers are complex and  many.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Classism, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship

marabdelmageed's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Death of parent, Dementia, Cultural appropriation, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Cursing, Dysphoria, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

tbose22'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

4.75

Had me on the edge of my seat. Wish the ending was a little more fleshed out, felt a little abrupt - but still an excellent read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Classism, Domestic abuse, and Hate crime

Minor: Bullying, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

sparkle5g's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, and Murder

Minor: Bullying, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Racism

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Sexual content