Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Next of Kin by Hannah Bonam-Young

12 reviews

tetrootz's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Alcohol

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Addiction, Abandonment, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

Minor: Death of parent

felishacb's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I loved the found family aspect of this romance, including the fact that they talk about foster care. There is also deaf representation, and they practice trauma informed responses.

This is described as a slow burn, but I think they get together after three months? I say this as the same person who was disappointed it took 70% to get to the open door scene. So. I contain multitudes.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Drug use and Pregnancy

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

This book was really cute! I loved the relationship between Chloe and Warren, which felt really realistic. Maybe it was just the situations that they were in, but they really felt more grown up than many main characters I’ve read before. I thought they had great tension and it was really well paced!

I also really liked the overall plot. I thought that the fostering storyline was both unique and super well done. It was an interesting twist on the usual single parent story and I really enjoyed it! I also think the mentions of addiction and the downsides of adoption were handled very well, which I really appreciated.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, and Toxic relationship

hjb_128's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Addiction, Abandonment, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Death of parent and Emotional abuse

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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

4.25

 Such a good romance. Having a hot, tough guy take care of a baby and do housework, really is the sexiest thing ever! I love their story of found family!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Emotional abuse

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-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

3.0

Chloe’s life takes an unexpected turn when she tries to get custody of her newborn sister. In order to gain custody, she has to team up with another young foster parent, Warren, who has fought to gain custody of his teen brother. 

This was a sweet and cute contemporary romance. This book deals with some very serious topics (foster care, anger issues, adoption, abandonment, and neglect), but it doesn't feel heavy. I think each topic was tackled with respect and understanding. 

I really loved the progression of each of these characters and their relationship. Both had a similar beginning, but Chloe was adopted, whereas Warren ended up in the system. Though they both see pretty content to keep distance between them, but the trauma of their past and the reality of their current situation draws them together. They very quickly form an emotional bond as they begin to lean on and depend on each other. As that emotional bond and trust grows, it turns into deep feelings for one another. 

I really liked them together. Some parts of the book were pretty cheesy (that song...), but they balanced and complimented each other well. I loved how quickly and deeply they formed a bond with each other's siblings and were always there to fight for and support them. 

I liked that they discussed that Warren was dealing with his anger issues, but I wish more time had been spent on addressing it after his blow up. It seemed to be just brushed under the rug. 

Tropes: forced proximity, found family, sibling guardianship, slow burn, grumpy/sunshine 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Addiction, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death of parent

andeng's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Drug use, Medical content, and Sexual content

headinthepages's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

casually_literate's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

This was such a good book! The characters and story feel natural and the emotional beats don't feel forced. Often times traumatic or complicated backstories can feel contrived, but the author does a great job conveying the facts in an honest way that allows the depth of emotions to gradually be revealed through her storytelling.

It's such a heartwarming story about healing and finding your place in the world. I stayed up all night reading it even when it had me sobbing at 3am.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Violence