Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Kleopatra i Frankenstein by Teresa Komłosz, Coco Mellors

409 reviews

hannalizzy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-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

If the song “I’m wearing his boxers/I cry in his bathroom, he turns off the big light” song “Complex” by Katie Gregson-MacLeod from tiktok was a book, this would be it. Or “You’re On Your Own, Kid” by Taylor Swift from Midnights. Or “Moon Song” by Phoebe Bridgers. Take your pick. If any of those songs break you, this book will finish the job 😭❤️‍🩹

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a literary fiction masterpiece and in-depth character study. It’s the type of book that readers need to put some work into — you learn about the characters passively, by connecting the dots between their dialogue and their actions/behaviors. It’s a book worth annotating because so much is said between the lines. 

Throughout the book you go from loving Cleo and Frank to hating them both, individually and as a couple. They’re messy, flawed, toxic people who bring out the worst in each other, and yet: “when the darkest part of you meets the darkest part of me, it creates light.” 

It’s as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. It’s raw, it’s messy, it’s human. 5/5 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Definitely adult content w/ triggering subjects. Check for content warnings ❤️‍🩹

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Death of parent

clarathromycin's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

Toxic characters who are miserable in NYC.  Join the club.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

suetruong's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

2.0

This is a story about an impulsive marriage between Cleo, a 24 year old British painter and Frank, a successful 40 year old man, who have known each other for 6 months and get married so she can have a visa. Then it follows the progression of their marriage, how it falls apart and affects them and the people close to them. This book is well written and follows the topics of love, friendship, mental illness, addiction, drug use, cheating, self harm, and suicide. I can see what happens when 2 people that aren’t meant for each rush into a relationship and how that affects other people. These characters were flawed and unlikeable and I think that was the point because that’s how life and relationships can be. However I couldn’t resonate with them, I didn’t like them, I found this book to be really long and really sad. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Minor: Transphobia

pizzapie68's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

Mellors tells the story of a new couple and the people around them. Through multiple lenses, readers understand how all these people fit together and grow apart. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, and Toxic friendship

ynotlime's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

emilybolton3's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

konyino'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

karina_dreamsinwords's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.5

much like it’s cover, cleopatra and frankenstein is a work of art.✨

more thoughts to come.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, and Death of parent

carys_aefa's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful relaxing sad fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

ganderson's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Best summed up in its own words: "it often seemed nothing very much was happening in [the story] until something startling and ireconsilable did." Very poignant, incredibly intense. The discussions of addiction are handled very well, but huge trigger warnings if you or someone you love is in active addiction. 

Edit: after thinking more for a few months I'm bumping this down. I was in too much shock at the ending to address it at the time, but...

I think Quentin was incredibly hard done by as a character. The absolute shock transition into meth addiction blew my mind and completely shook me. I think that might be because I found this book through searching for LGBT books, and the book description particularly focuses on Quentin gender identity - for that to be a very, very minor story line and for Quentin's character to be given such a dark ending. I also felt similar about Frank's sister, who's story line of entering a sugar baby/daddy relationship didn't have fruition until the end of the novel despite being another central part of the book description. It felt misleading, and very much in Quentin's case like a 'bury your gays' trope that I've sat uncomfortably with for a while now. I really don't recommend this book on those themes at all.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Self harm, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Dysphoria