Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Talking at Night by Claire Daverley

7 reviews

nineinchnails's review

challenging sad 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

2.75

i genuinely wanted to like this so badly but it just falls flat. i think reading this with the normal people comparisons in mind ruined this for me because i love normal people and, aside from the lack of speech marks, they had very little in common. the writing felt stilted and shallow so i struggled feeling connected to our main characters (i found the other characters a lot more intriguing though) and it doesn't help that i found them very annoying. i tend to like "unlikeable" characters but will and rosie were boring above all else. the prose comes off quite tryhard tumblrina to me but i can see why some people might enjoy it this book just wasn't for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Cancer, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Abandonment, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Addiction

stellahadz's review

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I can't help but feel a bit conflicted about this book. The story follows basically the same formula as books like Normal People, One Day, and Where Rainbows End -- bad boy meets studious girl, they fall for each other but can't admit it, and they weave in and out of each other's lives through the years. It's a formula that works, but I personally have a bit of a love-hate relationship with it, and Talking at Night is no exception. The characters in these stories are almost always traumatized in some way, and the point seems to be that their love for each other "fixes" them, but a lot of the time that love can manifest in toxic ways: poor communication, pain caused to other unsuspecting partners, and unhealthy expectations. Part of the reason I liked the character of Jen in Talking at Night is that she kind of pokes holes in that dynamic - she tells Will that he's not really in love with Rosie, but rather the idea of her that he's built up in his head. Of course, in Will's case, it's not entirely true, but I liked that the "slow burn soulmate"-type trope got called into question.

Overall, the book is a little slow to start, but I was glad I continued reading. The prose was beautiful, the characters were well fleshed-out, and their family dynamics were compelling, especially Will's relationship with his grandmother. The dialogue, as well as the characters' thoughts and emotions, felt realistic. However, some parts of the book verged on a little overdramatic, and it seemed like the author was trying to stuff as much tragedy and drama as possible into the story to advance the plot. For Will's and Rosie's sakes, I wish the book had focused more on how they worked towards healing individually and then grew together, as opposed to relying on their love for each other to magically fix everything, but that probably wouldn't sell as many copies! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Cancer, and Death

Moderate: Eating disorder, Medical content, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

chris_reads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Dysphoria, Cancer, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Alcoholism

Minor: Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, and Medical content

bella_cavicchi's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This has my name written all over it, Daverley's stunning, understated writing the clear highlight. It feels particularly resonant when questions of what one (I) wants to do in life, à la Mary Oliver, weigh heavily.

Recommend, and with pleasure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Death, Sexual content, Infidelity, Cancer, and Medical content

Moderate: Eating disorder, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Alcoholism

Minor: Pregnancy

julesreadsmore's review

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

farrahwho's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Eating disorder

Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Sexual content

reads_eats_explores's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

One cold November night, teenagers Will and Rosie meet while sitting around a bonfire, surrounded by their school friends, including Rosie’s twin brother and Will’s good friend, Josh. 

This is a story as old as time – the overprivileged, shy, straight-A girl who falls for the achingly handsome, wrong-sides-of-the-track bad boy. 

But maybe as we follow Will and Rosie on their ‘will they/won’t they’ journey, things will not be quite as they seem.

Talking at Night begins in a small Norfolk town in the 1990s and is split into three parts entitled ‘before’, ‘after’, and ‘long after’, and as the book unravels, we learn about the shared traumas that give reason behind these headings.

The book overall felt very YA in narrative style, and I suppose 20-year-old me would lap this up; 40-year-old me wanted a grittier read that I could really get my teeth into.

Saying that, I did enjoy the read and found it nostalgia inducing and highly immersive (a book to binge in one or two long lazy sittings) once I got over my initial irritation with Rosie, much preferring Wills's point of view and backstory. I'll certainly read more from this author in future; this is undoubtedly a solid debut. 3.5⭐

Many thanks to the author and publisher for this advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Addiction, Violence, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Vomit, Abandonment, Car accident, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Alcohol, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship