Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Talking at Night by Claire Daverley

42 reviews

lydiacowley's review

Go to review page

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

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

greta_b8's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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

5.0

Wow…heartfelt, raw and deeply moving. I felt so much; this is one of those books where every now and then I simply stared at the wall to process what I just read. Daverley’s writing is poetic, tender and atmospheric. One of the best books I’ve read this year.
TRIGGER WARNING:
death of a close relative, cancer, suicide attempt, depression, alcoholism
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

scewart's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

This is hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read. Talking at Night feels like the more emotional, complex, and poetic sibling to Love Rosie and Normal People. The story is such a spectacular journey through grief, self discovery, and ultimately love.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

daisywilliams's review

Go to review page

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

4.0

I appreciate a good love story
but if a had a nickel for everytime a character called Simon got in between the main couple, I’d have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rhii_reading's review

Go to review page

dark 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

4.75

Initially this seemed like a fairly standard romance but as the novel progresses this evolves into a really poignant story that spans across the years. The attention to detail when it comes to the characters and even settings really work to feel like you’ve travelled with Rosie and Will throughout their entire lives across a couple hundred pages.

Whilst I found the novel engaging even towards the end, it did start to feel a little repetitive with the constant miscommunication between Will and Roise. However, this is where the world building comes in handy as my investment in these characters meant that I didn’t mimd as much.

A story that beautifully weaves between the lives of its two main characters and finds ways to constantly draw them back towards each other.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lydj's review

Go to review page

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

3.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

reads_eats_explores's review

Go to review page

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

iolexx's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.25

“A essere sinceri è perché gli piace. La routine, o la calma. Il che significa che è da tempo che non sente il dire al cuore. Non sa cosa l’abbia fatto passare, esattamente. Se (..) o l’essere venuto a patti con le cose che ha fatto e le persone che se ne sono andate e il modo in cui il sole continua a sorgere, nonostante tutto.

Gli mancano certe cose. Certe persone. Sa però che è così che va la vita, e preferisce l’equilibrio, il riposo, poco eccitante e banale, e scopre che è tutto ciò che gli serviva. E burro buono, ovviamente. Un caffè decente. È stato cresciuto da una donna con delle priorità.

Ci sono cose che hanno senso, amici e risate e nutrimento, e altre cose che succedono e basta, perché è quella la vita senza tragedie, guidata dalla routine, più significativa”


Tragico, nostalgico e delicato, dolce ma con un retrogusto amaro che ti brucia lo stomaco. 
Ottima scrittura, piacevole, leggera e poetica, delicata come il modo in cui tratta i temi, ma dice molto più di quello che mostra. Comunque incredibile per un debutto.
Personaggi troppo stereotipati per essere al centro di un romanzo del genere che si basa principalmente su di loro e le loro vite. Hanno comunque tante sfumature, ma rimangono bad boy x good girl di cui la letteratura è satura.


È uno di quei libri che apprezzi più quando non stai leggendo. È bello il messaggio e l’intento ma un po’ noioso e inconcludente

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

megansnextbook's review

Go to review page

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

5.0

Strong contender for book of the year tbh! I will not be forgetting this one in a hurry. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kaitisbooknook's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective medium-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

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings