Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Without Merit

There was so much in the tiny book that gave me the ick and the only reason I ended up finishing it was so that I could write a full review like this to warn people to not read this book if they want to live a happy life. This book was so problematic and generally bad in most areas. This book had so much potential but just ended up going way overboard with everything.

Let’s talk about the characters. First and foremost, what were those character names? (Merit, Honour, Luck, Moby, Utah). It was so out of place in contemporary fiction. Also, I have to say, all of these characters are completely crazy and weird. I found Merit to be extremely unlikable and unrelatable despite the fact she's meant to be the representation of a depressed person. She gives no hints of it in the first part of the book then suddenly dumps it all in the second part. I understand that depression presents in many different ways but this didn't feel real in my opinion.

I also felt like there was no real plot in this book. The dysfunctional family gets more dysfunctional then nothing happens. I was ready for this book to wrap up around 60% of the way through. It had nowhere else to go after the main climax.

CW: incest, sa, suicide

Why is no one talking about the incest plotlines in this damn book!? It happens multiple times people!! And the blatant way that Merit assaulted Sagen and no one talked about it after the fact.

Why did Merit want to lose her virginity with her step-uncle??

Why did Utah actually have sex with his step-uncle?? (AND WHY DID THEY STAY TOGETHER???) Why did Colleen Hoover make the only gay and bi characters be related? I feel like Utah could have had any other boyfriend. This could have been handled so much better.

If your defending yourself and others saying ‘it’s not technically incest’… you need to rethink that.

Even Merit's assault seemed out of place. I feel like Utah was never mentioned and now suddenly she hates him because of what he did. The audience was given no hints of Merit hating her brother or even any inclination as to what happened in the past. Some foreshadowing would have been nice.

Also, why isn't this talked about more, Merit technically assaults Sagen because he had no idea she was dressed in her twin's clothes. Why does she initiate a kiss and even be prepared to go all the way? This whole scene made me uncomfortable and no one ever talks about it.

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I found this book way too long, way too complicated, and way too problematic. Colleen Hoover bit off more than she could chew with this one. It's like she had multiple ideas for books and decided to put them all into this one clusterfuck of a novel. Also, this is a PSA to all authors, please stop using incest as a point of conflict in your books. It's disgusting and I think we're all sick of it now. I wish someone had warned me about that before I read it.

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!!IMPORTANT!!
Please, everybody, if you ever read this book and love it and consider recommending it, please tell the person you are recommending it to:
1. Incest is involved
2. There are scenes of SA
3. There is a graphic suicide attempt scene

even if they were placebo pills

I wish someone had mentioned these things before I read it. I was only told the good things and I feel like I'm worse off after reading this book now. Please consider what other people are going through and how reading certain things can make them feel worse.

reading a suicide scene really got to me for a bit and I really wish someone warned me

Before writing this, I read a bunch of 4 and 5 star reviews praising this book and not mentioning any of this. I think it's important to mention these things for the sake and safety of other people. (Even if you liked the book and found nothing wrong with it, you should mention this when recommending it.)

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Before I finish this, I would like to add the two good things about this book:
1. Moby was a good character. I feel like he was just unfortunate he's in this family.
2. I actually like Merit's collection of trophies and the reasons she collected them. I was very sweet.

In conclusion, this book was too much. WAY too much.

Content Warnings

rachelquinnx's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

elirizon's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad 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

judes_heart's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

mollymhope's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense 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

4.75

I love Colleen Hoover and this review may be biased because of that. Her writing is addicting and I started reading her books a month ago and already have made my way through at least 5. The reason this book didn’t reach 5 stars is because I found the characters who the book was from the point of view of was incredibly selfish which can get a bit tiring at certain parts. You’ll find yourself rooting for her one page and the next wishing someone would tell her to stop being such an asshole.

Content Warnings

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