Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

16 reviews

limina's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

3.75

I liked this book enough. Others described it as uneventful, I equate it to a slice of life genre like in anime and manga. I marked a content warning for ED, because her relationship with food could be triggering for some folks out there.  I do like how Rose became as she grew up. The ending left me wanting

more about her dad and Joseph's abilities. It's also just unclear to me if Joseph is only mentally ill or if his special ability has something to do with his disappearances. I know it's meant to be ambiguous but still

.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Minor: Mental illness and Infidelity

radfordmanor's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship

sssssoup's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Okay so. What the fuck.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Eating disorder, and Medical content

Minor: Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cursing, and Death

seawarrior's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

This is a really odd story, but one I practically fell into, as I read it in the course of one evening, only pausing to eat dinner. After finishing it, I'm left with a kind of melancholy emptiness. The most striking theme in this story to me is one of grief, both for youthful ignorance lost, and for realizing you never found the words to unlock your family members, the same people who sat alongside you and spoke to you daily for years upon years, and never really got to know the most important pieces to them, until suddenly you had run out of time. As confused as this book made me feel during some chapters, I think those are pains most of us can relate to, although we wish we didn't.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, Infidelity, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Body horror

Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Eating disorder

bencaroline's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Mental illness

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Body horror

The addiction I perceive in this book is so nontraditional, even magical, that I didn't give it more than a "minor" designation, but to me, the theme of addiction is pervasive. The disordered eating in this book is similarly magical, but because the book is centered around food and eating and the protagonist's struggle with these things, I marked it as 'graphic.'

ldandridge's review

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

At 9 years old, Rose suddenly becomes able to glean information from the food she eats, including the emotions of the person who prepared it. Pros: well-developed complex family dynamics, interesting premise, vibrant writing. Cons: feels incomplete - I would have liked this to be longer so the things that came up in the last 1/3 or so could be further developed.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity