Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch

11 reviews

hue's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.0

Never been such a fan of characters hating each other for no apparent reason.

Yes the whole being caught smoking weed and whatnot, whatever that was, but you did smoke the weed, Iliana. You can't blame everything on Rhodes.

If this is what enemies to lover is becoming, I never want to pick up another such story again.

Sarah was absolutely the worst person in the entire story (though, sorry not sorry, all of the characters were such assholes one way or another). Not only was she a terrible person but a terrible friend as well. Not sure why Rhodes and Iliana were even friends with her.

The characters we're supposed to root for, Iliana and Rhodes, were terrible in their own gnarly ways. Neither felt horrible about hating someone with such vicious rage and constantly trying to pull the other down. How did this become a romance?? They have ZERO chemistry. Seriously.

Also, how in high heaven did Dusk get her degree? No wonder she accepted bribes!

So in conclusion, a poorly written story with shallow, unlikable (terrible) characters with barely any plot to follow. There are definitely better stories to read. This isn't one of them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use

buttermellow's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

jessicacl's review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.25

This was a little young for me but it is YA so I don't hold that against it. The premise was great and I enjoyed both characters. My overall issue was with the immaturity of all the characters. They felt more like they were 14/15 not 17/18 but maybe I'm just old. Overall I enjoyed it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Mental illness

pinkupengu's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Cursing

Moderate: Sexual content and Drug use

Minor: Violence and Injury/Injury detail

imaginingly's review against another edition

funny lighthearted 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

this was a very cute YA book. it was a very easy read and although i wasn’t fond of how the ending was, i would definitely recommend this to someone just wanting a cute and quick LGBTQIA+ book

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship

melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-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

3.0

First read of 2022, let's go!

This was a cute enemies/rivals-to-lovers sapphic contemporary! I had a hard time distinguishing between the two points of view for a little while as they both felt really similar, but the characters eventually became more unique and easy to identify. I liked the Alice in Wonderland elements and the fandom/fanfiction parts of this book! I liked the setting as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Drug use

wynterwonderland's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism and Mental illness

make_believer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship

christinefredrickson's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Minor: Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Drug use

kristinejulieta's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.5

I couldn’t even finish this, got half way through and just had to put it away. I found it pretty boring and the relationship between the characters are so toxic. The only thing I enjoyed was the cute illustrations in it. I think I had too high hopes when I first bought the book so it highly disappointed, sadly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship