Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Cleopatra e Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

95 reviews

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I barely know how to talk about this book. It's actually been a few days since I finished it at the time of writing this review, and I honestly cannot stress how often I have thought about this book since finishing it. The characters were so well-rounded and felt so real. This doesn't only go for the two main characters, Frank and Cleo, but also the side characters as well, such as Quentin, Eleanor, and Zoe. Every single person and character felt real and were so interesting to follow and learn about over the course of the book. I loved how we got at least one chapter in the point of view of everyone who impacted or was impacted by the plot of the book and really got to see what was going on for them. It was really well done and gave the story a very well-rounded and all-encompassing feel to it. Like I said, I barely know how to talk about this book, except for stating the fact that it is one of my favorite books of the year, it was beautifully written, and I was completely swept up in every single moment. Chapter 13, in my opinion, was so beautifully crafted and written and put together. Every word felt deliberate, every piece of dialogue felt perfect, and I will never get over the emotions that the author made me feel in that chapter.  I would highly recommend this book, but please check the trigger warnings! Overall not a super dark book, but a very, very heavy one, and there are definitely some topics to look out for!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Mental illness, Drug use, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Self harm, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content

laurafrances's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Bullying, Addiction, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, and Eating disorder

remuslibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Blood, Fatphobia, Addiction, Self harm, Alcohol, Body shaming, Dementia, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, and Vomit

dexlud's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a stunning novel, especially as a debut one. Coco Mellors puts so much passion into this novel and it just makes you love the characters and then rips them apart. I love this book so much! Mellors may have written my current all-time favourite! I will 100% be reading her other works!

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a book whose narrative changes as the story goes on. LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD FOR STRUCTURE -

During the start, when everything is happy and fine, the narrative is joyful and happy, however once everything goes downhill, it switches to an emotional and beautiful narrative that honestly just makes you want to cry. Once everything begins to get better, the narrative once again changes, this time back to the start, where everything is getting better, however it's like the narrative is like the start, but with experience from the middle part.

For people who would like to read this, be warned that there is a lot of drug use and sex throughout this book, and some topics that some people may dislike or be triggered by!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Terminal illness, Dementia, Infidelity, Sexism, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Suicide

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Cursing, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts

mpeach's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Fatphobia

addie's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Drug use, Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Addiction, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Fatphobia, Abandonment, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

rory_coleman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

I had originally given this a 4 but my book club discussion made me realize I had a lot more negative to say about it than I’d thought. I think that because I was coming off of some heavy non-fiction this was a departure from that and therefore a breath of fresh air. But in the end, that fresh air WAS NOT fresh, the themes were heavy, and almost every character is hate-worthy. 

I laughed out loud at sections (which is really rare for me) and had a very soft spot for the chef, so I can’t give it lower than this rating. I appreciated how complex the characters were and in scenes of conflict I really felt like I was there with them, I could hear their voices and see their faces and feel their energy. So that’s gotta count for something! But not enough to redeem the initial rating I’d given.

I agree with other reviewers who are wondering what the point of this story was. It made New York sound like a dump, the art installation at the end made me furious and nauseated, the fact that Everyone is so Charmed by Beautiful Stunning Cleo got so old so fast (especially after seeing the author might have been writing those descriptions about herself 🥴) and why some characters are redeemed and others aren’t had little rhyme or reason. Anyway, it was fast and entertaining!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Infidelity

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, and Grief

adamparrishlover's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

it's kinda like gosspil girl for people that are currently debating wether or not they should get a sugar daddy to pay for their expenses. mostly questionable with some strong feminism sprinkled in here and there. 

Ah and also everyone in New York does coke like EVERYONE 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Grief, Death of parent, Addiction, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Infidelity

Moderate: Sexual content, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Suicide

mrs_gale's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

1.5

Where was the substance? This was nearly four hundred pages and nothing really happens! It took me so long to read because I just wasn’t enjoying it, I'm completely baffled by the hype this book gets.

I kept waiting to read about the way that Cleo and Frank's relationship actually impacted their friends, but it never did!

It's just a variety of characters that somewhat link to Cleo and Frank, with a bunch of additional characters while mentioning a huge number of topics without exploring them much. The characters don't do much except drink and drugs. 

The number of characters is huge, some are only mentioned briefly. I did not care for a single one, not even the main characters. They had no redeeming qualities, just really immature and self-absorbed and not developed well. 

Shocked to discover it took 7 years to write! I did not enjoy this book, I cannot recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Addiction, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Grief, Sexism, Death of parent, and Transphobia

michellek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Addiction, Mental illness, Grief, and Death