Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist

13 reviews

nithya_natalya's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a very fun novel, and once I got into it, moved very quickly. Very dark and bitter, and a satisfying portrayal of the decay beneath the glitz of capitalism and celebrity.

The only reason that I didn't give this five stars is because I wanted it to go further than it did. While the atmosphere and general mood of the novel felt gothic, the climax and resolution didn't feel grisly and tragic and destructive enough. It felt like eat the rich, except we only got the appetizer before the novel was over.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Ableism, Medical content, Vomit, Self harm, Murder, and Confinement

fseely's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Classism, and Suicide attempt

laketwentytwo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Vomit, Terminal illness, and Blood

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt

siriface's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Alcoholism, Violence, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Sexual assault, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

city_girl_writer's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This was really good. I loved the the gothic imagery of New England, the medical content regarding poisons, the bonds between Lend, Johnathan, and Audrey, etc. My only gripe was the reveals towards the end. I had a hard time piecing everything together. Maybe in a week or so, it would all make sense. Nonetheless, I would recommend this but it's not for everyone.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Addiction, Chronic illness, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Emotional abuse

mikaylaxreads's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, and Medical trauma

anxiousnachos's review

dark emotional mysterious tense

5.0

Fucking glorious. This book has slithered its vines into my head and completely consumed me. It haunts my soul. This bisexual hedonistic Gothic botanical horror has such exquisite vibes and such a wonderful pitch that I was a little worried it could never live up to what I wanted it to be - and then it did?! Iconic. It reads like a Baz Luhrmann film: somehow hazy and dream-like (or nightmarish), everything in slow-mo or reverse, I close my eyes and I can see scenes play out on my eyeballs so perfectly it has been carved into me. Poisons and sex parties and discussions of classism and murder and bisexuals and a sapphic relationship and a self-destructive man who longs for death ARE YOU KIDDING ME. 

This book was painful. It will cut you and carve itself into your soul and it will hurt. I loved every inch of it. 

Content warnings: drug use and addiction, alcohol use and addiction, chronic illness, chronic pain, non-consensual drug use including use of date-rape drugs, self harm, violence, blood, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, murder, attempted murder, classism

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Drug use, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Addiction, Blood, and Self harm

eviecate's review

dark mysterious 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

2.5

Honestly it was incredibly mediocre.  Maybe it's just not my type of book but I found the plot very slow paced and repetitive. I didn't find the reveal to be particularly compelling and didn't enjoy the hindsight way it was written. I think I expected it to have more horror elements due to it being lumped in with books like Mexican Gothic but it was more of a dark mystery/high society read without horror involved. I think I understood what it was trying to say about the arrogance of the mega-rich but it didn't say anything new or particularly compelling. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Suicide attempt

jenbianca's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

ok this one is marketed as like a gothic thriller with a Great Gatsby vibe. it's very "eat the rich" lol.

Lena gets hired to work for a rich family as their physician's assistant - who comes to hate the family + seeks out revenge for wrongs done. i like the concept and vibe of the book but the main character was annoying and unrealistically vengeful. she becomes homicidal like 30% into the book and it just doesn't make sense. the book drags on wayyyyyy too long because of the quick escalation. and the ending is simply confusing - i'm still not sure what happened.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, Death, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Chronic illness

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

3.75

Thanks to Dutton Books for the free copy of this book.

 - TRIPPING ARCADIA is quite the ride! Blending gothic horror with modern nightmares and a heavy dash of queerness, it's visceral and gripping at every turn.
- I found myself quite invested in the Verdeaus in an unexplainable way just as Lena was.
- Some of the plot machinations were a bit tidy and predictable, but I still quite enjoyed the trip. I'll be interested to see what Mayquist does next. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, and Death