Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

515 reviews

lisapisa8's review

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

It’s a story about a toxic couple with friends around them who have bad influence on them. It makes the characters live in this devil circle where everyone makes bad decisions. The very very End shows character development. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

gewrgia_lightwood's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

give me a toxic, raw and complex relationship over any cringy, smut-and-trope-driven romance!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Alcohol

chsm8's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

amy_holden23's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This book showed me why I don't read literary fiction- it broke my heart and then started to put it together again but I still wasn't happy. This book is super dark and was really triggering. That being said the characters felt so real and it will stay with me for a long time. The writing also was phenomenal!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Mental illness, Racism, and Sexual harassment

film_oddity's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Transphobia, and Vomit

levtitticus's review against another edition

emotional fast-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Death, Homophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

akgrantmatz's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

The characters in the book are highly unlikeable, but their facets are also like those of every person you have ever met. It is dark, and triggering, and you constantly wish they would all make better decisions and better relationships, but also understand them making those choices. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Outing, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Transphobia and Vomit

cayliehausman's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

A proper show of the delicate balance that relationships, big and small, have on one another. Balancing between opinions and perspectives, feelings and foreshadowing, this book beautifully describes the messiness of human relationships, mental health and addiction.
From love, to attention, to jealousy, this books ranges every human emotion there is and brings you to empathize with each character as you watch the tangles of lives over this short year and a half span. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

hc_123's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, and Self harm

meaghanslibrary's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.75

I’m confused how to rate this book. I’m maybe between a 3.5 and 3.75 because the ending was kind of a “huh, that’s it?” kind of ending to me, but the writing really did have some great quotes.  I’ll go 3.76 because I’m feeling generous today but could be lowered.

This book barely has a plot.  It is definitely more of character driven studies.  My favorite character comes in at what felt like the 75% mark where we get first person narration and chapters almost written like short stories.  I found that writing and the quotes in Eleanor’s chapters to be the most engaging.  The rest of the book is written in close third-person pov.  There is one random chapter following a side character Quentin.  And a few chapters that follow a side character Zoe, but otherwise the book mainly follows Cleo with some more sprinkles of Frank.

I did think the writing was very beautiful but this book took quite a while for me to read. It felt like it dragged in parts. I do generally prefer more plot driven books to character driven books.  I probably will read another book by this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Abandonment

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Dementia