Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

80 reviews

jennymchugh'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
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Really enjoyed the book until the end, when it decided to make a judgement about what “trauma” is more painful (alcoholic parent vs. being groomed by an older man). And it also forgives a highly problematic man, giving him a complete pass at the end. Just ick. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

mianb's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

1.75

Ah, rich Americans. Booktok you’ve failed me once again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal death

st333phanie's review

dark emotional funny hopeful 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

I could tell after the first chapter that this was going to be an all time favourite book of mine. So beautiful and heartbreaking and human. I fell in love with every character despite their flaws and how they’d anger me at certain points but I wanted the best for each and every one of them. 

The fact that this story took 7 years to flesh out completely is evident by the amount of care taken in the way this story of told, so beautifully written. I can tell I’m going to be revisiting this book for years to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Death of parent

c_ourte's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

I read it super quickly and the themes definitely touched my core wounds but I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters. I didn’t feel what they were feeling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Suicide, and Blood

ewatt33's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Death of parent

lailajm's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

ktwoolen's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Tore me apart in the best way. I  love the reflective writing in this book and the raw depiction of human nature and relationships. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

nreyno's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Self harm, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

jordkuba's review

dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

Very good book, well written and nice to read. Unfortunately, it contained a number of topics that difficult for me. That somewhat diminished my enjoyment. I'm sure I could have liked it more at a different time in my life .

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Self harm, Violence, and Dysphoria

lucyduller's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-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

5.0

I read the reviews of this book immediately after finishing it and became so defensive of the book that I knew it was a 5 star read, that and the endless tears escaping in the last chapter.

I will admit this book isn’t for everyone, it’s a miserable, quite depressing book, with a writing style poetic yet dull, so I understand why people don’t like it, but those are the reasons I loved it. 

I agree that during the book I sometimes get lost, but to call it trauma p*rn is ridiculous, I think it’s real and raw and honest. I also found it really funny at parts so to say there is no relief I think is being hyperbolic. 

The cast of ensemble characters that we see vignettes of really made me love this book, characters are what I fall in love with in stories, not the plot, and so to have a cast of fleshed out people was so interesting and made for a richer read. Also it really set the scene of a book set in NYC, it made it so much richer. 

But at the end of the day, and the book, it’s about Cleo and Frank and 💔 their tragic love is - for me- up there with Marianne and Connell of Normal People, and Em and Dex of One Day. Which is why I cried so much at the end. Two people, so not right for each other but who try and love each other despite all that. 

For this to be Coco Mellors’ debut novel made me INSANE, but also the fact that it took 7 years to write makes so much sense to me. Writers, take all the time you need if it means you can write books like these. We don’t need a factory of churned our books (Colleen Hoover, James Patterson, Matt Haig, even *gasp* Emily Henry). 

Because books like these make me fall back in love with reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship