Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Cleopatra and Frankenstein

Spoilers!!!!
Soooo many ts songs reminded me of this book!!!
Deeply flawed characters and toxic relationships. Everyone struggles.
I Never liked Cleo and Frank‘s Relationship (i don’t like the age gap) and I don’t like them both that much. I like Cleo sometimes too, she can be relatable. The chapters are quite long but that didn’t bother me very much- the usual POV‘S are Cleo and Frank but you got like 1-2 chapters in the POV of Zoe, Eleanor, Quentin and Santiago
The two chapters that were Eleanor‘s POV i didn’t like, I don’t know why there were that many small paragraphs with stuff I don’t care about. Her and Frank‘s relationship was something I also never liked. A lot of things were predictable in this book but there were also plottwists so it’s fine if.
Quentin is very strange and I was always a bit scared of him tbh because he’s just so uncomfortable. I kneeew that Alex was bad for him tbh (I thought it was cute in the beginning in Quentin‘s POV but then in the other people‘s POV i saw the problematic)
I loveee Zoe. I think she was my fav person in the book. I could sympathies with her (more in the end not so much in the beginning) Santiago is I think the only unproblematic character in the book. I love him and I’m sooo happy for how his life‘s like now.
My fav scene is the one where Audrey, Cleo and Zoe spend time together (p 82- 91) especially the part when they went home to Cleo‘s (i think) ❤️❤️❤️

Cleo:
+ an artist
+ a feminist that puts people in their place
+ „ you want credit for not leaving me? Are you joking? Sorry Frank, but you married me…“ (p261)
+ she has a smooth way of feeling and she feels so much
- she complained about her pain when they had THAT fight but didn’t care about Frank‘s pin at all
- in general made some poor ass arguments in that fight
- „Could it be? Are we back here again? At Frank pity party?“ (p261) HUGE L
- compared her trauma to Frank‘s 💀
- had an affair

Frank:
+ changed for the better!
+ cares about Eleanor
+ finally cried in the end
+ supported Cleo financially
+ super rich but then not too cocky
- a man
- killed their pet that they loved and lied about it
- bought an illegal pet
- had an affair
- gave his sister money all the time
- alcoholic for the most time of this book

Zoe:
+ has her struggles but powerful
+ sweet and kind
+ the whole thing with Jiro :))
+ the way she connected w Cleo
+ idk but her sexual struggles make her so much more sympathetic
+ the scene were she layers on the ground next to Cleo (p 312) ❤️❤️
- asking her brother for money all the time
- doesn’t know how to spend money

„The parties, Sex, alcohol and drug use is so New York City aesthetic“…. Girl wtf no it’s literally not.
„ everyone we know in NY is an addict, aren’t they?“ (p355) lol yeah they are. The way drugs are used in the book is sooooo bad holy shit especially like Quentin and Alex and stuff but actually they all.

Content Warnings

elisem04's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.25

This feels weird to rate bc it was compellingly readable to the point where I couldn’t put it down. But at the same time, it made me feel awful and I didn’t really care about any of the characters. 2.25 stars is a reasonable compromise I guess.

Content Warnings

minimicropup's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.5

Atmosphere: 👌 Largely created through snippets of the characters’ thoughts and interactions, with detailed descriptions of locations peppered throughout in an effective way. It contributes to the overall setting and goings-ons rather than being distracting.

Main POVs: 👌
-a 24 year old recent fine art graduate who presents as carefree, confident, and adventurous but is harbouring a deep sense of shame, depressive disorders, and unhealthy ego. They blame everyone and everything for their struggles. We get to see them slowly evolve and where it comes from in their past
-a 44 year old functional alcoholic and advertising entrepreneur who is successful and perhaps a “charming” drunk but painfully immature and people-pleasing in a shallow way. We also see them evolve and where this tendency comes from
-a witty, intuitive, cynical 37 year old television/film writer recently forced out of their job and now living with their elderly wise-cracking parent

Show’n’tell: ❤️
So much show! Though half the time you aren’t quite sure what you’re being shown, it adds to the story. Like bringing a neon crayon set in an unlabelled package, revealing them individually, then passing them around the class.

Reading Journey: 👌
People-watching on the NY subway from early morning ‘til late night. There will be moments of boredom, confusion, cringing, heartwarmth (?), and laughter.

Great match if you like:
-literary fiction with character-driven narratives that are infuriating, hilarious, and inspiring
-believable outcomes (follows MCs over a two-year period)
-character studies involving addiction, mental illness, and childhood trauma
-NYC party vibes with consequences included
-a sprinkling of randomness
-wrong time and place romance

Vibes: 😅🥺🥴

Format: Library E-book via Libby

Content Warnings