Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Reputation by Lex Croucher

16 reviews

emily_mh's review

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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

4.25

I had so much fun with this one! It was such a good retelling of Mean Girls, super entertaining, and with writing as witty and concise as Austen’s. I also loved the romance between Georgiana and Thomas! My only issues were that Georgiana’s conflict with her parents and the climax action felt a little undeveloped. 

As a side note, I listened to the audiobook read by Bessie Carter, who did an incredible job bringing the story to life. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Cursing, Rape, Death, and Child death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Animal death, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Homophobia, Vomit, Sexism, Slavery, Grief, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Body shaming, Blood, Excrement, and Medical content

Loss of a loved one (including brother), sick parent, chronic migraines (in a minor character), toxic parents

charley0796's review against another edition

funny lighthearted 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

I believe this is my first romcom book and not a bad one to start with! It’s definitely best described as regency version of Mean Girls, it made me laugh, sucked me in and filled that friendship sized hole that only a good book can!
Overall, I thought the plot was standard for this style coming of age story - though the book was long it didn’t feel that way, despite much of it being taken up by scandalous parties each chapter brought a refreshing new part to the story. It is so much more diverse than most regency novels which often white wash and straightify the time - it was refreshing to see this brought up and discussed but I wish it was developed further! There could have been so much opportunity to explore lavender marriages or even bisexuality on Georgiana’s front if a couple of chapters had been added.  This would have built up the historical accuracy of the novel that few people know about (see Jessica Kellgren-Fozard‘s YouTube channel for more on this). 

That said, I was disappointed by the love story between Georgiana and Thomas. Though Georgiana’s attraction to him was clear from the outset, Thomas’ affections seemed to materialise from nowhere and with no witty dialogue between the two that could have started to grow the relationship seed. I would have liked to see more around these conversations in the novel, with dialogue being a weakness in the novel. I also felt like the reconciliation between Jane and Frances and Georgiana was brushed over, I felt this needed more development, especially if we are to believe that the relationship between Jane and Frances developed into something healthy. 
I also felt the continuous mention of how Georgiana was poor compared to her friends tedious, especially as it had no impact on the plot beyond wearing a bedsheet toga to a Greek party. It felt like a half hearted copy of pride and prejudice. 

I do recommend this book though! Especially for those looking for a diverse light read. But not for accurate historical fiction fans .

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Vomit

booksandcat's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

4.5

I loved this book. It was so easy to get into and kept me interested all the way through. The characters all felt very multidimensional. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Slavery

simixfe's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

aliceloyallaleon's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted reflective 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, Blood, Bullying, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Colonisation, Rape, and Slavery

astoldbyangela's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

5.0

a true regency romp. lex skillfully wove the traditional and the modern together. it’s entertaining and heartfelt in equal measures & each character, including the protagonist, is incredibly layered and feels so real. once i got to about halfway or 2/3 through the book, i absolutely could not put it down.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicide