Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - My Policeman

Marion sees Tom for the first time in Brighton in the 1950s. Marion is enamored as Tom teaches her to swim in the shade of the pier, and she is determined that her love will be enough for them both.

Patrick encounters Tom a few years later in the Brighton Museum. Patrick falls in love with Tom and discovers a dazzling and sophisticated new world.

Tom is their police officer, and it is safer for him to marry Marion in this day and age. The two hearts must share him until one of them breaks, leading to loss of three lives.

Have I read this in preparation for the future adaptation? Indeed. This is a heartbreaking, emotional narrative that should not be taken lightly. People may expect smut because the novel is rated 18+, but while there is smut, it should not be romanticized. Even if smut is a "means of affection," in this case, it's traumatic, unpleasant, and shouldn't be glorified.

Pride Month Book 4: mlm romance

Content Warnings

solouncapitulomas's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional 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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5

I am not special (like at all) I’m here for the same reason everyone else is…Harry Styles

I only have to say that Marion’s pov almost made me dnf this book, she was boring af and Tom is a little bitch. I only endured this for Patrick, fuck the rest of ‘em (not you Julia, I love you ok?)

I did love the writing and have no more criticism I think? Sylvie was a bitch, ugh

wtv cannot wait to see Harry playing a complete asshole and I am counting on Emma Corrin and David Dawson to one make Marion a better character and two portray Patrick as he deserves.

Content Warnings

alen's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

i did not expect to love this so much...it was extremely sad to read but it hit me in the best way

Content Warnings

lenni_sc's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional sad tense slow-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

4.0

Content Warnings

meredithobermark's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This is a good read, and after reading I’m really looking forward to seeing the movie. I can totally see Harry Styles being a good fit for Tom. It was a relatively easy read, despite the 1950s British vocabulary. I had no trouble picking the book back up again and flying through even the longer chapters. In regards to characters, Marion really bothered me. I liked her at first but only because she’s the main character and I usually root for the narrator. However, each decision she made was just so selfish and frustrating. Even the end couldn’t help me find respect for her. I found it hard to like Tom at times, too. I’ll just say that the only person I was never bothered with was Julia. I had my suspicions about her but didn’t give it much thought. Overall, a very good read and I recommend it!

Content Warnings

sib_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad medium-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

1.5

Content Warnings

maria_winther's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

smukt skrevet

de forskellige pov virker virkelig godt, og man er hele tiden samtidig på alles og ingens side

det er en frustrerende situation og der er ingen god løsning og hvorfor var verden sådan her for ikke engang så mange år siden (og det er ikke løst endnu)

Content Warnings

laurenvoice's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative 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

2.75

This story would have been so much better if Marion had an affair with Julia, and they all lived happily ever after.

My Policeman does not live up to the hype it gets. The story was somewhat disappointing. Although the topic of this book was an important one; especially, it highlights just how recent the criminalisation of being gay, bisexual or lesbian recently was, a sad and terrifying fact. It could have been written completely differently.

What Marion did to Patrick is not defendable; it was disgusting. However, she did not deserve the gaslighting, and the emotional abuse in the lead-up, and by the sounds of it after, what she did. Tom is an unlikeable character, he screams toxic, his actions towards both Marion and Patrick are toxic. He seemed a selfish man. And it felt as if these abusive actions were glossed over.

It bears repeating, if Roberts accepted that Marion was bi or a lesbian, falling for the het-norms, we could have seen a beautiful relationship between Marion and Julia, and could have saved Patrick a lot of pain!

Content Warnings

More...