Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Magma by Thora Hjörleifsdóttir

44 reviews

booksjessreads's review against another edition

dark sad fast-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? It's complicated

I appreciated this work a lot and thought that it was really well thought out. It elicited a lot of empathy and I really felt involved in Lilja's world. I felt it really explored the anxiety and the social pressure of being in a relationship and wanting to be loved, regardless of the behaviour and attitudes of a partner. I also felt it navigated these emotions in such a raw way and in areas of the book, these emotions were so intense. 

I would say that this book represents such a graphic account of life in an abusive relationship and I felt that the pace of this book was really fast. I appreciated that chapters being a page or two reflected the snapshots of what Lilja could remember. I thought that the names of the chapters were aptly named. I felt as though the pace also reflected the way in which time passed for Lilja when she was in her relationship. 

I haven't given this a star rating because I felt the subject matter was not something that should be 'rated' per se. A further note is that the translation was really smooth and the text flowed really well. A very heavy book, but a book I appreciated a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Vomit and Eating disorder

Minor: Pregnancy

lavendar_fr0g's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

2.5

The writing is slightly off, stilled- likely due to translation. It’s an okay look at an abusive relationship, the slow degradation of boundaries and slow acceptance. The guy was bad news off the bat and Lilja is a bit of a jerk (doesn’t mean she deserves it obviously). Ending was a bit abrupt, didn’t resolve anything but it’s meant to make reader decide what happened for themselves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Blood, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Vomit, Body shaming, and Sexism

zetsoh's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, and Self harm

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Rape

kaltain's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, and Vomit

cece5j's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Self harm

lsmith36's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was like a freight train and felt very real to me in a way that made me uncomfortable but also seen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Drug use, and Pregnancy

natked's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.5

A pretty good portrait of a contemporary toxic relationship.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

samarakroeger's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

HUGE trigger warning for self harm oh my god. 

I think fans of Conversations With Friends would eat this up (including me)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Gaslighting, and Pregnancy

shaziareads's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

a super quick read with a beautiful cover that i admit was what attracted me to this book. written in very short chapters, magma is about a young girl named lilja who is completely infatuated with a terrible, abusive guy. it was honestly kind of frustrating to read this character put up with so much abuse and disrespect, but as you read on, you understand how throughout the relationship she has lost all of her confidence and has no agency. 

this is the author's first novel, as her previous published works are poetry collections. the writing isn't very remarkable, but it is very blunt and raw, which works for this book. i would recommend it however i can imagine it being very triggering as it deals with an abusive relationship (verbal/sexual), a lot of gaslighting and manipulation, self-harm, suicide attempts, and more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Rape

karolinakriauzaite's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Vomit, Abandonment, and Sexism