Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

45 reviews

lolamosk's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Rape

Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, and Infertility

remytherat's review

reflective 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

3.5

I really loved Olga's character arc; by the end of the book I was cheering for a character that had been pretty unloveable at the start. Dick was also a great villain. Smarmy, guileless and full of all the arrogance that comes with a lifetime of privilege, he was as irritating as you'd expect. While he wasn't at all loveable, that wasn't the point of him; and anyway, there were enough characters who I loved right away to make up for it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, and Rape

kwurtzel3's review

emotional informative reflective 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Medical content and Addiction

torturedreadersdept's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful 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: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Infertility, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion

daniellekat's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I’m having a very hard time rating this book. 
Overall the writing was excellent, especially at the beginning. I loved the first half of this book. The organization of the book was engaging with the multiple POVs and the letters interspersed. I was invested in the characters and loved all their interactions especially as the book grappled with the theme of identity. 
But as the book went on,

the turning point was after Mabel’s wedding

I started to feel like the author was taking the easy way out. A lot of the conclusions just felt simple and almost unnecessary based on the book up to that point.

I really disliked Preito’s coming out story. It felt like his positive HIV status served only as a purpose for him to come out. Same with the SA, it was an easy way to write Olga’s “breakdown” and that part of the narrative could have been driven in another way.

 
Finally, two things that are personal pet peeves that this book hit were books that have chapter titles but no table of contents and books with pointless epilogues. Ugh. 

I will add that the audiobook narration was 10/10. The multiple narrators and the way they spoke carried so much of the attitude of each of the characters. Would highly recommend that format for anyone looking to read this! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Outing

Minor: Addiction, Abortion, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, and Infertility

HIV/AIDS

caterina_1212's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-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

Nice mix of perspectives, good and bad

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Rape

mschmidt's review

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Death of parent, Classism, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault and Racism

Minor: Abortion, Drug use, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Infertility, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

kaitlinlovesbooks's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Rape, Homophobia, Outing, and Infidelity

avvai's review against another edition

informative reflective 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, Abandonment, Rape, Sexism, Racism, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

seawarrior's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

This was a highly engaging book that I enjoyed reading, despite the fact that it was long and the characters often behaved in ways that were protective to the point of destructive. I felt that Gonzalez did a wonderful job of illustrating how family conflicts extend outwards and create even more troubles in the wider world. Yet, she ensured each character was written with enough tact that the messages in this book rarely came off as preachy. While the book did feel somewhat melodramatic at times, the reader is prepared with understanding for why the situations the characters are in have become so severe. I would be wary about recommending this book to others since some of the subject matter is distressing. However, I don't regret reading it myself or feeling invested in the characters' lives.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Rape, Terminal illness, and Death of parent