Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

80 reviews

mantnam's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense 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

4.75

It's a bit like watching Its Always Sunny and marveling at how bad people can be. I love getting an inside view of how people justify and think about their harmful actions. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Gaslighting, and Racism

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

This knocked my fucking socks off. Yellowface is as funny as it is horrific with a "protagonist" at the center who is truly foul in every sense. As awful as June Hayward is, her perspective never becomes tiring or less baffling to read. R.F. Kuang is so brilliant to have brought something like this to the table and I can't wait to make everyone in my life who hasn't read it yet move it to the top of their lists.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, War, Alcohol, Colonisation, Stalking, Rape, Xenophobia, Vomit, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Child death, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexual content

Minor: Murder, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

jayden_314's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was an incredible read! Rebecca F. Kuang perfectly writes such a hateable main character, and by hateable I mean that this insane white woman goes off the rails by the end. Kuang gets you to sympathise with her for a chapter or two before throwing right back in your face that June is completely unhinged. This way of writing is so similar to emotional abuse and gaslighting in real life and the quality is unmatched. You get to see the way that June justifies her actions and how she positions herself as the victim. I have not read anything like it and it was amazing. If you are reading this novel, be prepared to be gaslit out of your mind and just remember, June is a psychotic racist who will go to any lengths to cover up her plagarism. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Rape, Racism, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Murder, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and War

lottie1803's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cultural appropriation, Racism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Rape, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Grief, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, and Sexism

espereads's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Death

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Racism, Sexual assault, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

swetha062's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense fast-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

3.75

Satire about the publishing industry that somehow applies to every competitive field felt too close to home. The description on the loneliness June feels is very relatable and the questionable actions that everything eventually leads to lurks as a dark demon at the back of our heads as a response to the very said competition is also that relatable in today's world. If anything, I will question the books and authors I read moving forward. I enjoyed the gripping story this book had to offer. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Colonisation, Racism, Gaslighting, Death, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Bullying

annaitlj's review

informative reflective tense 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

5.0

If I could write a more heartfelt review, I would. But I don’t want to. Juniper Song Hayward is crazy, entitled, ambitious, and terribly addicting. I don’t like her as a person nor do I like her motives. She makes Athena sound like the worst person ever while downplaying her own character. She STOLE from a dead person. Before the EMTs could even pronounce her dead. And then she had 2-3 years of profit off of it. Plenty of opportunities to come clean and even claim it as a collaboration but no. Selfish. Entitled. Juniper. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Classism, Death, Racism, Grief, and Cultural appropriation

spookylettuce's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Alcohol, Death, Cultural appropriation, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Alcoholism

Minor: Racial slurs, War, Death of parent, and Suicide

rhirush's review against another edition

dark funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Grief, and Bullying

This book is SMART in so many ways, kudos to the author. The protagonist (if you call her that?) is such an interesting, yet frustrating person to follow along as you watch everything come together and wait for the inevitable unfurl. If you're reading this to see if you want to read it, GO READ IT!

I also was surprised by, yet welcomed the use of psychological horror, it reminded me a lot of perfect blue!

jakepasseri's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Stalking, Hate crime, and Abandonment

Minor: Genocide, Sexual assault, Rape, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Colonisation