Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

81 reviews

lostinthebooks_'s review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Death, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

krisfailedtosubmit's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-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

5.0

Yikes 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Colonisation, Death, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Rape, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Ableism, Bullying, Hate crime, Medical content, Racial slurs, Classism, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

tashtasher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Stalking, Gaslighting, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Death

Moderate: Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Islamophobia, and Death of parent

bloodmaarked's review against another edition

challenging dark funny fast-paced

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

5.0

r.f. kuang is a QUEEN

✧ full review on my tumblr ✧

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism and Cursing

Minor: Murder, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Sexual content, and War

katiejohns's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Racism, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, and Death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

zoiejanelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

holy shit this book is SHARP. any and all of the negative reviews are actually wrong—this book is a masterpiece. 

as someone who works in publishing… this book was so meta. it was actually jarring to read about such familiar circumstances, famous figures, and social niches. i was completely immersed from the get and i did not want to put this book down for a single second.

my jaw dropped in chapter one, and dropped, and dropped, and dropped—it nearly fell off. every twist was so captivating. themes of theft, plagiarism,  greed, envy, narcissism, and OF COURSE racism and false allyship were expertly woven into the narrative. at times i felt hit over the head with the message, but not because of any fault of the author, but because of the startling realism of June’s character. 

June was such an unreliable narrator, Nick Carraway is shaking in his boots! it was absolutely hilarious how often the characters referenced Fitzgerald, and the other literary references didn’t go unnoticed either! 

i loved that the resolution wasn’t black and white—it felt completely realistic and perfectly appalling. and the moral resolution wasn’t totally black and white either. because Athena was dead, because both June and Candace and every other character is complex and flawed, because business and the arts are so complicated, there was notable nuance to some of the messaging about legacy, retellings, and what artists DESERVE. 

this is a must read for any and everyone interested in the publishing industry, and for white people willing to do some introspection about their own implicit biases in both their creative pursuits and their careers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Cultural appropriation, Classism, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Cursing, Body shaming, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

juliacsmith's review against another edition

informative tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

wow wow wow 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Violence, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

kiwichill's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Death, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Murder

kitausu's review

challenging dark 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

This book is so hard to review. R. F. Kuang does an amazing job of keeping you off kilter and mouth agape the entire time. Did I have a good time? I don't know. Was it cuttingly written and doing fascinating things? Oh absolutely! 

Also, if you know much about any of the scandals of the book publishing world of the last few years, watch out for the references to real things! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Xenophobia

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, War, Alcohol, and Rape

Minor: Islamophobia, Blood, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Medical content, and Suicide