Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

14 reviews

kmartro's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Written like a collection of essays dedicated to every (heterosexual) woman's worst experience with love & sex.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Rape, and Eating disorder

Minor: Body shaming

yinflower's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Self harm

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Dysphoria, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Addiction

owlribbon's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Alcohol and Abandonment

crawforl's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug use, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual content

lilyforever's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Sexual harassment

lauraegan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

I have never read a book as visceral and heartbreaking as this. Any earlier in my recovery and I couldn't have finished it, yet it still had me grimacing on the bus at my pain and hers. It felt so exposing and gratifying at once to see the feminine experience spelled out like this. The characters motives and mannerisms matched icons of my own life, and I felt shame for finding my own self-hatred in hers. When you're ready to face your relationships with yourself and others this is it, but read with caution as it may bring up some very hard feelings about sex and relationships. Whenever I need a wake up call about how I used to carry myself and still sometimes do this book is where I will always return.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, and Sexual violence

thesawyerbean's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow, this was incredible. The writing was so raw, vulnerable and personal, and yet utterly intoxicating. 

The book centred on the whirlwind ‘romance’ between the narrator and Ciaran, laying bare the destructive force of obsessive love on the self. The narrator’s point of view, despite being unnamed, was so intimate that you felt everything that she went through. 

Interweaved with the affecting prose was nuanced and edifying commentary on sex, gender, consent, power and patriarchy, the male gaze and the violence of sex. The flash-forwards to 2019 Athens were rich and clear in these perspectives, providing a stunning contrast to the dizziness of the narrator’s thoughts and experiences in the main timeline. 

Overall, a staggering and important debut which left me stewing in thought for a while after.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Addiction, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, and Infidelity

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

The narrator of Acts of Desperation is one of the most self-hating and self-destructive characters that I have encountered in fiction. The central relationship in this book is so toxic that I found it painful to experience as a reader. However, Megan Nolan manages to make this deeply depressing story stay compelling and all-too-real throughout. 

Another testament to Nolan's talent is how easy I found it to empathize with her narrator's acts of desperation - despite being simultaneously devastated by them. Ultimately, I normally love a dark book but maybe this was too realistically dark for me. Check the content warnings before reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia

kelleykamanda's review

challenging dark emotional medium-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

4.0

This is a painful read. It follows a character in an abusive relationship. The needing, longing, self destructive feelings are some that many people could relate to. The character finds herself watching what she's doing from outside her body, wondering why she is accepting this horrible pain... and then convinces herself that she must accept this "love" as it is all she is worth. I especially connected to the character's constant need for validation, especially from those who are hurting her the most. 

All in all, an exceptional read. Painful and sad, but truly brilliant. Put into words the experiences that many of us sadly go through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Grief, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Rape

sib_reads's review against another edition

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, and Drug use

Minor: Pedophilia