Scan barcode
skyealexandra's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
one of those books that i absolutely adored but never want to reread
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Drug use, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
bookishpip's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m not sure what to say about this one. I want to call it ‘gorgeous’, a word I typically use for books I like, but in this instance that is the wrong word to use. I’m not even sure if ‘like’ is the right word as I spent quite a lot of it in despair for the protagonist. But this book sure took me on a ride and I was absolutely on board for every turn it took.
This is a book about love, lust, obsession and hate. It’s visceral and doesn’t hold back - definitely watch out for trigger warnings on this one as there are some exceptionally brutal moments.
An unnamed protagonist falls head over heels with a beautiful but quite damaged man named Ciaran. He’s a very powerful presence and she falls completely under his spell. The more we follow the relationship, the more we begin to see the pair of them unravel in their own ways. He is controlling and manipulative; she is desperate to please and self-destructive. A terrible combination…
I really enjoyed Nolan’s writing style. I loved it’s honestly and rawness. It’s one of the more accurate depictions I’ve read of living with extremely low self esteem. Parts of this just spoke to me; it’s one of those novels in which I used page markers fairly thoroughly. I liked how absolutely all of the characters (with the exception of Lisa, who doesn’t appear much) are morally grey.
Speaking of grey, I also felt this to be a poignant exploration into the grey areas around sex and consent; with frequent references to times in which she didn’t want, but acquiesced to, her partner’s persistent demands despite saying no initially. This coupled with her increasingly alarming sexual habits paints quite a nasty but sadly common image and says a lot about male dominance and female commodification. I know this isn’t exactly new in literature, but I’ve not read of it such a disturbing light before. It needs talking about more openly.
It was a fairly short read, made to feel even shorter by the snapshot nature of this novel. Each ‘chapter’ is no more than 5 pages, and frequently only half a page, making for a book that is easily devoured in a day. Sadly I read this during a ‘slump’ period so it took considerably longer… however, I do believe that a book that can get a person out of a slump is always very impressive, and that’s exactly what happened here.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend - but as mentioned, please take note of trigger warnings first…
This is a book about love, lust, obsession and hate. It’s visceral and doesn’t hold back - definitely watch out for trigger warnings on this one as there are some exceptionally brutal moments.
An unnamed protagonist falls head over heels with a beautiful but quite damaged man named Ciaran. He’s a very powerful presence and she falls completely under his spell. The more we follow the relationship, the more we begin to see the pair of them unravel in their own ways. He is controlling and manipulative; she is desperate to please and self-destructive. A terrible combination…
I really enjoyed Nolan’s writing style. I loved it’s honestly and rawness. It’s one of the more accurate depictions I’ve read of living with extremely low self esteem. Parts of this just spoke to me; it’s one of those novels in which I used page markers fairly thoroughly. I liked how absolutely all of the characters (with the exception of Lisa, who doesn’t appear much) are morally grey.
Speaking of grey, I also felt this to be a poignant exploration into the grey areas around sex and consent; with frequent references to times in which she didn’t want, but acquiesced to, her partner’s persistent demands despite saying no initially. This coupled with her increasingly alarming sexual habits paints quite a nasty but sadly common image and says a lot about male dominance and female commodification. I know this isn’t exactly new in literature, but I’ve not read of it such a disturbing light before. It needs talking about more openly.
It was a fairly short read, made to feel even shorter by the snapshot nature of this novel. Each ‘chapter’ is no more than 5 pages, and frequently only half a page, making for a book that is easily devoured in a day. Sadly I read this during a ‘slump’ period so it took considerably longer… however, I do believe that a book that can get a person out of a slump is always very impressive, and that’s exactly what happened here.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend - but as mentioned, please take note of trigger warnings first…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, Emotional abuse, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Gaslighting, Drug use, and Sexual assault
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
This book...oh, my God. She's short, but she packs a fucking punch. "Acts of Desperation" follows an unnamed narrator who on the first page meets a man and falls into a "brief, all-consuming" romance with him before he abruptly dumps her. She resolves to get him back and keep him by any means necessary, even if it means degrading and destroying herself.
The writing in this book is so beautiful and harsh at the same time. I highlighted so much in this book, such a range of lines: lines that I related to, lines that I thought were interesting, lines that made this character make sense to me (because she often did not, which made her seem painfully real).
Through this narrator's voice, the reader is exposed to her confessional, her literal desperation for male attention and male love, her love addiction, her mental illness. The way at times, this man she claimed to love so fully did not even seem like someone she liked, and yet she simply couldn't be without him- without *someone* in general - God. You have a front row seat to all of it and it is sometimes so brutal that one must set the book down and just decompress.
However, in the brutality of this narrative, there are moments so poignant and relatable that I couldn't get my highlighter/pen cap off fast enough to highlight or annotate. There were parts of this that also felt too smart for me, things that didn't and do not make sense to me still, and I don't know if that's because I'm not smart enough or if it's just a reflection of what a mess this character is?
Overall, obviously, I loved this. I loved the commentary and chronicling of this woman's case of love addiction & other things throughout that I won't mention at the risk of giving things away inadvertently.
The writing in this book is so beautiful and harsh at the same time. I highlighted so much in this book, such a range of lines: lines that I related to, lines that I thought were interesting, lines that made this character make sense to me (because she often did not, which made her seem painfully real).
Through this narrator's voice, the reader is exposed to her confessional, her literal desperation for male attention and male love, her love addiction, her mental illness. The way at times, this man she claimed to love so fully did not even seem like someone she liked, and yet she simply couldn't be without him- without *someone* in general - God. You have a front row seat to all of it and it is sometimes so brutal that one must set the book down and just decompress.
However, in the brutality of this narrative, there are moments so poignant and relatable that I couldn't get my highlighter/pen cap off fast enough to highlight or annotate. There were parts of this that also felt too smart for me, things that didn't and do not make sense to me still, and I don't know if that's because I'm not smart enough or if it's just a reflection of what a mess this character is?
Overall, obviously, I loved this. I loved the commentary and chronicling of this woman's case of love addiction & other things throughout that I won't mention at the risk of giving things away inadvertently.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Death, Suicide, Abandonment, Rape, Alcohol, Vomit, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Drug use, Violence, Eating disorder, Stalking, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, and Medical content
Minor: Dementia, Murder, and Classism
poppyisabelle's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
i wish i didn’t find parts of this so relatable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use and Eating disorder
persephones_daughter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I made mistakes like this all the time, seeking affirmation from the very worst people, so that what I must have been after deep down was confirmation of the fears instead of their dismissals"
i am absolutely convinced that you do not need to love the main character to enjoy a book, the only condition being that it has been done well and i must say that this book did it almost perfectly.
would i enjoy being in company of such awful people ? absolutely not, not in a million years but it isn’t the point !! the only place i would want to meet up with them is maybe the waiting room of a therapist, because God knows they need it 😃
nothing about this story is romantic, both characters have extremely distorted visions of what love and affection is supposed to look like : we have on one part an unnamed narrator who engage in obsessive behaviours to be loved and on the other part an incredibly cold man, Ciaran, who seems unable to provide her with even the most elementary bit of affection.
it was visceral, raw and dark, very much so even, but it still felt real despite everything which makes this story so compelling. i struggled to put this book down because of how engrossed i was in it and the shortness of the chapters sure helped a lot achieve this ! i can have the attention span of a goldfish sometimes so this was very welcomed.
the part about eating disorders resonated with me in a way i wish it didn’t *cough cough* but hey i liked it and it felt really honest.
if you need one more thing to convince you (or to discourage you, but then i probably don't like you very much 🤨), this felt like a Sally Rooney book but on a little more than two bottles of wine and maybe some lines of coke
i am absolutely convinced that you do not need to love the main character to enjoy a book, the only condition being that it has been done well and i must say that this book did it almost perfectly.
would i enjoy being in company of such awful people ? absolutely not, not in a million years but it isn’t the point !! the only place i would want to meet up with them is maybe the waiting room of a therapist, because God knows they need it 😃
nothing about this story is romantic, both characters have extremely distorted visions of what love and affection is supposed to look like : we have on one part an unnamed narrator who engage in obsessive behaviours to be loved and on the other part an incredibly cold man, Ciaran, who seems unable to provide her with even the most elementary bit of affection.
it was visceral, raw and dark, very much so even, but it still felt real despite everything which makes this story so compelling. i struggled to put this book down because of how engrossed i was in it and the shortness of the chapters sure helped a lot achieve this ! i can have the attention span of a goldfish sometimes so this was very welcomed.
the part about eating disorders resonated with me in a way i wish it didn’t *cough cough* but hey i liked it and it felt really honest.
if you need one more thing to convince you (or to discourage you, but then i probably don't like you very much 🤨), this felt like a Sally Rooney book but on a little more than two bottles of wine and maybe some lines of coke
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Alcohol
roemfr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexism
kaitlynmm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Rape, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
There are quite a few trigger warnings that should be read before jumping into this book, please take a moment to read them before starting it.alice_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Self harm, Violence, and Eating disorder
Minor: Mental illness and Drug use
onion's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Self harm, Infidelity, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Rape
Minor: Stalking
booksaurus98's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
I have a soft spot for the genre of writing I have dubbed ‘Hot Mess Millennial fiction’ - books written from the point of view of women, usually in there early twenties to early thirties; who are riddled with anxiety/low self esteem and depressive tendencies; who are often isolated from their families in some way ; who cope with these issues through a constant series of poor decisions and self destructive habits; who tend to underachieve in their professional live; and end up within dysfunctional and toxic relationships with friends,colleagues and romantic partners. There are a number of much lauded books that have been published recently which fit into this genre:
Luster by Raven Leilani
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
Conversations with Friends - Sally Rooney
Normal People - Sally Rooney
Exciting Times - Naoise Dolan *
Promising Young Woman - Caroline O’ Donoghue
Insatiable - Daisy Buchanan *
Supper Club - Lara Williams
Pizza Girl - Jean Kyoung Frazier
Acts of Desperation - Megan Nolan
The authors, usually millennial women themselves, create these women characters who are, at first meeting, incredibly hard to love. Characters’ volley between hyper-awareness at the absurdity and patheticness of their lives and a complete lack of self awareness about the impact their decisions have on others. Basically, these aren’t the kind of women you want to pet sit your dog.
Moving on to why I love this ‘genre’ so much - I relate to the characters.
I don’t want to self-disclose too much, because this review isn’t about me and my own poor life choices ( it’s about the unnamed protagonist's poor life choices) , but I could definitely sympathise with a lot of the thought processes and reflections made by the protagonist. The bookmark I was using had the Ursula K. Le Guin quote on it, ‘We read books to find out who we are’ which was apt for ‘Acts of Desperation’. With every Hot Mess Millennial book I read I learn a little bit more about myself, about the parts of myself I don’t really like thinking about and acknowledging and for that I am very grateful.
In Nolan’s debut novel the young woman narrator reflects back on a relationship with an older man that ended a few years prior. Cieran is handsome and self - obsessed which frequently leads to him being cruel to her. The young woman can’t seem to leave him. She loves him. Her reliance on him being in her life leads to her little ‘acts of desperation’, cooking and cleaning and providing sex and always being agreeable. A modern woman voluntarily reduces herself to a stepford wife. Throughout the narration of the volatile relationship between these two characters, the narrator will interject with long reflections and reasoning as to why she is the way she is. We find out about her family, eating disorders, borderline addictions and previous relationships. In ‘Acts of Desperation’ Nolan creates a beautifully fleshed out character, who is so human with her vulnerabilities and limitations.
There are trigger warnings for graphic sexual abuse, self-harm, drug and alcohol use and eating disorders. This isn’t an easy read, but is a great insight into the life of an interesting character.
Luster by Raven Leilani
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
Conversations with Friends - Sally Rooney
Normal People - Sally Rooney
Exciting Times - Naoise Dolan *
Promising Young Woman - Caroline O’ Donoghue
Insatiable - Daisy Buchanan *
Supper Club - Lara Williams
Pizza Girl - Jean Kyoung Frazier
Acts of Desperation - Megan Nolan
The authors, usually millennial women themselves, create these women characters who are, at first meeting, incredibly hard to love. Characters’ volley between hyper-awareness at the absurdity and patheticness of their lives and a complete lack of self awareness about the impact their decisions have on others. Basically, these aren’t the kind of women you want to pet sit your dog.
Moving on to why I love this ‘genre’ so much - I relate to the characters.
I don’t want to self-disclose too much, because this review isn’t about me and my own poor life choices ( it’s about the unnamed protagonist's poor life choices) , but I could definitely sympathise with a lot of the thought processes and reflections made by the protagonist. The bookmark I was using had the Ursula K. Le Guin quote on it, ‘We read books to find out who we are’ which was apt for ‘Acts of Desperation’. With every Hot Mess Millennial book I read I learn a little bit more about myself, about the parts of myself I don’t really like thinking about and acknowledging and for that I am very grateful.
In Nolan’s debut novel the young woman narrator reflects back on a relationship with an older man that ended a few years prior. Cieran is handsome and self - obsessed which frequently leads to him being cruel to her. The young woman can’t seem to leave him. She loves him. Her reliance on him being in her life leads to her little ‘acts of desperation’, cooking and cleaning and providing sex and always being agreeable. A modern woman voluntarily reduces herself to a stepford wife. Throughout the narration of the volatile relationship between these two characters, the narrator will interject with long reflections and reasoning as to why she is the way she is. We find out about her family, eating disorders, borderline addictions and previous relationships. In ‘Acts of Desperation’ Nolan creates a beautifully fleshed out character, who is so human with her vulnerabilities and limitations.
There are trigger warnings for graphic sexual abuse, self-harm, drug and alcohol use and eating disorders. This isn’t an easy read, but is a great insight into the life of an interesting character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Drug use
More...