Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

81 reviews

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

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

gengle's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

hbraz's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

I hate men - and the narrator. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

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

bookspam's review

dark emotional reflective 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

I feel so seen and I wish I had read this in my early twenties 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Self harm

Moderate: Alcoholism and Infidelity

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

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

Minor: Pedophilia

stellabyproxy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

“Mediating your own victimhood is just part of being a woman. Using it or denying it, hating it or loving it, and all of these at once. Being a victim is boring for everyone involved.”

acts of desperation follows a nameless narrator as she falls in obsession with a man named ciaran. we follow her recollection of the fast-paced romance, toxic codependency, abusive control and abrupt ending(s). 

nolan’s writing reads like a frantic train of thought, a private journal, as we take a look at desire, impulsivity, promiscuity, abuse, sexual assault and self-destruction in women (basically, a long list of trigger and content warnings). the complexities of the lenses through which the actions of the protagonist are viewed allows for an unsettling look into the female psyche. nolan has a strong character voice that fully immerses the reader into the storyline, with her choice of an unnamed narrator, written in first person, creating a thin barrier between the story and the readers’ experience. there is much beauty to be found in her commentary on topics of ageism, love, lust, infidelity, mental health and power, making for lots of delicately devastating quotes. 

acts of desperation is perfectly poetic, a beautifully intrusive descent into madness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Dysphoria

Minor: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, and Sexual harassment

rkpitch1234's review against another edition

sad fast-paced

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

3.0

it was interesting an interesting look into toxic and violent relationships.

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Content Warnings

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

sharni_jade's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence