Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Cleópatra e Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

58 reviews

harureads's review against another edition

3.25

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol

mganallirt's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship

alovelettertoliterature's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Complex female characters, doomed love stories, and older men are a few of my favorite things in a book, and Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Mellors embody all. I’m well aware that I need therapy for liking some of these things and fully understand that not everyone’s taste is in accordance with mine, so consider yourself warned. 

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Mellors, set in New York, tell the story of Cleo, a 24 years old British Painter, who falls in love with Frank, a man 20 years her senior who works in advertising. They met in an elevator of a party, and within six months, they got married, partly for her visa and the rest for love. It is apparent in the beginning that they are individually still struggling with their unresolved issues, which could result in the doom of their relationship. 

Cleo and Frank’s love is not conventional, and that’s what makes it so electrifying. You could not get enough of them, yet at some point, you know it will not last. Although the storyline centralizes Cleo and Frank’s relationship, it also branches out to focus on other characters in their circle and how their relationship affects them. The story is told in such an interesting structure that follows different characters’ points of view in each chapter. The story's premise is not something new, but because of how it is told, it feels new and fresh. 

Mellors’ approach to writing this book is to create deeply complex characters so that perhaps we can relate to each character on a deeper level even if we don’t always agree with them. Whether Mellors was able to achieve that is a different story. 

I would have rated this book a full five stars, but a couple of things have turned it to a four for me. Firstly, I find that the different points of view started strong as Mellors gives each character a strong background and personality. However, midway, Mellors decided to take a different approach and only prioritizes Cleo and Frank’s relationship. I did not mind this, but something about it just felt unfinished, neglected, and inconclusive for the other characters. Secondly, some stereotypes are shown in this book that felt unsettling for some characters that I don’t think were intended to be something “bad” but are still harmful. 

Overall, I loved this book and will most likely reread it. The covers alone are just exquisite (both the paperback and hardcover) and should be able to convince you to read it. Mellors is talented and able to capture not only your attention but your heart. It’s one of those books you will still think of long after reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship

esme_may's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I was worried at first that I wasn't going to like this as much as I expected but as I kept reading it really grew on me. I didn't like all the characters but was able to root for them because they felt so human

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Grief

sib_reads's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment

Minor: Pregnancy

endpages's review against another edition

1.0

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse

christine_beatrice's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia

teainthelibrary's review against another edition

2.5

challenging dark emotional sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt