Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Cleópatra e Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

726 reviews

sammyjogeara's review against another edition

4.75

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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I finally fucking finished this book. And I want to cry about it. This was an emotional roller-coaster and a real coming of age story — of all ages. Self-harm, self-hate, self-sabotage, trauma, depression, dysmorfofobia, addiction, alcoholism, co-dependency. I’m really happy I paced myself reading this since it turned out to be one of the best — yet most painful — books I’ve read this year. I feel empty and full at the end of this and through it all still a message of hope, of overcoming once own adversities and somewhat killing your darlings. I genuinly recommend you to read this. However beware — you’re going to need to eat your feelings at the end of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol

jordkuba's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional reflective tense fast-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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Very good book, well written and nice to read. Unfortunately, it contained a number of topics that difficult for me. That somewhat diminished my enjoyment. I'm sure I could have liked it more at a different time in my life .

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Self harm, Violence, Dysphoria

kashmore's review against another edition

1.5

dark sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I thought that this book was satire until I realized it wasn’t. To me, much of conversation between characters seemed contrived, and I initially thought that could be intentional. I found parts of book compelling—particularly the Eleanor chapters—but overall felt the changing perspectives in each chapter were more gimmicky than constructive. Plot points are introduced and then abandoned, or major events/conversations overlooked or only referred to as having happened off screen. I’m thinking specifically about

Quentin’s character and how he is sidelined soon after being introduced — there’s little we hear from him after his introductory chapter, only to have it revealed at the end of the book that he’s been struggling with drug addiction, with little followup or commentary from any of the other characters

. I did finish the book and found it to be a quick read, and despite it dealing with some very serious issues, did not find it weighed down or overly dragging. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt

helena26's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Self harm

thetainaship's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Toxic friendship

lochnessmonster's review against another edition

3.5

emotional funny reflective sad 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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Cleo and Franks relationship is like watching a high speed car crash in slow motion. You know what’s going to happen but you can’t look away. Fantastic look into trauma, how it changes you/ effects every part of your life, and how healing can really turn your everything around for the better. 
It’s also interesting to see our titular characters from not as glamorous but relatable Eleanor’s perspective and through her I warmed up to Frank a bit. Also loved what little we got of Zoe and her journey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship

milanaradic's review against another edition

4.5

dark funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

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: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent

oywiththepoodles's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Drug abuse

_eli_b's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment

inlaraland's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Cleopatra & Frankenstein - a dramatic story that follows Cleo, an English painter living in New York, falling in love with a man named Frank who is twenty years older than her. Frank is extremely successful, and he offers Cleo a chance at being happy along with the security of staying in the city. The novel follows their marriage, and how it spirals from glitter to dust while also exploring the lives of the people closest to them.

I have mixed feelings about this book if I’m being honest. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it. I thought Cleo and Frank had a great, fleshed out story that really described their tumultuous relationship. However, I can’t say the same about the many other side characters. To me their stories felt quite disconnected and rushed in comparison which made the pacing of the book seem a little off at times. I also thought that there were elements of the book that were quite stereotypical and cliche, which made some parts a little bit too predictable for my liking. However, I still think that this is a solid read. I was hooked on the drama between the characters, and I liked just how flawed they all were in their own way. There are many themes that are explored in the book, but I think that the author did a great job at highlighting the highs and lows of addiction in its many forms.

This is the kind of book that I would read on vacation, or by the beach. It’s not a book that I would recommend to everyone, but if you grew up reading or watching “Gossip Girl” and “Sex and the City”, and you’re looking for something similar but a more melancholic and sad - then you might enjoy this novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt