Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Cleópatra e Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

285 reviews

suetruong's review against another edition

2.0

dark emotional sad 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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This is a story about an impulsive marriage between Cleo, a 24 year old British painter and Frank, a successful 40 year old man, who have known each other for 6 months and get married so she can have a visa. Then it follows the progression of their marriage, how it falls apart and affects them and the people close to them. This book is well written and follows the topics of love, friendship, mental illness, addiction, drug use, cheating, self harm, and suicide. I can see what happens when 2 people that aren’t meant for each rush into a relationship and how that affects other people. These characters were flawed and unlikeable and I think that was the point because that’s how life and relationships can be. However I couldn’t resonate with them, I didn’t like them, I found this book to be really long and really sad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness

Minor: Transphobia

sydneybedell's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional reflective slow-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, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Vomit

pizzapie68's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Mellors tells the story of a new couple and the people around them. Through multiple lenses, readers understand how all these people fit together and grow apart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent

Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Toxic friendship

ynotlime's review against another edition

4.5

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship

roxyyvette's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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The most beautiful book I have read in 2022. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail

prianka_g's review against another edition

4.75

challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Dementia, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt

rowander's review against another edition

2.5

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Best summed up in its own words: "it often seemed nothing very much was happening in [the story] until something startling and ireconsilable did." Very poignant, incredibly intense. The discussions of addiction are handled very well, but huge trigger warnings if you or someone you love is in active addiction. 

Edit: after thinking more for a few months I'm bumping this down. I was in too much shock at the ending to address it at the time, but...

I think Quentin was incredibly hard done by as a character. The absolute shock transition into meth addiction blew my mind and completely shook me. I think that might be because I found this book through searching for LGBT books, and the book description particularly focuses on Quentin gender identity - for that to be a very, very minor story line and for Quentin's character to be given such a dark ending. I also felt similar about Frank's sister, who's story line of entering a sugar baby/daddy relationship didn't have fruition until the end of the novel despite being another central part of the book description. It felt misleading, and very much in Quentin's case like a 'bury your gays' trope that I've sat uncomfortably with for a while now. I really don't recommend this book on those themes at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Self harm, Transphobia, Death of parent, Dysphoria

rubycs's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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It’s an interesting book, with each chapter a month or months in the characters lives. You do not always know which characters pov the chapter will be until about 2 pages in to each chapter. I like that you get to know a wide range of people in frank and Cleo’s lives

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol

Moderate: Lesbophobia

serenarg's review against another edition

2.0

dark sad tense fast-paced

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interesting but not worth the countless mental health triggers!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, Grief, Gaslighting, Dysphoria

rachelko's review against another edition

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Rape, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use