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challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Personally resonated with me for mental health. was glad for the happy ending but wish it was more fleshed out. felt rushed. good character development but that also seemed rushed / sudden. maybe it’s just how life goes. it is sudden until it is not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The most redeeming characters have the least time to develop and reflect. Everyone in this book needs help.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
i absolutely loved this!!! can’t stop thinking about it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
I’m always a little wary of books that become popular these days, because popularity isn’t always a direct result of good writing, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this, especially given that I don’t usually read character driven novels. This story took me on a journey, and there are many moments where I felt touched and seen. In particular was chapter 13, which ended with me crying quietly on the couch and feeling far more for Anders than I ever thought I would.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Self harm, Violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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
"Adult life was harsh and exciting, something to be overwhelmed by again and again like a wave beating her down as she tried to stand."
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors | ★★★★☆
The story follows Cleo, a young struggling artist, and Frank, a successful businessman, who met by chance on New Year’s Eve and soon became a married couple. We delve further into their relationship as well as see different perspectives on adulthood in the eyes of their family and friends.
──── ୨ৎ ────
Coco Mellor’s debut novel, Cleopatra and Frankenstein, is definitely a great way to start my year! I picked this up at a local independent bookstore when I was on holiday in Auckland with my boyfriend. Wanting to fall back in love with reading as a New Year’s resolution, this book piqued my interest when I saw a boy who was holding the book in his hand, made a remark that this was the book he’d been looking for and had difficulties finding a copy of, during a discussion with the book clerk who was attending him. When they said don’t judge the book by its cover, I probably wasn’t listening because I bought a copy for myself due to the sole purpose that the book cover enticed me.
I went into this with a clear open mind knowing nothing about the book. Coco Mellors has a way of writing that absolutely got me out of my years of reading slump. She has a way with words that make you want to read more of what she has to say. The book was funny, witty, and complex. The characters were so flawed and unlikeable yet so perceivable. I just couldn’t seem to hate any of them at all. The complexity of the characters was written in a way where it was believable, and I would often find myself relating to a character’s train of thought or emotions. Coco Mellors has a unique way of storytelling that I genuinely enjoyed. This book discusses a lot more than sex, lust, and relationships. It’s also about navigating through your 20s and your 40s, what friendship is supposed to be, what friendship is not supposed to be, addiction, trauma, life, vulnerability in navigating through life, mundanity… And a lot more. Although perhaps due to the amount of “issues” of the characters in this book, the author failed to dive deeper into topics that were only briefly explored when these topics are essential and what the characters of the book heavily relied on for development.
This is a book I could unreservedly recommend to a friend (which I already have). It’s quite embarrassing that it took me 3 weeks to go through this masterpiece (a classic “It’s not you, it’s me” because it’s not the book; it’s my adult busy schedule that made finding time to read a book more difficult).
I look forward to reading more of Coco Mellors’ work and I hope next time, I can finish it much quicker. Cleopatra and Frankenstein was a solid 4 out of 5 stars for me.
──── ୨ৎ ────
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors | ★★★★☆
The story follows Cleo, a young struggling artist, and Frank, a successful businessman, who met by chance on New Year’s Eve and soon became a married couple. We delve further into their relationship as well as see different perspectives on adulthood in the eyes of their family and friends.
──── ୨ৎ ────
Coco Mellor’s debut novel, Cleopatra and Frankenstein, is definitely a great way to start my year! I picked this up at a local independent bookstore when I was on holiday in Auckland with my boyfriend. Wanting to fall back in love with reading as a New Year’s resolution, this book piqued my interest when I saw a boy who was holding the book in his hand, made a remark that this was the book he’d been looking for and had difficulties finding a copy of, during a discussion with the book clerk who was attending him. When they said don’t judge the book by its cover, I probably wasn’t listening because I bought a copy for myself due to the sole purpose that the book cover enticed me.
I went into this with a clear open mind knowing nothing about the book. Coco Mellors has a way of writing that absolutely got me out of my years of reading slump. She has a way with words that make you want to read more of what she has to say. The book was funny, witty, and complex. The characters were so flawed and unlikeable yet so perceivable. I just couldn’t seem to hate any of them at all. The complexity of the characters was written in a way where it was believable, and I would often find myself relating to a character’s train of thought or emotions. Coco Mellors has a unique way of storytelling that I genuinely enjoyed. This book discusses a lot more than sex, lust, and relationships. It’s also about navigating through your 20s and your 40s, what friendship is supposed to be, what friendship is not supposed to be, addiction, trauma, life, vulnerability in navigating through life, mundanity… And a lot more. Although perhaps due to the amount of “issues” of the characters in this book, the author failed to dive deeper into topics that were only briefly explored when these topics are essential and what the characters of the book heavily relied on for development.
This is a book I could unreservedly recommend to a friend (which I already have). It’s quite embarrassing that it took me 3 weeks to go through this masterpiece (a classic “It’s not you, it’s me” because it’s not the book; it’s my adult busy schedule that made finding time to read a book more difficult).
I look forward to reading more of Coco Mellors’ work and I hope next time, I can finish it much quicker. Cleopatra and Frankenstein was a solid 4 out of 5 stars for me.
──── ୨ৎ ────
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
funny
tense
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
Every single character that was introduced was interesting and unique, something I believe to be integral to a good book. Cleo and Frank were both, in their own weird ways, characters worth rooting for, even when they did make it hard. I also appreciated that the author made both of them make decisions that were unforgiveable, horrible, irredeemable, and yet redeemed them. I often find that authors try to redeem characters that haven't yet become bad, but Cleo and Frank definitely made some huge mistakes. The Jesus incident did make it very hard for me to root for Frank after that point, but I'm also a little bit too much of an animal lover to really expect otherwise. Overall, I just really appreciated the author's willingness to go there, something not all authors are willing to do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide attempt