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dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
dark
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
dark
emotional
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol
Moderate: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I finished this book a few days ago, trying to digest, trying to see if it would have a impact on me; it didn’t. My biggest complain is: the men in this book are unbearable - all of them. Even the gay friend, all of them rich, spoiled brats, who never grew up. Frank needed 2 women to “fix” him. The women I cared a little more - specially Cleo and Zoey, although they could be at times very annoying. Eleonor… idk, she was there being used as “the good funny person”. I didn’t know shit about this book when I picked it up, maybe if I knew I wouldn’t be so disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Self harm, Death of parent, Alcohol
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
Nothing much of substance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent
3.5 stars, I think.
Trigger warnings for the book: self harm, drug abuse
Cleo and Frank fall in love quickly and passionately. It doesn't matter that he's 20 years her senior, or that most everyone around them thinks it's purely a green card marriage. They're determined to make it through — until cracks appear in their seemingly perfect life.
I was conflicted about this. For the first half, I could relate strongly to someone on TikTok calling it "a book that wants to be pretentious but just isn't quite there yet", and a goodreads review saying it "got better towards the end because it was ending". I only really powered through because there were some characters I liked enough to and, honestly, because I didn't have anything else to do. And looking back, I'm glad I did continue with it.
I get people comparing it to Sally Rooney's work. It certainly involves much of the same complicated, completely dysfunctional relationships that Sally Rooney likes to write about. The happenings are a bit reminiscent of Conversations With Friends in that way but unfortunately didn't move me in the way that I liked about Rooney's work.
Nevertheless, I liked the art of telling the stories through different characters' perspectives, especially the switch from third to first person narration and the way Eleanor's chapters in particular were styled. There was some witty, observational humour in it, but all in all, it was closer to glamorising being an artist with depression than I'd have liked it to be.
It was nice, it had some quotable parts, and the characters themselves were all nuanced and developed enough to make it a good book. Unfortunately, it just wasn't 100% my cup of tea right now.
Trigger warnings for the book: self harm, drug abuse
Cleo and Frank fall in love quickly and passionately. It doesn't matter that he's 20 years her senior, or that most everyone around them thinks it's purely a green card marriage. They're determined to make it through — until cracks appear in their seemingly perfect life.
I was conflicted about this. For the first half, I could relate strongly to someone on TikTok calling it "a book that wants to be pretentious but just isn't quite there yet", and a goodreads review saying it "got better towards the end because it was ending". I only really powered through because there were some characters I liked enough to and, honestly, because I didn't have anything else to do. And looking back, I'm glad I did continue with it.
I get people comparing it to Sally Rooney's work. It certainly involves much of the same complicated, completely dysfunctional relationships that Sally Rooney likes to write about. The happenings are a bit reminiscent of Conversations With Friends in that way but unfortunately didn't move me in the way that I liked about Rooney's work.
Nevertheless, I liked the art of telling the stories through different characters' perspectives, especially the switch from third to first person narration and the way Eleanor's chapters in particular were styled. There was some witty, observational humour in it, but all in all, it was closer to glamorising being an artist with depression than I'd have liked it to be.
It was nice, it had some quotable parts, and the characters themselves were all nuanced and developed enough to make it a good book. Unfortunately, it just wasn't 100% my cup of tea right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Self harm, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Cleopatra, the original undoer of men.” “Frankenstein sounds about right. Creator of monsters.”
When the darkest part of you meets the darkest part of me, it creates light.
Why did she feel the need to make everyone, even this waiter, like her? What a thing it must be to be indifferent to indifference.
Everything she had ever wanted to hear from a man was hers from the mouth of a girl.
If you prefer one outcome over another in life, you will likely be disappointed. I prefer nothing and am always surprised.
Sweetheart, love is humiliating. Hasn’t anyone told you that? Do you know the word humiliate comes from the Latin root humus, which means ‘earth’? That’s how love is supposed to feel. Like earth. It grounds you. All this nonsense about love being a drug, making you feel high, that’s not real. It should hold you like the earth.
This was gut wrenchingly sad. Would it be cliche if I said this is All Too Well (10 Minute Version) meets I miss you, I’m sorry by Gracie Abrams in the form of a novel?
I almost dnf’d this at first because I was worried the characters would be insufferable for 300+ pages, but as I kept reading, I realized these are some of the most flawed and realistic characters I’ve ever read. I constantly felt like I’d made up my mind about characters, and then I’d read something that would change my whole perspective. It serves as a reminder that everyone is struggling with something that you probably wouldn’t guess upon first glance. I think this is a statement on how much messed up family dynamics hurt and shape us in adulthood. It’s also about being angry, lonely, depressed, and confused and not knowing what to do about it. On a more positive note, it’s also about love, home, community, sisterhood, healing, empathy, intimacy, forgiveness, and what stillness can mean when you’ve only ever known chaos. I especially appreciated the points made about vulnerability and how sometimes it’s rewarded but not always.
As an aside, Eleanor and her mother are some of my favorite characters I’ve ever read. Funny girl representation!
I can see the Sally Rooney comparisons but I wouldn’t say they’re overtly similar in terms of writing style or characterization.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
emotional
funny
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug abuse
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent