Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Cleópatra e Frankenstein

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Cleópatra e Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

292 reviews

fairyko's review against another edition

2.25

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

Often I have walked past this book in the bookstore and thought about buying it. At the request of a friend, I did, because she said she would need someone at the end to exchange her thoughts about it and quickly it became clear to me why she said that. Right at the beginning a big warning. Please read the trigger warnings on the internet if you plan to buy this book. I did not know that certain topics are discussed so intensively and I claim to be able to handle a lot well - but here even I felt sick to my stomach now and then. A content warning at the beginning of the book would have been good in my opinion. Now about the content. I did not like the characters. Except for Santiago, I found every single person introduced annoying, boring, tiring, or just plain mean. Or all at once. The relationship between Cleo and Frank was doomed to fail from the start and you practically watch the two of them gradually destroy themselves and each other. Other characters (especially Quentin) leave too much room for interpretation and are there, but ultimately do not contribute to the development of the plot. They are all tragic in their own way, but only superficially so. Each character has their own story, their own trauma, and their own fate, but each character would need their own book to properly deal with all of this and not just skim over it. Coco Mellors does a poor job of addressing the problems of each individual and illuminating them in a light that does them justice. The wounds of each character are opened, but then not treated with the necessary sensitivity. At best, a small plaster is put on the metaphorical stab wound, but the reader does not get more. It was a very frustrating experience and from halfway through I prayed on every third page for a quick end to my reading experience. The novel presents itself as a shimmering, profound love story between a successful middle-aged man and a nearly childlike artist, but brings the reader nothing but pain. Not even because the story is so tragic, but because it just drags on. What one must credit Coco Mellors with is that she achieves her goal. People talk about her book, it stays in the mind for a long time and one thinks a lot about it, as each of these characters leaves a strange feeling in the stomach. Her writing style is also very appealing and especially graphic. She has certainly mastered "show, don't tell" as few others have. If she now also creates a story that does not claim to be something it is not, I can certainly imagine reading something from her again.

Content Warnings

siriface's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Content Warnings

annemarijequartel's review against another edition

2.75

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It read away very easy, but the characters and their relationships lacked depth. Too many character POV’s with too little description of how they became the way they are.

Content Warnings

catherinerowland's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional 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

Content Warnings

geo_sep's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

I'm so glad I stepped outside my confort zone and listened to this. The writing was beautiful and the characters were so deep and real. I would happily read this again, even if it was an emotional rollercoaster.

Content Warnings

anh_read's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

While the novel centers around the relationship/marriage between Cleo and Frank, it also depicts its impact on their surroundings. As the novel follows a different character in each chapter, the reader gets a more in-depth look into their relationship

Therefore, the reader gets a better understanding why things didn’t work out between Cleo and Frank.

As I am not a big fan of romance novels, I am relieved that this novel didn’t turn out to be a typical and cheesy love story. Moreover, if you like Sex and the city, it definitely catches the vibe - just in a darker manner.

Content Warnings

moonlitmercutio's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 13%

I was pushing my way through the audiobook. Wonderful narration but I can not stand the story, writing, characters, etc. Just used it as white noise while going about my day without an issue until the story strayed from Cleo and Frank (yknow, the titular characters) and started focusing on the stereotypical gay guy who apparently only cares about fashion and sex. Could ignore the downright terrible depiction of gay men until the author decides to throw in an unnecessary "orgy" scene? Couldn't get through two minutes of it. Corny writing. Bad characters. Offensive. Cannot imagine myself ever enjoying this book, in audio or physical format.

Content Warnings

theraindiary's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

Content Warnings

crawforl's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

Content Warnings

junenez's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark emotional medium-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

Interesting. Cleo and frank are two messed up people with messed up friends. These were some wild people! Drugs,sex, etc. I was pretty much annoyed at how messed up all the characters were. I was hoping they would all figure it out but that's not what happened. Different from what I usually read and I enjoyed the storyline for the most part. Can't say I liked any of the people in this book!

Content Warnings

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