Take a photo of a barcode or cover
challenging
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
challenging
dark
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
Beautiful prose, yet the mix of POVs occasionally felt a bit cluttered. For my first reading, Mellors’ focalisation shifts drew away from the intimacy of Cleo/Frank’s relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Self harm, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Emotional abuse
dark
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
This book really put me through it, I knew just from reading the back that these characters struggle. I felt every emotion I never knew possible, and at times I didn’t even know who I was rooting for. Both the main characters were heavily flawed, Frank with alcoholism and Cleo with depression and affairs, but you could still feel they loved each other. But sometimes love isn’t enough and i personally had a hard time letting their relationship go, because I could remember the love. The ending was ver serendipitous and i personally adore their last conversation. Eleanoar is good for Frank, and Cleo needs to work on herself. They both aknowledged the faults within their marriage and moved past it. Also, RIP Jesus, you won’t be forgotten
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
dark
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol
dark
emotional
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
This book was GREAT! I loved the language and that I got to meet multiple pov, I really like that I got to hate Frank in the beginning and in the end I started to really like that character. And the opposite with Quentin . So excited for my book club’s discussion on the future. If you want to read this book, go read it now! It’s amazing!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide, Transphobia, Abandonment
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-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
WOW wow WOW wow!
It's immediately one of my favorite books of all time, and it's hard to put into words how much I love it. I love books that are character-driven, with no plot - just vibes, and this one is just that. Coco Mellors has a way with words, and I'm just in awe that this is her debut. Will be reading everything she publishes in the future, starting with Blue Sisters!
Never have I read a book that has made me go from liking - to hating - to loving a character during one chapter, over and over again. This book was also a tad too relatable, so it has made me think A LOT about my own life. Oh well...
It's immediately one of my favorite books of all time, and it's hard to put into words how much I love it. I love books that are character-driven, with no plot - just vibes, and this one is just that. Coco Mellors has a way with words, and I'm just in awe that this is her debut. Will be reading everything she publishes in the future, starting with Blue Sisters!
Never have I read a book that has made me go from liking - to hating - to loving a character during one chapter, over and over again. This book was also a tad too relatable, so it has made me think A LOT about my own life. Oh well...
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Self harm
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
Let me start by saying I’ve developed a bit of a parasocial relationship with Coco Mellors. She’s an author AND Fashionista AND living an international lifestyle, everything I want for myself. Well, my interest in Coco is more that of research and manifestation, not parasocial, but that’s an essay for another time. I say this because I expected to have bias and to make a disclaimer for my bias, but I feel pretty unbiased when I think about all the work that should’ve been done to this book. She said it was in edits for a long time, and you can tell because it has that “I’ve been working on this forever so now I’m rushing to just get this process over with” feel. It had quite a few typos, corny lines that were so corny and frequent they were distracting, and random characters with random plot lines. However, I loved this book, and I already feel the shadow of it following me for months to come. Yes it could’ve been cleaner, but Cleopatra and Frankenstein might’ve changed me a tiny bit, and anything that’s ever changed me has always been kinda messy.
The ending… the ending!!!! The art installation? This is NOT a romance book. This is about the things that make us who we are. As someone who also deserved more love than I received as a child, this book is a reminder that having a late start does not make the race. My childhood hasn’t irredeemably damaged me. I wish I could get to know these characters even more!!! I wish Coco got to know them more as well, but she said her second book is even better and not many people can say that after a bestseller so I trust her as a storyteller. She treated so many diverse topics with such care, which is evidence of her rich and varied life.
The ending… the ending!!!! The art installation? This is NOT a romance book. This is about the things that make us who we are. As someone who also deserved more love than I received as a child, this book is a reminder that having a late start does not make the race. My childhood hasn’t irredeemably damaged me. I wish I could get to know these characters even more!!! I wish Coco got to know them more as well, but she said her second book is even better and not many people can say that after a bestseller so I trust her as a storyteller. She treated so many diverse topics with such care, which is evidence of her rich and varied life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fuck frank
love eleanor and zoe
love eleanor and zoe
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I could tell after the first chapter that this was going to be an all time favourite book of mine. So beautiful and heartbreaking and human. I fell in love with every character despite their flaws and how they’d anger me at certain points but I wanted the best for each and every one of them.
The fact that this story took 7 years to flesh out completely is evident by the amount of care taken in the way this story of told, so beautifully written. I can tell I’m going to be revisiting this book for years to come.
The fact that this story took 7 years to flesh out completely is evident by the amount of care taken in the way this story of told, so beautifully written. I can tell I’m going to be revisiting this book for years to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, Toxic friendship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Death of parent
dark
emotional
sad
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
I read it super quickly and the themes definitely touched my core wounds but I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters. I didn’t feel what they were feeling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Transphobia, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Suicide, Blood