Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Cleópatra e Frankenstein

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Cleópatra e Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

950 reviews

jaderbugz's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

bella_pass's review against another edition

3.5

challenging emotional funny sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

littlestbookworm's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective 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

Content Warnings

secondstar_red's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional reflective 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

A great character study about the complicated people in a messy friend group and their relationships with each other. There was a bit too much graphic smut for my personal preference, if that wasn’t included I would have rated it a bit higher.

Content Warnings

jennashimek's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Content Warnings

chelseakdaley's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

peachie_pie's review against another edition

4.0

dark funny hopeful 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 liked this! Didn’t know where it was going to go but I rly liked the ending!

Content Warnings

chrstnlvly's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Let me start by saying—Cleopatra and Frankenstein is one of those books that feels like you're floating in a hazy dream the whole time you're reading it. The writing? Stunning. Descriptive, moody, and often painfully beautiful. It definitely earns its spot on the “sad girl literary fiction” shelf.

The novel follows Cleo, a young British artist, and Frank, an older American ad man, who impulsively marry after a whirlwind romance in New York. What follows is an intimate, messy, and often bleak exploration of their relationship—and the web of people around them—as they each try to find themselves (or lose themselves) in love, ambition, addiction, and identity.

Now, my feelings about this book are... complicated. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. It’s very character-driven, which I usually enjoy, and Mellors really knows how to write interiority. There were moments—especially during Cleo’s depressive episodes—that hit way too close to home. But what kept me from fully loving it was the lack of character growth. These people felt real, but also kind of stuck in their own cycles, like they never really learned or changed.

If you're looking for something plot-heavy, this might not be for you. But if you’re into messy, melancholic stories with poetic writing and emotionally distant characters spiraling through life, this might just scratch that itch. It didn’t become a favorite for me, but I can totally see why it resonates with a lot of readers.

Content Warnings