Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Cleópatra e Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

509 reviews

lindsayerin's review against another edition

3.25

dark emotional tense 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: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt

cynfael's review against another edition

2.75

dark emotional sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship

lizby's review against another edition

2.0

dark 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

---

this book took me forever to read and by the 2 nd half i plowed through mostly bc i wanted it to be over. idk why i just couldn’t connect with any of the characters and just wanted to know the ending. unsatisfying

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content

alicceau's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional 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

---

A reflective account of all stages of a relationship, and how each one triggers the formations of others. 

I found the first half of this quite slow and difficult to relate to the characters. The majority of them would make impulsive and detrimental decisions. As they learnt through these mistakes, I found the pace a little quicker and easier to read through. 

The turning point that kept me going with this book was the introduction of Eleanor and Santiago. I felt the constant narration for Cleo and Frank just led me feeling no further in the narrative as I had for a previous chapter. Eleanor and Santiago had this drive, this light, to the pages that made me realise that these fractured characters had some chance at redemption. The novel as a whole felt like a sullied mix of greys, blues and greens showcasing the grief and worrying spills of a failing marriage. Characters like Eleanor and Santiago were imperative catalysts to the novel that cut through these murky tones. I would've given up reading if they hadn't been added to the story.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol

sofiiiik's review against another edition

0.25

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

I hate this book till I die

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol

oceanwriter's review against another edition

1.0

dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

If I hadn't had this on my 'must-read in 2025' list that was glued into my reading journal, this would have been a DNF. I regret my compulsion to be a completionist. I feel ashamed for having even skimmed it; it was such an affront to my usual reading taste and content preference. I found some parts to be gratuitously graphic, empty, offensive, and even bigoted. I'm usually all for a darker premise with flawed characters, but these characters felt hollow with no redeeming qualities. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Antisemitism, Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide

robynl_0712's review against another edition

3.25

dark emotional reflective sad 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: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Violence

rileyguts's review against another edition

2.0

dark sad slow-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse

izzy_reads_books's review against another edition

4.5

dark funny inspiring 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

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Sexual content

madderhatter5304's review against another edition

5.0

emotional

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Oh my Lord I love this book! The different characters that had a smaller role but still intertwined really well with the main characters/plot were really great! Everyone was f*cked up, but you still could love them through their problems.

I really loved Frank, he was kind and gentle, and an asshole sometimes (because of his addiction), it made him such a well-rounded character, I think. Cleo was an interesting one, because she wasn't necessarily loveable but I wanted her to be better, I wanted well for her. She just needed some mental help, which I'm very happy she got in the end.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal death