Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

39 reviews

hbraz's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I hate men - and the narrator. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Self harm, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

kelleykamanda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a painful read. It follows a character in an abusive relationship. The needing, longing, self destructive feelings are some that many people could relate to. The character finds herself watching what she's doing from outside her body, wondering why she is accepting this horrible pain... and then convinces herself that she must accept this "love" as it is all she is worth. I especially connected to the character's constant need for validation, especially from those who are hurting her the most. 

All in all, an exceptional read. Painful and sad, but truly brilliant. Put into words the experiences that many of us sadly go through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Grief, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Rape

bersblue's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Violence, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, and Mental illness

stellabyproxy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Mediating your own victimhood is just part of being a woman. Using it or denying it, hating it or loving it, and all of these at once. Being a victim is boring for everyone involved.”

acts of desperation follows a nameless narrator as she falls in obsession with a man named ciaran. we follow her recollection of the fast-paced romance, toxic codependency, abusive control and abrupt ending(s). 

nolan’s writing reads like a frantic train of thought, a private journal, as we take a look at desire, impulsivity, promiscuity, abuse, sexual assault and self-destruction in women (basically, a long list of trigger and content warnings). the complexities of the lenses through which the actions of the protagonist are viewed allows for an unsettling look into the female psyche. nolan has a strong character voice that fully immerses the reader into the storyline, with her choice of an unnamed narrator, written in first person, creating a thin barrier between the story and the readers’ experience. there is much beauty to be found in her commentary on topics of ageism, love, lust, infidelity, mental health and power, making for lots of delicately devastating quotes. 

acts of desperation is perfectly poetic, a beautifully intrusive descent into madness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity

Moderate: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, and Sexism

Minor: Addiction, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, and Death

jodiecorcoran's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Rape, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Eating disorder

susannaobrien's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Oof, this book packs a punch. It's gripping yet hard to read. Many observations on love, friendship, and self-worth are incredibly intelligently described in ways I've never seen before, and lots is relatable as a twenty-something woman dating men in a city. The conversation around sex and consent was interesting and definitely an uncommon perspective in literature. A few scenes broke my heart. All the characters are flawed, and towards the end the book meditates on how you can portray your side of the story even when you've done wrong. Cool framing device to leave the protagonist unnamed.

In some places it feels a little self-indulgent and academic, which makes it feel less realistic, and hard to believe that a twenty-three year old would have that self-awareness. I also don't like that this is billed as a book on female desire because while much can be relatable to female readers, I think generalising too much from this protagonist's perspective could feed into harmful stereotypes.

Overall an impressive read that left me with some mixed emotions!

Major content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Rape, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide and Addiction

skyealexandra's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

one of those books that i absolutely adored but never want to reread 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Drug use, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

poppyisabelle's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i wish i didn’t find parts of this so relatable 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use and Eating disorder

roemfr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexism

yasminnobre's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"In these moments I knew that if I could be smaller, smaller, less and less, if I could be tidied, then he would love me fully and properly; and that anybody - oh, everybody - would."

this book has a raw and at times uncomfortable portrayal of obsession and codependency. the unnamed main character reduces herself, her memories, feelings, and needs in order to please a man, and to become as inconvenient and small as she can be, in the hopes that it will make her lovable.

i went into this expecting it to be a book that had a scary portrayal of obsession, but finished it feeling more understood than ever (don't get me wrong, not the obsessive part :D i'm not crazy) because this author has a way of putting very uncomfortable and unique situations women go through in words and ways that i would've never thought possible. the universal experience of being a woman and trying to fit into molds people impose on you, with the promise of love and acceptance for doing so... sexual-trauma, toxic upbringings, problems with self-image and food, self-loathing and emotional abuse... i think every woman i know is familiar with at least one of these things, and this book makes your feelings very seen and heard.

not only the portrayal of a toxic relationship, with its high and lows, manipulation, and gaslighting, was done perfectly, but also the internal dialogue of going through a situation like that. this author puts into words feelings we all feel but are ashamed of admitting so, and it shocked me how relieving it was to know i was not alone in such thoughts. you understand the main character, not because you're going through that situation, but because the writing of her internal conflicts is so so so well-done that you almost wish you could help her. it is less about obsession than it is about codependency and feeling like you can't survive if you're alone.

i debated whether to give this five stars, but ultimately decided not to. it is not a plot-driven book, and the pace is quite slow, but it was incredibly relatable. i ultimately felt like it was missing something, though the ending was very very nice and comforting. i loved this book so much, and i think it's one of my favorites now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Stalking, Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicidal thoughts