Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

147 reviews

candournat's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Self harm, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Eating disorder

addimop's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful 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

4.5

beautiful depictions of womanhood (in the same vein of breasts and eggs for me) made me very introspective and sad at how hard it is untangle yourself from men as a woman

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Alcoholism

redflyingbook's review against another edition

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this surely was a quick read!

the narrator is a woman in her twenties, who meets a guy who she becomes immediately infatuated, and quickly downright obsessed with. here begins a - in the eyes of probably any clear thinking bystander - highly toxic relationship that mainly made me want to spit the guy right in his face for the excessively shitty behavior towards her. along the way, the book also explores the narrator's struggles with alcoholism, dependence, identity, body image, lust and love. 

some trains of thought felt wildly familiar and definitely expressed complex feelings very boldly and clearly. 
although the focus was probably also supposed to be more on the relationship dynamic , somehow i felt that the characters still lacked substance in some way? the ending part also felt unexpectedly extreme and not entirely well-paced in my opinion. still an interesting read that urges you ponder about uncomfortable but important topics.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Terminal illness and Dysphoria

read_by_gee's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

nzmerchant's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-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

4.5

This book read like a journal entry of every single unhinged and difficult truth I have had. They way Nolan put so many feelings I have experienced into words - wow, this was such a cathartic read. I truly feel for the MC. For her self awareness and blatant honesty at all her flaws. Ciaran is a red flag but so is our dear MC. 

Unfortunately, the ending made me a little bit uneasy and took me by surprise because there was a time jump where I’m guessing a lot of plot development would have happened. So it was not as satisfying but I’m still blown away but how raw this book was on the whole. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body shaming, Self harm, and Eating disorder

Minor: Drug use, Alcoholism, and Infidelity

brianareads's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Fatphobia, Self harm, Alcoholism, and Eating disorder

interpersonalbs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Self harm, Eating disorder, and Alcoholism

lindsaybennett's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

Really well written book, i found it very poetic. Pretty dark, definitely check out the trigger warnings before reading. I liked the style of writing and the nuggets if profound wisdom throughout the book. It almost felt like i was reading a real person's journal, not a fictional novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

letwi100's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Alcoholism

ti_vraga's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

 

A poetic read steeped in self-loathing and the desire for the right kind of love.

This novel was almost hard to read. Not because it was bad- it was great. But because I was able to identify with so many aspects of the self-centered, unnamed main character. It wasn’t a pleasant realization. It felt raw, the way a healing scrape seems to always brush up against things, getting re-opened again and again. 

Megan Nolan navigates the character’s identity-lessness in a way that brought to the surface thoughts and emotions I’d thought long buried. As a woman in her early 30’s, my identity isn’t as ephemeral as it was when I was the age of the narrator, somewhere in her mid-20s. But I quickly remembered how it felt to be unattached, shapeless, to be willing to fit into whatever mold you needed to in order to make someone love you. 

My favorite line of the book is “...I was in love and so I was insane…” I’d like to think such a line is a universal truth to some degree. I have certainly felt that way in the throes of love’s infancy. The obsession of it. The inability to do much else but think of the object of your heart’s desire. To feel useless if you’re not of use.

Read this book for its potency. For its blunt honesty. For its insanity.

Content warning: r*pe

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence