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briana513's review against another edition
Book was kind of depressing and characters were a bit complicated to follow via audiobook
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, and Child abuse
telepathyjmin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
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
3.5
Very difficult read to get through. As someone who's dealt with an alcoholic mother, this hit very close to home with me.
Absolutely love the author's writing style. While Sonya's manic episodes throughout the book can get a bit overwhelming, the way they were written was done very well.
Writing a book from the perspective of an extremely flawed character is always gonna be challenging, and for the most part I think it was done well here.
Personally, I didn't enjoy the ending. The pacing was so fast leading up to it, and it felt very underwhelming. I wish we would've gotten to see a conversation between Sonya and her dad about what really happened to Sonya's mom, as we are just left to guess.
Absolutely love the author's writing style. While Sonya's manic episodes throughout the book can get a bit overwhelming, the way they were written was done very well.
Writing a book from the perspective of an extremely flawed character is always gonna be challenging, and for the most part I think it was done well here.
Personally, I didn't enjoy the ending. The pacing was so fast leading up to it, and it felt very underwhelming. I wish we would've gotten to see a conversation between Sonya and her dad about what really happened to Sonya's mom, as we are just left to guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism
Moderate: Death of parent and Cancer
carley_vial24's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Rape
secre's review
challenging
dark
sad
slow-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
2.5
Bright Burning Things is a bit of a weird one. It's the tale of a mother deep in alcoholism, struggling to care for her young son and dog even as the genie in the bottle keeps drawing her back. It starts with a stream of consciousness that I found jarring and difficult to read; it was clearly a deliberate narrative device to show the unsteadiness of Sonya's thoughts but it was rather off-putting. Thankfully, the writing became more fluid as the narrative progressed and Sonya is forced to face up to her demons.
There's a lot to like here; the character of the alcoholic and the struggle to beat her demons were very true to life. I appreciated that Sonya is a deeply flawed character and her flaws actively hurt those around her, including her young son who is dependant on her and yet is often forced to counter her moods. Sonya's battles with her cravings and her fight to get her son back were well done as well.
Where I struggled more was with the character development of the 'lesser' characters. Many of them seemed two dimensional to an extreme; David for example, goes from being a knight in shining armour to being a creepy and manipulative presence in Sonya's life. It was a sudden and stark shift. one that brought tension to the novel but didn't seem completely real. Likewise, the conflict resolution was handled too deftly, too easily, with none of the drawn out and messy chaos that would have occurred in real life.
So this is an interesting novel and one that may be worth reading if you are a fan of reading novels focused on mental health and addition. But it's not as powerful as Shuggie Bain and it's both chaotic and simple at the wrong times. The writing style took a long time to 'click' for me and I found myself reading out of obligation rather than enjoyment.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my review copy of this title.
There's a lot to like here; the character of the alcoholic and the struggle to beat her demons were very true to life. I appreciated that Sonya is a deeply flawed character and her flaws actively hurt those around her, including her young son who is dependant on her and yet is often forced to counter her moods. Sonya's battles with her cravings and her fight to get her son back were well done as well.
Where I struggled more was with the character development of the 'lesser' characters. Many of them seemed two dimensional to an extreme; David for example, goes from being a knight in shining armour to being a creepy and manipulative presence in Sonya's life. It was a sudden and stark shift. one that brought tension to the novel but didn't seem completely real. Likewise, the conflict resolution was handled too deftly, too easily, with none of the drawn out and messy chaos that would have occurred in real life.
So this is an interesting novel and one that may be worth reading if you are a fan of reading novels focused on mental health and addition. But it's not as powerful as Shuggie Bain and it's both chaotic and simple at the wrong times. The writing style took a long time to 'click' for me and I found myself reading out of obligation rather than enjoyment.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my review copy of this title.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Moderate: Mental illness
krys_kilz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
3.75
This is a very character driven story. I liked how Sonya's character was fleshed out and how the reader is able to see inside what she's thinking. The subtleties of Sonya as a potentially unreliable narrator and simultaneously as a woman whose instincts are constantly denied and belittled created thought provoking tension around how responses to mental illness and addiction are gendered.
The ending was a bit abrupt, but I was really glad to see Sonya sticking up for herself and her son.
The ending was a bit abrupt, but I was really glad to see Sonya sticking up for herself and her son.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Fatphobia, Animal cruelty, Cancer, and Death of parent
booksaremyfavthing's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism
Minor: Cancer and Child abuse
readwithsabs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.75
I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook.It is well written with impact and beautiful descriptions and as a result stirred emotions in me. It is a brilliantly compelling with insight into alcohol, addiction and motherhood which can be challenging at times, throw in the battles of addiction and this is the effect of this powerful novel.
I particularly enjiyed the fact that the author Lisa Harding narrates the book herself. It was an absolutely wonderful monologue. Well it felt like a monologue to me! It's very vivid and descriptive and that's one of the qualities of the audio in my opinion. I loved it.
Also, i just want to say that I will argue till I'm blue in the face that it is nothing like Shuggie Bain. I've seen lots of comparisons between the two books but for me they are two very different books the only similarity is the fact that they deal with the theme of alcohol addiction and motherhood.
My only hang up is that its a 5 star book and I would always recommend it but I wouldn't nessasarily rush to reread it if that makes sense? Not sure why.
It's a story that will stay with you.
And it did have an abrupt ending, which I didn't mind at all and was totally OK that it wasn't perfectly concluded, I mean how could it be when dealing with addiction and motherhood? It's always going to be a bumpy road.
Bravo Lisa Harding. You have written and narrated an exceptional book. Thank you.
I particularly enjiyed the fact that the author Lisa Harding narrates the book herself. It was an absolutely wonderful monologue. Well it felt like a monologue to me! It's very vivid and descriptive and that's one of the qualities of the audio in my opinion. I loved it.
Also, i just want to say that I will argue till I'm blue in the face that it is nothing like Shuggie Bain. I've seen lots of comparisons between the two books but for me they are two very different books the only similarity is the fact that they deal with the theme of alcohol addiction and motherhood.
My only hang up is that its a 5 star book and I would always recommend it but I wouldn't nessasarily rush to reread it if that makes sense? Not sure why.
It's a story that will stay with you.
And it did have an abrupt ending, which I didn't mind at all and was totally OK that it wasn't perfectly concluded, I mean how could it be when dealing with addiction and motherhood? It's always going to be a bumpy road.
Bravo Lisa Harding. You have written and narrated an exceptional book. Thank you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism
bookbunny's review
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism
alyhutchss's review
dark
emotional
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
4.5
Powerful. This book is about navigating addiction and single motherhood. Sonya was once a famous actress, however after becoming a mother her life took a turn. She fell into a battle with alcoholism.
Each and every page was raw, chaotic, and pulled at my heart. I was emotional at every step of Sonya and her four year olds story. Tommy is a sweet and unique child who Sonya undoubtedly loves. She has a uniqueness that she brings to motherhood, however the addiction stands her in the way.
The writing of this book was really what brought it to life. Each chapter was short and easy to breeze through. The author brings a chaotic energy to Sonya’s narration which emulates what she is going through.
I felt like there was something missing to the ending as the story ended abruptly. There were some pieces of their story I felt were left hanging, however this could be intentional on the author's part.
I rounded this up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ on goodreads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Stalking, Violence, Cancer, and Alcoholism