Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Acts of Desperation

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Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

161 reviews

augustpeach_'s review

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challenging dark reflective 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

3.75

I enjoyed the frantic, anxious and the flawed aspects from the main female character, mixed with the obvious dose of delusion, panic and the self-awareness toward the self-destruction. Accurately portrays love addiction, anxious/avoidant personalities and attachment styles.

If you're a fan of complicated characters with unresolved aspects from their lives, 'stream of consciousness-style' writing with short, disjointed thoughts discussed as chapters (glimpses of conversations, scattered/faded memories brought back into light in a self-reflective way, etc.)

I purchased this book and plan on keeping it, due to the writing style alone. As a fan of complicated characters, I feel like there's a second read in my future for this novel.

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h_gordon's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

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jaiari12's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

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v7738v773's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

2.0

I thought I’d like this book more than I did. The brutal honesty und accuracy with which the author describes the protagonist’s emotions and behaviors were intriguing, but I just didn’t feel good reading this book. It was hard to get into at first and the last third just made me feel dragged down. I didn’t really want to continue reading but did so for the sake of finishing the book. Maybe more fitting for someone else, as I just didn’t feel connected to the main character, especially towards the end. I found it too dark and just couldn’t relate to the overall mindset. Reading this book felt like a toxic and abusive experience with an ending that was neither conclusive nor developed enough for me. Wouldn’t read again and wouldn’t really recommend to a friend.

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erinbarton's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

possibly would enjoy this more if i hadn’t already read the lesser bohemians, conversations with friends, insatiable, luster, and cleopatra and frankenstein - all of which explore a young, depressed girl beginning an extremely toxic relationship with an older man.

this is possibly my fault for reading even when i knew the premise wasn’t especially unique, but i’ll be honest the instagram hype just got to me and had to see for myself. if you’re someone who absolutely loves the books i listed above and have no problem reading multiple literary fiction books exploring the power dynamics in unbalanced relationships then you would most likely really enjoy this — good prose, solid characterisation, realistic dialogue, themes of mental health/substance abuse — however if you weren’t especially crazy about the previous books (as i wasn’t except for the lesser bohemians which i loved) then probably give this a miss.

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