Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Acts of Desperation

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

161 reviews

nataliebeech's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I have so much to say about this book I don’t know how to write a comprehensive review of it… it’s so brilliant, honest and the writing gets better as the book goes on. It’s such a thorough examination of the darkness of many women’s experience of their own sexuality and how their identity is shaped by it, through internalised misogyny and infantilisation. I can’t believe it’s her debut and cannot wait to read what she writes in the future.

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yasminnobre's review against another edition

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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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clairemariarose's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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phoebebebe's review

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found it a little bit boring, from the first person perspective, guess i’m not a character driven type of reader. and i really understand the topics and issues she brings up and i appreciate that but i just can’t relate that much. like a person really can be in a toxic relationship and not realising it thing, maybe it can but not for me. i feel everyone has a responsibility to educate themselves about these things and we just can’t always say what happened during our childhood and parenting, because when we’re all grown up it’s our responsibility to make our lives better. just a personal opinion

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