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sozwozloz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Rape
jcpreads's review
- 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
3.0
I don’t know how I feel about this one. I wasn’t fully invested until over halfway through and then that dwindled out, too. The writing was beautifully done but I just didn’t quite get what the author was going for….the first half of this book was kind of boring and all over the place. Some chapters seemed to be about one thing but then started on another completely random topic.
I enjoyed seeing the in’s and out’s of the thought process of the main character and so much of this relationship reminded me of a previous relationship I was in - so it was definitely relatable. But by the end, I was waiting for it to be over and found myself lost again. The main character went through all this self-exploration and closes out the book on a positive note when just minutes earlier she was still engaging in her old toxic behaviors.
Like I said, I just don’t get it.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
peachmoni's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Fatphobia and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Sexism, Blood, Vomit, and Medical content
onion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, and Blood
Minor: Stalking
maravika's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Eating disorder and Self harm
chovereads's review
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
booksaurus98's review
- 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
4.0
Luster by Raven Leilani
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
Conversations with Friends - Sally Rooney
Normal People - Sally Rooney
Exciting Times - Naoise Dolan *
Promising Young Woman - Caroline O’ Donoghue
Insatiable - Daisy Buchanan *
Supper Club - Lara Williams
Pizza Girl - Jean Kyoung Frazier
Acts of Desperation - Megan Nolan
The authors, usually millennial women themselves, create these women characters who are, at first meeting, incredibly hard to love. Characters’ volley between hyper-awareness at the absurdity and patheticness of their lives and a complete lack of self awareness about the impact their decisions have on others. Basically, these aren’t the kind of women you want to pet sit your dog.
Moving on to why I love this ‘genre’ so much - I relate to the characters.
I don’t want to self-disclose too much, because this review isn’t about me and my own poor life choices ( it’s about the unnamed protagonist's poor life choices) , but I could definitely sympathise with a lot of the thought processes and reflections made by the protagonist. The bookmark I was using had the Ursula K. Le Guin quote on it, ‘We read books to find out who we are’ which was apt for ‘Acts of Desperation’. With every Hot Mess Millennial book I read I learn a little bit more about myself, about the parts of myself I don’t really like thinking about and acknowledging and for that I am very grateful.
In Nolan’s debut novel the young woman narrator reflects back on a relationship with an older man that ended a few years prior. Cieran is handsome and self - obsessed which frequently leads to him being cruel to her. The young woman can’t seem to leave him. She loves him. Her reliance on him being in her life leads to her little ‘acts of desperation’, cooking and cleaning and providing sex and always being agreeable. A modern woman voluntarily reduces herself to a stepford wife. Throughout the narration of the volatile relationship between these two characters, the narrator will interject with long reflections and reasoning as to why she is the way she is. We find out about her family, eating disorders, borderline addictions and previous relationships. In ‘Acts of Desperation’ Nolan creates a beautifully fleshed out character, who is so human with her vulnerabilities and limitations.
There are trigger warnings for graphic sexual abuse, self-harm, drug and alcohol use and eating disorders. This isn’t an easy read, but is a great insight into the life of an interesting character.
Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Drug use
normalreaders's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
xomackenzielynn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, and Self harm
Moderate: Eating disorder
rynicolereads's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Eating disorder