Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

69 reviews

anadorablegal's review

dark inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Alcohol

gabriellegoldenhour's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

2.75

I recently found out that a new favorite genre of mine is “delulu females”, I thought this would be another but really it just gave me haunting reflections of my past. Not everything was the same, obviously, but feelings and scenarios of my youth in similar situations mirrored this unnamed narrator. I feel like when I started really liking the book it fell off and just stayed flat for me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

ninahuynh's review

Desperately tried to find the will to continue on; no longer spark any joy from this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

ola_oreiba's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

0.5

I should’ve know from the name but I could never imagine for the life of me that someone could be so desperate. It was so jarring to read and I’ve never been this verbally furious at a protagonist before.

Reading Acts of Desperation felt like someone with ADHD that has to sit though someone telling them a bad story ever so slowly, it triggers all their senses and turns into pure rage. 

At times, I really wanted to sympathize with her and there were a couple of paragraphs and moments/thoughts towards the end that I vaguely agreed with but it couldn’t justify the prolonged and continued suffering for nothing. 

It annoyed me how the story was chaotic but predictable at the same time although I cannot fault the writing stylistically. It’s just the whole idea of the book is just pushing how desperate someone can be and how deep into desperation they can go and I think in that sense Megan Nolan is a completionist. Nobody can be more desperate.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

frostedpetals's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Drug use and Eating disorder

Minor: Vomit

nreyno's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

chiara_ophelia's review

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use

kmartro's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Written like a collection of essays dedicated to every (heterosexual) woman's worst experience with love & sex.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming

lizzardbreath's review

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

4.25

The ending of the novel was one that left me with mixed feelings. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because it’s one I feel like I need to sit in. I finished it last night and I’m still thinking about it and how it commentates on society through a feminist perspective. I would say that the main character’s monologue at the end was a message for the reader rather than one for herself. I was proud of her for finally being able to break that toxic cycles of abuse that she endured all her life, but it wasn’t in a way that made me jump for joy at her freedom. It was liberating in a very mellow sense and I think there should be more awareness on that, on how getting out of toxic/abusive relationships isn’t always a dramatic and happy ending, but rather one that feels like a fresh of breath air, knowing that there’s finally peace that in some ways, you still need to actively fight for. This is the first story I’ve read where the author did a great job in letting the reader inside the mind of someone who is currently suffering through a toxic/abusive relationship and the complicated feelings that come with it. There were times where I actually felt sympathy for her abuser even when I knew he’s the one that committed the ultimate evil. Overall, I would say this novel has a profound take on feminism, the struggles of women and their relationships with men, and the interesting psychology of a person in a toxic/abusive cycle (relationships or with themselves).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit

films4lovers's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

ciaran hater i support womens rights and wrongs!!!

the use of the first pov and language conveyed such a raw grotesque tone and i loved it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Self harm and Alcohol