Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Tampa by Alissa Nutting

66 reviews

brittanyclary's review

dark fast-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

2.0

wtf was this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

majca's review against another edition

dark fast-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

2.5

It feels wrong to say it here, but this was a disappointment. What I was expecting was a disturbing story of a twisted, complicated mind and a nuanced examination of pedophilia explored through the perspective of a woman and society's view on it. 

What I got was some nasty descriptive imagery that bordered on ridiculous. Once the novelty of that wore off a shocking amount of boredom followed. Cause the main character is entirely one dimensional, having a single minded purpose of foking teen boys. That doesn't make for a very compelling read at all if the book has nothing else going on. Cause the side characters as well failed to elicit an emotional response in me, and the language too was unremarkable. 

There were hints there that could have made for a compelling social commentary, but those weren't explored beyond a few brief sentences. 

You are foul to me and I just wallpapered my cervix with the name of a teenage boy.

Okay, I guess...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

amswimmy's review

challenging dark sad tense 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

3.0

fucked !!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

stanleykaty's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Gaslighting

amberlynnnnn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Stalking

riahisreading's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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

This book is so messed up. I hated reading it, it made me really uncomfortable! But that is the point of it so kudos to the author for finding a way to make me both like and hate a book at the same time! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-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

5.0

Wow, that was truly disgusting.

Tampa does a great job showing the realities of female predators, and how their gender and looks can make them go about their ways completely unseen, and once they’re caught, getting lighter punishments purely because they’re women. This was horrific and hard to read, but I also think really important. 

The writing was impeccable, and the portrayal of an unreliable narrator was done really well. 

Please check trigger warnings before reading because this is very dark and explicit 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

xdawnsii's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

2.0

I honestly don't know how to rate a book like this.

I read this book in one sitting, mostly because I didn’t want to have to pick it up again. This book makes you feel absolutely awful while reading it. It is disgusting and tragic. I can’t recommend this book, because it is such a challenging read.

The end of this book is infuriating. You spend 200+ pages reading the main characters deranged and demented thoughts, holding your breath and continuing to read this book solely for the satisfaction of Celeste Price ending up in prison. This book is a painful commentary about how male victims & female offenders are not taken seriously, and I think that is a very important message. I don't think I needed to read this book to understand that point, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Death of parent

lexkazokas's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent

evdark's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-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

3.5

The writing was gripping, and the reason the book was written was important, but the author absolutely failed to deliver the message she set out to achieve. It is based on a true story of a teacher that had sex with her 14-year-old pupil in 2005. Nutting wants to make a point that young men are never seen as victims of sexual assault, and it is too easy to forgive the woman in the situation. Which is exactly how I felt after reading the book. Having just read Lolita, the standard might be set a little high. Psychologically, I can tell this author wanted to be provocative and maybe even erotic but did not truly understand the mindset she was trying to convey in the female pedophile and ended up taking a very male stance to this. Stalking. Obsession with semen. Souvenirs and pornography. It didn't feel authentic to a female pedaphile and this author was just winging it. It was well-written but poorly crafted, and it made me feel icky after reading it even though I have no problem with any of the graphic sex, I had a problem with almost everything else. It did the worst thing a book can do. It wasted my time. The ending was downright awful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail