Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Cleopatra and Frankenstein

How many times can a book try to shock you by mentioning masturbation? This book falls into the messy woman trope - you've read one, you've read them all.

Content Warnings

rmakenzie's review against another edition

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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 genuinely can’t tell if I enjoyed this book, but I’m leaning towards no. It randomly had really beautiful prose at times, but the rest of the time I was gritting my teeth and forcing myself to finish it. It’s almost like it was written like a movie. Too fast. Too much jumping through time. This book has almost no plot, so it should be character driven, but I felt like most of the characters were so….hollow. When you finally learned something about a character, or there was a breakthrough, the chapter would end, two months would pass, and suddenly you’re reading from someone else’s point of view.

I wish this book gave us more of Zoe. She was a funny, insufferable, not entirely likable character.

I hated the way Cleo was described throughout this book. We GET IT. She’s young! Blonde! Small! English! Angelic! Intense! If I have to read one more sentence about how innocent and cherubic and childlike she looks I’ll scream.

I liked Eleanor alot. She was clever and raw. When the book was in Eleanor’s point of view I actually enjoyed the prose.

In summation, good for them I guess.

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lunaschu's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Mooi boek en ook wel goed geschreven, maar ook erg deprimerend en ik droomde alleen nog maar over vreemdgaan.

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rayinbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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mishshell's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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hannalizzy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

If the song “I’m wearing his boxers/I cry in his bathroom, he turns off the big light” song “Complex” by Katie Gregson-MacLeod from tiktok was a book, this would be it. Or “You’re On Your Own, Kid” by Taylor Swift from Midnights. Or “Moon Song” by Phoebe Bridgers. Take your pick. If any of those songs break you, this book will finish the job 😭❤️‍🩹

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a literary fiction masterpiece and in-depth character study. It’s the type of book that readers need to put some work into — you learn about the characters passively, by connecting the dots between their dialogue and their actions/behaviors. It’s a book worth annotating because so much is said between the lines.

Throughout the book you go from loving Cleo and Frank to hating them both, individually and as a couple. They’re messy, flawed, toxic people who bring out the worst in each other, and yet: “when the darkest part of you meets the darkest part of me, it creates light.”

It’s as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. It’s raw, it’s messy, it’s human. 5/5 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Definitely adult content w/ triggering subjects. Check for content warnings ❤️‍🩹

Content Warnings

peachyprarthna's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

this is the book of 2022. i loved it. devoured it in two days, and i'm already rereading it. i absolutely love Cleo, every time a character describes her, it's like hearing about a long lost friend. Frank is such a lovely man, even with parts that were difficult to deal with, he has been the most consistent and considerate character throughout -- which is saying something since he works in advertising where everyone is pretty fake. Eleanor was such a complex character. Her chapters were so interesting, I love that we can never tell what her next move will be. Zoe is my perfect angel. I didn't particularly enjoy Quentin, Anders, or the characters adjacent to them like Alex, or Anders' son; but I still appreciate knowing them. Santiago is especially precious to me, I wish we spent more time with him. Every character is so deeply flawed, and the book carries a tone of melancholy through out. I love, cherish, adore this novel.

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brc29's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

4.75

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