Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Curated by Nellie Wilson

1 review

roget's review

slow-paced

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

2.75

Such a cute premise with some adorable moments, but Emmy (despite raising some valid points about mistreatment of women and humanities scholars in the academy) never really confronts her tendency to jump to the worst possible take on the other person as aggressively as possible. 

Anxiety is an explanation (as are some of the cultural/social trends that squash women’s agency and contributions), but mental health issues don’t excuse mistreating others who have demonstrated a proactive habit of caring and acting in a relatively healthy manner in the relationship. It also drove me up the wall when she mentioned him not fighting for her when she’d laid out a CLEAR boundary in the breakup for him to not do that. We never see her really learn or grow in that struggle. Yet Ryan’s holding almost all the responsibility for the breakup, even though she dumped him, didn’t let him get a word in, and set a boundary that their relationship would be strictly professional.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Mental illness

Emmy is probably not ready for a serious relationship until she can learn to talk things through when triggered by loss of control. In some places, her behavior borders on emotional abuse. It’s not intentional, but it’s still not okay, and the book does not seem aware of that.