Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

69 reviews

irinalast's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Efficient writing, yet poetic storytelling.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, War, Blood, Grief, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Death

midnightbelles's review against another edition

emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

After hearing so much about this book, both positive and negative I was a little unsure what to expect when getting into it (Besides the obvious). However overall I enjoyed this more than I expected to, I didn’t love it, but I also didn’t dislike it as much as I though I would as someone who typically only reads stories with happy endings. Some/a lot of parts of this story were definitely questionable to me but I enjoyed reading about the connection Achilles and Patroclus had and also about the journey the two went through together . The beginning of the book was pretty dry and I almost dnf’d so many times but once I got about halfway through I was more invested and curious about how things would play out. I’m conflicted about how I feel about this book as whole tbh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Murder, War, Death, Gore, Grief, Child death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

axartist's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

holliesatchell's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Animal death, Child death, Death, Abandonment, Death of parent, Homophobia, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, War, and Violence

addienoah's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

This book was a slow start but once it got Achilles introduced I was captivated. And it just kept getting better and playing out every scene in my head while reading brought them to life. This was very well written and the characters were so interesting. Even after Protroclus died, he still narrated and the ending with Thetis brought me to tears. 
I finished this in a short period of time because I am a fast reader that frequently reads. But I considered this a slow read because of how long it felt. Each page you had to pay attention and digest. The language was something you also had to adjust to. In all this was a medium read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Outing, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gore, Pregnancy, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Slavery, War, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Self harm, Torture, Hate crime, and Physical abuse

pitedavid's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

Extremly good book. Even while knowing the myth, i could still get immersed within the story and feel it in my heart. I had alot of emotions and avsolutely loved the book. It is a classic greek myth involving

gods, hubris, known figures, tragedy and prophesies

while still feeling modern and fresh. I liked that you can start reading without knowing the myths or characters and still enjoy it because of the amazing and natural explainations

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, Murder, Violence, Death, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Slavery, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Homophobia, Outing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Sexism, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Self harm, Child death, Misogyny, and Classism

quixie's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Cannibalism, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Animal death, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and War

lim's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, War, Death, Slavery, Rape, Homophobia, Sexism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Grief

tdap1899's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.5

While reading I felt like I was on a rollercoaster, there were very sweet and heart lifting moments but then there were very awful and heartbreaking moments since it is based on Greek mythos I had an idea of what was going to happen which led to me being very tense and stressed throughout the read.
Would I keep? Yes.
With some brief reflection, I did really enjoy the book and it is spectacularly written with strong characters and very hard hitting twists and turns. That being said I have a kind of love hate relationship with the book as the relationships depicted in it aren't the healthiest but I also think that's what adds to such strong characters and make you feel so invested into the story. It very unapologetically stuck closely to the general cadence and themes of Greek mythos and the time period it is set in which I respect even if it made me uncomfortable at times. I don't think that makes it any less of a good book, I just think it needs approached cautiously as it can be very emotionally taxing.
I would rec to someone who is first off in a good enough place mentally to take on the emotional endeavor this book is, know you're limits and know when to take a pause. Rec to people who like greek mythology and various retellings of it like lore olympus. A book I found myself thinking of a lot when it came to this book was Romeo and Juliet it reminded me a lot of it throughout the whole book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, War, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Homophobia

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Slavery, Grief, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Animal death

brookey8888's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-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

3.0

This was fine. I just felt like a lot of parts were slow. I honestly did not feel an attachment to these characters. I think it’s because we don’t really get to know them in my opinion. Also this didn’t  really make me sad because I knew it was going to happen, but Even still I didn’t find it that sad. I just felt detached from the Characters. I did start to enjoy it more towards the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Gore, Homophobia, Transphobia, War, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment