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lasignorasgf's review against another edition
1.5
I stumbled upon this thinking it’d be something literary, or a commentary. Instead I was bungled by the excess of cigarettes and drugs. I suppose that’s LA.
And I categorically HATE Anders. I don’t think he’s been receiving enough hate in the reviews. Was I the only one to read his fantasising about Cleo🤨
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, Self harm, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence
rylie_o's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, Addiction, Grief, Infidelity, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Self harm, Dementia, and Drug abuse
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, and Animal cruelty
lngoldstein's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Mental illness, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Suicide
djenkin96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
At the end I didn't feel like Cleo actually changed or developed as a character ? But the writer emphasises she has by new artwork. All in all I did not find myself wanting to finish it, more to move on to something else.
Graphic: Violence, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Mental illness, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Abandonment, Animal death, Eating disorder, and Alcoholism
izziebenezra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Drug abuse
clelland_11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
bookies_withanja's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Drug use, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Animal death
pettyreader's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Dementia
anni88's review against another edition
2.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
mariaminthebooks's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Stating the obvious, the book flows like a river. The writing's great, descriptions' great yada yada yada...
Finished the book in 3 days. That says enough.
Now, the interesting stuff...
I found the main character insufferable, which is absolutely fine, characters do NOT have to be likeable, but Mellors tried SO hard to make her likeable by mentioning just how likeable she is (how convenient) which made me dislike her even more.
TW//
The book also features PRETTY heavy themes like alcoholism, drug abuse, animal cruelty, su!cide, self-h@rm, and the list goes on....without ever really diving into the complexity and complications of each struggle, thereby making the character's problems seem shallow (they are not!!!)
Along with having like a bazillion unnecessary characters, this, too, was unnecessary. Towards the end of the book, it felt as if Mellors was just throwing in as much trauma as she possibly can for that shocker effect. Unfortunately, that had a counter effect. It made me desensitised to much of the events in the novel.
traumatised characters ≠ unconditional sympathy
I've read books with way fewer events going on but had a much deeper attachment to the characters.
Frustratingly, this could have been such a good book....
Graphic: Infidelity, Chronic illness, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Blood, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Self harm, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Death, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, and Suicide attempt