Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

10 reviews

vanessatombolini's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Child death, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Pregnancy, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Abandonment, Child abuse, Homophobia, Classism, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual content, Medical content, Sexual harassment, War, and Infidelity

readerandrogue's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Infidelity

mrsmcfun's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Infidelity, and Cancer

jessrad505's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Infidelity, Death, Death of parent, and Mental illness

cat_is_turning_pages's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

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

0.25

Truly Awful

Within my first couple hours of listening to this book, I began to question why the author had written it. Given the high accolades this book has received, I kept an open mind and gave the novel the benefit of the doubt until the very last word of the very last chapter.

This book is slow, depressing, and morally chaotic. The main characters tend to be unlikeable and make stupid decisions that ruin their lives. But instead of teaching these characters any lessons, the author chooses to have one of these characters “meaningfully” declare how proud she is of herself for making her stupidest decision decades after it was made.

The only conclusion I have been able to come to is that this book was written as an apologetic piece for cruel behavior and/or bad decisions. The moral of the story is a combination of “love conquers all” and “you should forgive your family members no matter what they do.” 

Forgiveness can be a wonderful path to freedom. However, it can also be used by selfish people to justify mistreating others. This story contained both types of forgiveness, but tried to pass all of it off as the former. 

The cover and title seem to promise a glimpse into the beauty of the human condition, but Hello Beautiful is one of the ugliest books I have ever read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Child death, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Suicide

Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness

Minor: Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Incest

Plot Synopsis / Spoilers:

Newly married father attempts suicide while his wife's sister falls in love with him and begins spending every day with him in the mental hospital. The young father divorces his wife and gives up legal parenthood of his infant daughter. The divorced wife, who has just been betrayed three times by being abandoned as a wife, coparent, and sister, moves away and heroically builds a new life for her and her new daughter. Her ex-husband and sister, who never offer a true apology, get married and enjoy life with the sisters' extended family while the ex-wife/sister is made to feel guilty by her extended family for leaving them. Eventually the sister who married her sister's ex-husband dies of cancer and is made to seem like some kind of saint. In the end, the father reluctantly meets his adult daughter only because she tracks him down.

fallonrhea's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming, Car accident, Infertility, Infidelity, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Homophobia

laheath's review against another edition

reflective 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

2.0

 I know mine is an unpopular opinion, but I think this book was too long and slow. In the beginning, a lot of time is spent developing the close family relationship, especially among the sisters, but just a few events manage to tear the family apart for 25 years. Granted, these are not minor events, but the book then shifts to processing everyone's emotions over and over. I kept reading because so many reviewers raved about it but I was disappointed by the repetition and the pace.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Cancer, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Child death

marinajonesreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

What a beautiful beautiful book. As a younger sister with a deep bond to my older sister, I was enraged and understanding and sad and mad all throughout. That’s how you know it’s a good and authentic story. I loved every part of this book, even when I was so angry at one of the sisters I wanted to scream. 

It was so beautifully written. Getting to see such a unique POV structure was refreshing and I loved being inside all of their heads. This tiny nuclear family with diamond strings connecting them to each other. 

I loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Child death, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Violence and Car accident

sarah_simpkins's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Death, Abandonment, Cancer, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Minor: Child death, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity

ulviyyask's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Child death