Review by hannahmcd94 - My Dark Vanessa

hannahmcd94 's review for:

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

4.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed reading this but just felt like something was missing for me so haven’t been able to give it 5 stars. It was a really interesting take on abuse and for Vanessa to not feel like a victim when she clearly was and is still feeling the effects of it 17 years later, it’s like deep down she did know but kept fighting to suppress that feeling whilst also hanging onto it as it was what she knew. Vanessa wasn’t a lovable character but you did feel sorry for her and I think initially Strane was not presented as awful (is that to help the reader understand why Vanessa was attracted to him?) but as the story goes on he becomes utterly repulsive. I think for me it started off really well and at pace but towards the end felt like it didn’t have the same purpose or where we were going and some of the secondary characters weren’t necessary or could have been developed further. And unfortunately the ending didn’t feel totally cathartic, it didn’t come across as if Vanessa had triumphed. But overall I did enjoy this book and would recommend it, as I think it was an important story to tell (especially in the wake of #metoo) but also as telling it from a slightly different angle.

Content Warnings