Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Luster by Raven Leilani

102 reviews

kerrence30's review

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Difficult to describe, but it feels so honest you can’t dislike it. The situation is regretful, and the main family of characters are distrustful yet likeable, and although the narrator is honest to a fault, she is somewhat of an antihero. The important plot line is the different experiences of living in New York/ New Jersey for the black and white characters. It is intentionally unsubtle, and well delivered.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Eating disorder and Police brutality

Minor: Drug use, Infertility, and Suicide

bail33's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. I feel like I know the characters, and even though I didn’t particularly like Rebecca, I feel like I miss all of the characters now that I’m done reading because I had such a sense of being there. Leilani’s writing is just beyond incredible. She uses many words to explain things that could be summed up in just a few, which imo goes against the trend in literary writing right now, but because of it I know and love and understand her setting and cast more. There were so many passages that I have highlighted because how how much they inspire me to write. Such a beautiful and meaningful novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Police brutality, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Medical content, and Car accident

thatsssorachael's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, and Abortion

seizuredreading's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I didn’t put this book down. I thought, maybe, just maybe, I’ll read one chapter per day. You know as a little treat. Raven truly said to MY face, “WRONG ANSWER FO HEAD!” 

She disturbed my peace from the first word right up until the last. Sure, some people may find some of the crucial topics trite (racism: as it was discussed in the book at how exhausting it is to be Black in PWI spaces *Kanye shrug*), however comma. That aside mc is working out parental issues with a couple she stumbles across. An “open” marriage that may not be as what’s advertised.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Infidelity, Police brutality, and Abortion

Moderate: Stalking

al_davies's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

brittanyisbooked's review against another edition

medium-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

3.0

I truly just don’t know how I feel about this book. I didn’t like the main character from the beginning, and I hoped the book would show some growth. Unfortunately, I don’t think there was really any growth. However, I do think there was connection with others, which is a different form of character development. She didn’t grow as a person, perse, but she did grow in her ability to form connections with others and that’s still something. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Miscarriage

lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

dark funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

The truth is that when the officer had his arm pressed into my neck, there was a part of me that felt like, all right. Like, fine. Because there will always be a part of me that is ready to die.

I can't figure out how I feel about this one! The author has a subtly humourous style to her writing and I absolutely loved the pacing of the first half. But the second half noted a very harsh change in pace, a bit like wading through treacle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual violence

kjofalltrades's review against another edition

medium-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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Abortion, and Alcohol

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

candournat's review against another edition

reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Racism, and Police brutality

Minor: Addiction, Infidelity, Vomit, Medical content, and Pregnancy

abmochapman's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

If Luster is the portrait of a woman, then it is one with so many conflicting strokes that it is not easy to make out, to see it all together as one whole. At twenty-three, Edie is entirely unsure of herself and what she wants. Her life feels out of control so she just lets it happen to her, seeming to relish the moments when it inches closer to an end. There is no neat plot. She is directionless. It is difficult to read but also difficult to look away. 

As a main character, Edie is dizzying. Her decisions, and the decisions of the people around her, are very frequently erratic and inexplicable. This makes a lot of sense for where she is in her life (that is, stumbling around) but it feels kind of strange for the older couple in whose relationship she has become entangled. There’s also so much fruitless internal monologue. The author’s generous use of metaphors and run-on-sentences is sometimes striking and poetic but oftentimes pretentious and incomprehensible. 

At the end of the book, I feel like the narrative has barely moved forward. Maybe that’s just the reality of such a situation. This is a the story of a young woman struggling to get anywhere. The moments Edie shares with the wife, Rebecca, and the daughter, Akila, feel the most meaningful but I almost feel like they are still not fully developed. With such a slow build-up to an abrupt end, I am left wanting much more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Self harm

Minor: Animal death