Reviews with content warning for Self harm - Without Merit

Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

24 reviews

laffi's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

0.75

Content Warnings

dwdillydally's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny slow-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

3.5

Without Merit (2017) by Collen Hoover
#youngadultfiction #mentalhealth #familydramafiction #slowromance #mildspicy #dwreads24

Finished my first Colleen Hoover book! I wasn't sure that I'd like her flavors (dark modern romance, dysfunctional characters), so I started with a title recommended for teens / young adults. When I say "for teens", this is NOT for tweens / preteens. Here are screenshots of the content warnings I tagged, and I'm happy to elaborate on any of them, if you ask.

Depsite alllllll the CWs listed, I do recommend this to the right teen or to us, non-trendy-readers who are Hoover-curious. If it's too much for you, then you probably won't enjoy Hoover's adult books

There were so many scenes where I was telling the 17yo main character, "Oh no honey, don't do that. Oh nnnnoo!" 🫣 But overall, this book is about family trauma and mental health - vital to talk about. It's meant to be f_<ed up. How bad can the main character's day-to-day life get before she turns a corner and starts unraveling the mess around her? For me, it was rough to read from the start through the middle, then I slowly came around, and by the end, I was rooting for the main character.

Content Warnings

lcintron10's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

After listening to the book I wasn’t moved by the book. The end sucked and there was no trigger warning.

Content Warnings

dailbrae's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

1.0

Content Warnings

ellissej's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

This was a promising concept but one too many tropes were included. The characters were almost trying too hard to be complex and so lacked complexity in any authentic way. Certain of the characters, like Victoria - the stepmother, seemed to be "throw away" characters and it would have been great to have had more of her perspective and story told. I found the titular character completely unlikeable and found it problematic that her growth centred so wholly around her relationship with Sagan. Her attempted suicide was clumsily handled and inauthentic and it felt as though the story ended before it was actually over or fully told, I think it would have benefited from a proper epilogue. It also really bothered me the way the Syrian conflict was referenced in Sagan's backstory. The author had a great opportunity to also help educate people about this conflict and missed an opportunity to include resources at conclusion of the novel (as she did with the suicide / depression support). Probably my last Colleen Hoover book as this is now the fourth or fifth one that I've not quite enjoyed.

Content Warnings