Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Promising Young Women by Caroline O'Donoghue

12 reviews

danajoy's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense

4.0

Dark. At times, surreal. Infused with toxic environments and mindsets. Promising Young Women follows the time-old tale of a young woman becoming entangled with an older, married, man at work. The way it undoes her and the way she puts herself back together. 

Jane makes horrible, infuriating decisions. She seems a little too passive in her own life (at times I feel like I do this too, perhaps we all do) and it gets too far out of her control. She wants things that don't serve her. 

Reading this felt like a horror novel. I saw the bodily changes and deterioration, the appetite loss and vague mentions of things neither Jane or we as the reader knew about as horrifying. 

The Agony Aunt aspect was quite interesting and I did like the way it made Jane reflect. 

The book ends without tying up all its loose ends. Consent and assault aren't completely considered by Jane throughout but one has to hope with time and more clarity she'd be able to recognise what was happening. 

I do recommend it. This falls into that category of troubled twenty-something women behaving self-destructively which I do tend to resonate with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

ferstival's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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

Graphic: Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism

larasfavbooks's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

So so gripping! Not what I expected but then I’m not sure what I expected 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Blood, and Alcohol

emmagalt's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This is brilliantly written.  It felt like a really authentic space in a woman's brain. Unbelievably frustrating at times, but that added to the honesty.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

adrienne_rennie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

aemulatio's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

eleanorth's review

inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

emmavar's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual content

bethanstanleyy's review

emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage, Abortion, and Abandonment