Reviews with content warning for Incest - Without Merit

This book was definitely slow at first. So slow I almost DNF however I pushed through and I’m so glad I did. It almost had me in tears it was so unbelievably heartbreaking. Besides the first 80(ish) pages I wouldn’t change a thing.

GENRE NOTE!!
I just noticed this book is listed as a romance and I would not say it is. Is there some romance, a little, is it the plot, no. If you’re looking for a romance this is not it. The feelings of our main character IS the plot. It’s about her feelings towards everyone around her and how that affects her feelings about herself.

Content Warnings

roseisvibing's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

0.25

reading this feels like being the pizza guy in that one scene from that one spider man movie. you're just. dropped into this chaotic, disgusting, horrendously written shitstorm and left with no idea of what the fuck is going on when you're done. do not read this if you want a book that deals with sensitive topics well- it just feels like more traumatic bullshit is being thrown at you with each new chapter. 90% of the dialogue is either weirdly forced or just fucking stupid. there were several moments (for example, the

THREE instances of incest/basically-incest, dialogue where an uncle flirts with his niece right after referring to her as such, weird descriptions of terminally ill people, straight up implausible plot moments that make you feel like you're watching a faked reality show on acid, descriptions of alcohol that sound like they were written by an 8 year old who has no understanding of how tolerances work, etc.

) where i was questioning how this got professionally published. if i let myself bang my head against a wall every time i wanted to while reading this, i would be in hospital with an extreme concussion right now. the only reason i finished it is because i was annotating it for my friend's bday present (we have a shared interest in critiquing/laughing at shitty books, so coho's worst rated book seemed like a silly funny gift. i am no longer sure of this). chris, if you're seeing this, i want you to know i endured six hours of colleen hoover's worst material for you.

Content Warnings

katie_23's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny medium-paced

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

this book SUCKS..istg first the incest then the plot twists being so…predictable. i could tell the ending from a mile away. sorry i give this a zero.

Content Warnings

loubielou92's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

3.0

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

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