Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Secret History, by Donna Tartt

175 reviews

serenityr05's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Rape, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Death, Self harm, Alcoholism, and Blood

queerloras's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Toxic relationship, Classism, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Blood, Gaslighting, Death, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship

itsocchiolism's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

i wanted to like this book so much, especially after all the hype around it but it just wasn’t for me. i didn’t like the characters at all and couldn’t sympathize with them. they all need therapy, and deserved to go to jail.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Incest, Addiction, Racism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, Eating disorder, Drug use, Classism, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Self harm, Mental illness, Alcohol, Medical content, Drug abuse, Death, Suicide, Murder, Blood, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny

Minor: Rape

andreadelo's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Antisemitism, Vomit, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, Alcoholism, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Medical trauma, Injury/injury detail, Incest, Grief, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Cultural appropriation

dannilmp's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.5

A dark academia book unlike anything I have read before. While The Secret History is quite a slow burner to begin with, I found myself reading the latter half in 100 page sections in one sitting. A story about Richard and his discovery of both a new way of thinking and a new way of approaching life thanks to the teaching of his Greek Classics teacher Julian and his small group of classmates. 

I enjoyed the fact that through certain paragraph or chapter opening sentences you could tell at what point in time Richard was narrating the details of the book from. To me this whole book had the feeling of suspence, as the main plot point had been introduced in the prolouge that was always at the back of my mind while I was reading. I was absorbing any small detail if I thought it could help me unravel the mystery before the book itself revealed it. I much preferred the second half of the book, espeically watching how the characters developed post major incident

Spoiler

for those of you who have read it I am referring to Bunny's murder

and how it would affect them in later life. 

However, there were some aspects of this book that I didn't enjoy. One was the way such simple aspects or concepts were so detailed that it felt uneccessary at times, activities such as smoking, drug use or even drinking dragged on far longer than they had any right to, or the repeated descriptions throughout the book were a little tiring. I also think without the plot points detailed in the prolouge, I would not have had the interest to keep reading through that first half as there would truly have been nothing to grab my attention. I also felt the ending was a little bit weak considering the build up in those final pages, I expected more of a bang ending and got a whimper. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Alcoholism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Gore

Minor: Incest, Homophobia, and Rape

iinasomnia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Gun violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Mental illness, and Suicide

helenamichelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Injury/injury detail, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Racism, Homophobia, Grief, Death, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Incest

rebecca_mdx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

This book is NOT the way I saw it promoted on BookTok at all (IDK maybe I'm just on the wrong side of it). It definitely puts the "dark" in dark academia, and anyone who says Henry Winters is hot needs serious help.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Classism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Cursing

Moderate: Mental illness, Drug use, Drug abuse, Incest, and Sexual assault

Minor: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Homophobia

juliaaayyyy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Suicide, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, Alcoholism, Incest, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Animal cruelty

nat_pinche's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

 The writing is entincingly unreliable and the characters are intricate and complex.
 At each time you read it you end up catching new details and nuances about the events that happend.
 During the reading, the purpuse of the critic against the Academia itself is almost lost as you and the narrator become enchanted with the surroundings of the university, and the eccentric greek club (which the history centers).

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Death, Animal death, Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, and Murder

May cause addicition. You will think about it for a long time. Good luck.