Reviews tagging Toxic relationship

Heart Bones, by Colleen Hoover

18 reviews

sarahpirtle's review

dark sad 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

1.0

This was truly on the WORST books I have ever read. The characters were insufferable. It reads like Wattpad fanfic. The one sexual scene was not sexy and left me feeling gross. All I got from this book was that it’s okay to wait around for someone even if you basically give up your life and they aren’t speaking to you! Stop giving young girls (this is technically YA) these ideas. Young women should not be taught to wait around for years on a man and give up their lives. This book should be taken off YA shelves. Just because you say she shouldn’t wait around for him doesn’t make the fact that she did any better?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual content

bedtimesandbooks's review

hopeful fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty

im_just_vidu's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

It's been 5 days since I've finished reading this book. So obviously I had enough time to digest this book and build my opinion about it. I can relate to this book so much in so many different levels. I think it's fair to give this a 4.25 stars.
This is one of the few books that made me feel seen. It kind of felt so private sometimes.
So this is a book about a girl named Beyah, who lost her mother to overdosing. (Not a spoiler, it happens in the first chapter) So she goes for her father's house to spend the summer. Beyah is someone who had really bad childhood. She doesn't get both her parent's attention so she had to feed herself and rely on herself. Beyah doesn't have much friends due to the same reasons. Beyah decides to not to tell her father about her mother's death. Her father is married to another woman and also with a daughter called Sara. Sara's boyfriend's friend is Samson. Sara wants to Beya setup with Samson. Beya announces that she don't want to be in a relationship with anyone, since she's gonna move after the summer break.
Beya is filled with sadness due to her traumas and all the things she had to go through since she was a child. She somehow talks with Samson for a moment. This is the story about they discovering how dark both of their lives are and wanting the best for each others.

Spoiler

In some point Samson asks Beyah if she's a cheerful person. She confesses that she's always been a sad person and was surviving and not living.

Spoiler

In the other end Samson doesn't talk about his family at all. He promises Beyah that he'll tell everything the day before they leave.
The reason I liked this book is maybe I also felt 'seen' from this book somehow. I really admire the loyalty no matter what type of obstacle they face. I felt comfort in Samson's character. That he's smiling for others but not smiling in eyes and not being able to happy because of that. I understood how they felt that their only friend was sadness and only the sadness. Not being able to peel off each others mental barriers is nicely written in the book.  And also Beyah being the one who understand Samson when everyone doesn't and also she being the only one to believe him was so sad and beautiful. You know how hard is something when you've been through the same thing before. I admire Beyah for not giving up and believing the sad truth until the end. She believed on the thing she felt is true because she knows the hard truth.
I don't like that others labelling this book as a "romance". You can't see any romance in here. This is really sad and depressing book about 2 people trying to get better on their own. It's about living in an unfair society yet not blaming on it. It's about seeing the beauty in someones' eyes than their face. It's about being able to help others even though you're in a really bad situation. This is about a battle. Battle with your own demons, your past traumas and with your future self. And as the best author she is, Colleen Hoover has done a really good job. So I'm happy that I read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault

anielabooks's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This was my second Colleen Hoover book, and I was not disappointed. It was so easy to read, and once the climax began, it was hard to put down. I expected to cry, but I didn’t; that’s fine, though. The ending was satisfying, and I found myself quickly falling in love with the characters. My favorites were Sara and Pepper Jack Cheese (I’m such a sucker for animals). The plot twist was unexpected for me but that’s Colleen for you 😂.

Spoiler

I also really liked that she showed the complexity of Samson’s life and the motives for his crimes

Side note: the cover is absolutely gorgeous; props to Murphy Rae.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment, Drug use, Addiction, Injury/injury detail, Sexual content, and Drug abuse

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pregnancy, Blood, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and Adult/minor relationship

kendrakeuler's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Classism, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

salusgh's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

filipa_maia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Rating Colleen's books is becoming kind of repetitive. It doesn't matter what the book is about, I can never rate it less than 5 stars. So far, not disappointed.

I loved this book and it's characters. Beyah and Samson are incredibly resilient and able to take care of themselves, like they did their entire lifes until they met eachother. Then, for the first time in their lives they found someone who understood what that was like. When they found each other, they found a completely different world when everything did not look so dark afterall.

This is a story about strength, resilience, self care... but most important about love. Not that kind of love that is annoying and childish (despite their ages), but a dipper kind of love. The love that only to people who experience the same things can understand. Anyone else would think that Beyah and Samson are "broken" but, in fact, they are just the products of a terrible and lonely childhood.

I would read anything written by Colleen Hoover... even her shopping list. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Pregnancy and Fire/Fire injury

lily_kruse's review

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Addiction, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Eating disorder

sophie_theresia_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Death of parent, Sexual content, Drug abuse, and Grief

abicotti's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Pedophilia, and Racism