Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

20 reviews

grunbean's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

All in all, I liked this book. It’s beautifully written, and takes you into a world of dark academia that if interesting. It is, however, a slow burner. And what you’re left with at the end doesn’t tie all the ends together. Especially as none of the characters have what I’d consider a likeable development? 

The twists are interesting, and I think these are the best parts of the book. It is interesting to have a morally grey main character. But in a sea of morally grey main characters, it doesn’t make her too different. I suppose that is the point, but it’s not the most compelling when you’re trying to read it. 

It’s a book I’d consider aesthetic in its contents, and it’s perfect for the colder and spookier seasons (even though it’s set in summer). I just feel like there’s more need to really flesh this out. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

_thugbug_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.75

Okay…..about 80% of this book is “when is the story gonna start” BUT that last 20% surprisingly had me in a chokehold.

I gave it a 3.8 cause it feel like it took SO long to get to the point. Well-written through, and you really feel the main character change throughout the novel…..or circle back to her true self? Guess its up to you to decide.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Drug use

tetedump's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

sal_the_cat's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

takes a while to get in, i don't like the main characters and ann specifically started with an omg everyone else is better than me i'm so bad and imerpfect attitude that seemed kinda annoying

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

basementofbooks's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death and Suicide

skyfluff's review against another edition

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? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

abiyy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I’ll admit that I wasn’t initially sold. Especially in the beginning, the plot is a bit slow and the character exposition feels onerous.  But it lays critical groundwork for a spectacularly told story that leans into how the choices we make shape our path. The characters are complex and you truly come to understand their motivations and desires. I was surprised by some of the plot twists later on, except also not at all because wow they made SO much sense. Reading the final few chapters felt like finishing a puzzle and realizing you’ve got pieces in the wrong spots but now seeing where they actually go. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Abandonment

Minor: Eating disorder, Blood, Car accident, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

gracescanlon's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

This just didn’t hit for me. 

Strike one: The story was odd, as was the main character. Also, the narrative voice continually switched from conversational to more lofty prose, often from one sentence to the next and back again. Many of the more conversational ones were actually dependent clauses, which brought the immediate shift in tone from literary fiction-esque sentences to non-sentences into even sharper contrast. 

Strike two: The book touched on issues around those who grew up with money and those who didn’t, but didn’t delve deeply into them. This was fine, actually, as the MC idolized the old-money characters for most of it. However, her shift in opinion of those types of characters neglected to address topics like entitlement and never knowing financial struggle or hardship. She did, however, shift her thinking on theft from such people. So to see one side of her opinion about the “haves and have-nots” change, but not the other (at least not on the page), rang insincere. 

Strike three: The entire book was so predictable that when it met the tired tropes and twists without deviation, I was truly in disbelief — disbelief that anyone could be that unoriginal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

swampkun's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

thought this book was a great cozy end-of-summer read, though at times it felt slow and the dialogue unrealistic, as if striving for poetic over believable. But the writing style is compelling, and I enjoyed the way the writer explored fate through the lens of grief.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicide

Constant mentions of grief over the death of a parent throughout. There are frequent mentions of murder and manslaughter, and a scene of a death by poisoning is depicted. A character’s suicide is mentioned in passing.

lizzym126's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism