Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth

6 reviews

cecereads__'s review

4.5

Sunburn is both literal and metaphorical with the mc and first person pov, Lucy, experiencing the gloriously bright sun that’s making her come alive, and the subsequent redness/mark and constant sting that can follow if we’re not careful; if we don’t take care of ourselves enough.  

I really loved this. An Irish setting is always going to get me.

A sapphic coming-of-age story including all that comes with first love (eagerness, starry-eyes, forevers, intensity, etc) and with small-town mindsets and religious upbringings. 

I know that Martin wasn’t told until the end for a reason. He’s a gem btw. I still wonder what he would have said about it being a shared secret he was in on to stop his heart from breaking too. Idk. Obviously Lucy was not ready to deal with her feelings even when time told her how she would still grow out of the town and the ppl with or without Susannah

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

jo_lzr's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense

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

4.25

The prose in the book is very poetic. This book describes love and sorrow and portrays everything in a realistic way. Both Lucy and Susannah have their flaws but they are also both humans, trying to navigate life and out of being teenagers into adulthood. Do not read this book if you don't like reading about protagonists who make wrong or immoral decisions.

It's heartbreaking how having no choice but to survive can turn a person into someone they don't even recognize. I think that this story could have also worked as Lucy's villain origin story. I liked the happy ending, I just wish we could have gotten to see more of them now that they have met again. Though, I do understand that it will take them time to get together, since they're both different now.

Recommended songs to listen while reading this book: 
Altar - Kehlani
Melt - Kehlani
Making The Bed - Olivia Rodrigo
Not Strong Enough - Boygenius
Good Luck, Babe! - Chappell Roan
loml - Taylor Swift
So Long London - Taylor Swift
Guilty As Sin? - Taylor Swift
illicit affairs - Taylor Swift
How Did It End? - Taylor Swift
my tears ricochet - Taylor Swift
Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? - Taylor Swift
Anti-Hero - Taylor Swift
High Infidelity - Taylor Swift
Is It Over Now? - Taylor Swift
Say Don't Go - Taylor Swift
I Know Places - Taylor Swift
cardigan - Taylor Swift
Dear Reader - Taylor Swift
tolerate it - Taylor Swift
coney island - Taylor Swift
ivy - Taylor Swift
October Passed Me By - girl in red

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cancer and Blood

hookerkitty's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I don’t think there’s a single person I’ve been attracted to, male or female, who made me obsessed with their spit or want to be masticated by them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Abandonment

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Dementia, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

fee1111's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Stop it was so good omg it's also irish and full of small town culture so you know it's going to pull at the heartstrings i mean I've never read a book set in this country that wasn't determined to be depressing yet hopeful the Sally Rooney depresso has a chokehold on us as a nation 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Body shaming, Abortion, and Alcohol

lily_sutton's review

emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Sexual content and Outing

kers_tin's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

I found this to be a very immersive audiobook and I got very invested in the characters, even though I disagreed with almost every choice the main character made. 10/10