Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler

16 reviews

dsugai's review against another edition

• 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

This might be the best 3 star book I’ve read. I loved parts of it but I was really disappointed in other sequences. 
I’m glad I finished this book, but I was taken out of the story when

Nathalie dies and Rory & Adelaide are both in serious grief when she was a minor character who really lacked development. I would have loved to see why they were so shaken by her death, but she only encounters Adelaide twice. And her backstory with Rory is more focused on his view of the relationship.

She had fallen in love the same way one slips at the grocery store, despite the CAUTION: WET signs lining any given aisle-quickly, accidentally, and fully aware of the mess into which she was getting herself.
That he was beautiful and maybe her soul mate and also that she kind of hated him?
Because if we knew, if we honestly knew the price of love was grief, we'd never do it. We'd never succumb in the first place. And once we do-once we fall in love, against our better judgment, with something or someone—we never want to let go.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

novellearts's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

recyclops229's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

allisonrandom's review

2.25

This book was a slog for me. It reads like a thinly veiled memoir but lacks the introspection I wanted and expected from a book like this. Despite dealing with heavy topics, it felt very surface level and unwilling to dig deep. It's sort of like a memoir smushed together with a romance novel, where everyone lives happily ever after despite the bulk of the novel spending its time on the protagonist getting treated like garbage and somehow not realizing it. I was begging for Rory and Adelaide to break up the whole time. There was nothing compelling about them as a couple. I was told a lot by the book that they were soulmates but never shown anything to prove that. All of the characters were incredibly flat and I had a hard time keeping track of the side characters because they all blended together. The characters were both underdeveloped and filled with unnecessary detail. The book begins with a disclaimer that it's based on the author's life experiences and that is evident from some of the strange choices of what's included here. Details and anecdotes that would make sense in a memoir are totally unnecessary in a novel, and there are so many pieces here that really don't fit together narratively. The happily ever after felt out of place and un-earned because the resolution was so glossed over.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

fink1129's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

rubberrosebooks's review

dark emotional lighthearted sad medium-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

chickaboogawah's review

challenging dark hopeful reflective fast-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

4.0

I don't know if I've ever disliked a character more than I disliked Rory Hughes. I shook my head so many times at his horrible behavior.

And I hated how Adelaide took so long to realize what a jerk he was.

That was annoying. Her friends were both super supportive of her, and also super annoying in how they didn't tell her to dump him. Maybe this is what the dating world is like for 20-somethings in London, but it just makes me very glad that I'm not part of it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

thekristinashow's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Far from the “traditional” romance novel I thought I was picking up to read, this book is all about Adelaide’s journey through life, love, friendship, and her mental health. It is still a story of love too, but with highs and lows sprinkled throughout. 

So many themes in this book hit home for me, especially the people-pleasing and I-can-fix-this-person themes that are a huge part of who Adelaide is. I’m thankful to see her work through her mental health though, discovering how to navigate life after heartbreak. 

A couple of memorable quotes for me:

“Mental illness was a shape-shifter. It could appear in different forms, with different presentations, and still bear the same name.”

“It had become a joke of sorts among her friends. Adelaide was fun, sure, but she wasn’t the life of the party — that was Madison, Celeste. Adelaide was good at making friends in a Let’s contemplate our own mortality in the corner sort of way.”

TW: Grief, suicidal attempt, miscarriage, verbal and sexual abuse

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

ukponge's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide

molliundera_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria