Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Latinist by Mark Prins

8 reviews

probablybadgers's review

dark medium-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Dementia, and Stalking

literaryliaisons's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Child abuse

booksareoxygen's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

A retelling of Daphne and Apollo set in academia. The nuances and imagery reinforce the characters origins and enhance the narrative overall. Formatting of dual POV that can take a minute to adjust too, but adds to the story overall. Not quite what I expected, and if you enjoyed this one you may also like The Cloisters. 3.5/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Bullying

Minor: Sexual content

eemilycolleen's review

challenging dark 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

5.0

marius, he thought. marry us.

holy shit holy SHIT did i fucking love this. obsession & authorship & love & chekhov’s marble bernini sculpture paperweight!!!! i loved the oxford/italy setting and the pacing and the PROSE and the poetry shit — it’s all so excellent. but the shining star of this book are tessa and chris themselves, so thorny, so pricked with every emotion. it takes VERY careful writing to make the reader this ambivalent about such a fucked-up scenario, but prins pulls it off with absolute confidence. goddamn goddamn 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Violence

kmallinson93's review

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

There is a lot of Latin and archaeological terms. As someone who studies the subject, while not always historically accurate, I found it incredibly well researched. But, it’s still a story about manipulation and abuse. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Sexism

alylentz's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this and appreciated the thoughtful discussion and themes of power structures in academia! I thought the way it incorporated the myth was really smart. I was surprised by the ending am still not quite sure how to feel about it--it's clever but it does feel a little bit dissonant to the rest. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

amandainthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Stalking and Emotional abuse

mmccombs's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

I had no idea what I was getting into when I opened this book and it absolutely blew me away. The prose is magnificent, matching the dark and mysterious vibes of this story. It was a very successful retelling of the Apollo and Daphne myth and I thought the concept of “terminal metamorphosis” was just so cleverly done. I will probably be thinking of this one for a while, everything about this was exactly what makes me love to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Violence