Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

130 reviews

anadorablegal's review against another edition

dark inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Alcohol

archieballs's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.5

if you want to know what not to do in a relationship, maybe this book is for you. Additionally, maybe I don't hate the writing but I do not like this woman. Maybe that's why it got the score that it did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, and Vomit

wine_and_dine's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

4.0

I despise the nameless main character for how subservient she is and her willingness to make herself so small to make a man happy, and some parts were very challenging to read through (page 262).

I despise Cieran even more for his ability to make her feel worthless simply by ignoring her, and that he blatantly thought he was better than everyone else 'because he's an artist'.

But it was written remarkably well and her though development for justifying abuse was so clear. 

The manic thoughts made her such an unreliable narrator I constantly questioned if the severity of the abuse was magnified by her incessant need to be loved (and magnified by the panic of not being loved after an argument).

The ending was very abrupt and her character arc felt very incomplete and nothing was learned from the story; it felt like I was reading her diaries and the retrospective Athens chapters were going to show growth from the abuse and from her own (obvious) personality disorder.

VERY strong themes of: longing, obsession, lust, desire, pain, self-harm, love, friendship, admiration, desperation

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Self harm

sgs's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

4.0

If someone else had written this story/plot, my rating probably would have been lower, but the writing bumped the whole novel up at least a star. I used a highlighter all over this book. 

Unfortunately, a very reflective and realistic novel for women, and I (disturbingly) felt I saw a friend’s relationship in it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

katelandd's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual violence

gabriellegoldenhour's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

I recently found out that a new favorite genre of mine is “delulu females”, I thought this would be another but really it just gave me haunting reflections of my past. Not everything was the same, obviously, but feelings and scenarios of my youth in similar situations mirrored this unnamed narrator. I feel like when I started really liking the book it fell off and just stayed flat for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

cecereads__'s review against another edition

4.25

Intense is the first word that comes to mind to describe this book. It’s hauntingly confronting and matter-of-fact almost in its portrayal of a toxic relationship. How obsessive, toxic, desperate and altering an experience the main character goes through.
I think it’s very well done how we get insights on her past and way of reasoning with herself. Especially, there’s a scene near the end of the book that I will be haunted by for a while.
- I found it difficult to rate this tbh, but my rating is based on the story-telling and brutal honesty of it rather than the connection to the characters (not that they have to be likeable), if that makes sense

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

ninahuynh's review against another edition

Desperately tried to find the will to continue on; no longer spark any joy from this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

ola_oreiba's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

0.5

I should’ve know from the name but I could never imagine for the life of me that someone could be so desperate. It was so jarring to read and I’ve never been this verbally furious at a protagonist before.

Reading Acts of Desperation felt like someone with ADHD that has to sit though someone telling them a bad story ever so slowly, it triggers all their senses and turns into pure rage. 

At times, I really wanted to sympathize with her and there were a couple of paragraphs and moments/thoughts towards the end that I vaguely agreed with but it couldn’t justify the prolonged and continued suffering for nothing. 

It annoyed me how the story was chaotic but predictable at the same time although I cannot fault the writing stylistically. It’s just the whole idea of the book is just pushing how desperate someone can be and how deep into desperation they can go and I think in that sense Megan Nolan is a completionist. Nobody can be more desperate.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

jen_nej's review against another edition

3.75

This book is a tough read but not a bad read. It feels like reading frenetic diary entries from a woman with an addiction to love, sex, and self-harm. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Self harm