Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

20 reviews

alibrarymouse's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

If we were supposed to dislike Elektra, Saint did an amazing job. The titular character, and I absolutely could not stand her and her inability to think beyond herself until it was too late. She was selfish, bitter, and mean. 

However, the rest of this book is SO GOOD. I adored Cassandra’s perspective and appreciated the look into what her life was and how she was affected by the war before

begging for an end, and an end she chose for herself.

I absolutely cried for her and Clytemnestra. The ending was almost fitting, but I do wish there was more justice for Clytemnestra after everything—though Orestes didn’t deserve to face the consequences alone and it felt as though he did. So, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

alexiasophii's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

Of all the books that retell The Trojan War I've read in the past months, this was the one I liked the least. Primarily because of Elektra's character. I know I'm biased since this isn't my first book on the Trojan War and I'm very familiar with most characters, but I just could not like Elektra. There's one quote, in particular, that annoyed me profoundly and made me hate her:

" They buried the woman [Kassandra], the one I saw walking behind him. No one has told me how she died. I wish that I could have talked to her: perhaps she could have told me stories about my father. The slaves say she was a princess of Troy. She was so lucky to be chosen by a king, the greatest king in Greece, to be brought here to a palace that must be as fine as the one she left. Finer, I’m sure. Whatever wealth Troy possessed, Mycenae had Agamemnon. And she did too, for a little while. "

I mean... how ENTITLED do you have to be to think that a SLAVE is "lucky" to be driven from her home, used by your father, and see her family and home dead and burned just because... what? You miss your daddy? I swear, this character just boiled my blood. And, once again, I'm on  Clytemnestra's side in this whole ordeal, though I still find myself wishing she had influenced her children not to be so devoted to Agamemnon but oh well. 
Overall, this book is not as good as the ones I've read before and the MC really annoyed me, so it's a 3.7 stars for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and War

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

amschelly153's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Beautiful writing. A+ to Jennifer.
These characters though made me want to scream. But she did a fantastic job writing them, just really frustrating circumstances lol.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

nicnevin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Good story but I feel like the titular character honestly didn't have much to do with her own story, especially since the more interesting aspects were with Cassandra and Clydemnestra.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.5

 Elektra by Jennifer Saint was worth the wait! I really fell in love with Saint’s writing when I read her other novel last year, and this follows suit. I read this book so fast, and it is a great retelling of Greek mythology. I love the characters and the emotions they convey throughout the pages, and while I was a little confused at first, the characters that Saint selected to narrate were fantastic. I loved the juxtaposition between Elektra and her mother, and I loved the edition of Cassandra, to see Agamemnon’s wrath from different angles (wife, child, and enemy). This is a really great read, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I know this one just came out, but I can’t wait for Saint’s next book!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Misogyny, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

kaitlyng's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Grief, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Fire/Fire injury

starship_olympus's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

I enjoyed it overall, but the middle of the book meandered a bit. It took a little bit of slugging through that bit to get to the parts that moved forward. 
I can’t help but feel that a fifth of it could have been cut, at least of Clytemnestra, post sacrifice. Hers were the slowest bits, there were only so many ways to read about revenge, and it felt repetitive. 
I really liked Cassandra, she was the most interesting character imo, with Elektra’s narration being second.
But overall it was wonderful to read these well known stories from this POV. Inventive and fresh!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

dark 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

3.75

Clytemnestra’s story is one which has always intrigued me; therefore, I was beyond excited to read another retelling of it. What I had expected to be a portrayal of feminine rage quickly transformed into a moving work on motherhood and loss, relevant today while staying true to its historic orgins.
Elektra follows the titular character Elektra as well as her mother Clytemnestra and the Trojan priestess Casandra as their lives intersect in unimaginable ways.
Saint humanizes these characters in a unique yet tasteful manner, resulting in a a complex narrative. The continuous metaphor of a curse/circular pattern connects all three women deeper than surface level. 
One aspect to know prior to reading is that Elektra is not the sole narrator, and many times is given less of a speaking role than the other women. It is particularly short read (though pretty dense) and I would have loved to read a bit more in certain areas.
Overall, I would recommend to any fans of Greek Mythology from a feminist perspective, though definitely check trigger warnings before reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Rape, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

meliroo's review against another edition

sad

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail