Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

L'amore bugiardo by Gillian Flynn

29 reviews

matism's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective

4.75

This was SO close to a 5 star but the ending was just slightly too anticlimactic for me. This was PHENOMENAL otherwise. The complexity and ingenuity of these characters from a standalone novel like this was insane. It felt like they had a life of their own. My jaw literally dropped several times while reading this… Freaking brilliant. Loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy

lethargicbat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

monstersinspace's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

1.0

Very obviously written in 2012 and did not age well. Neither Nick nor Amy are likable or complex anti-heroes. They BOTH suck and the author bends over backwards to make you root for Nick continuing to pile on to Amy's character in a “not all men bitches be crazy” 180 half way through the book. Having Amy lie about sexual assault is gross and harmful. I was expecting a good for her book and instead was just annoyed and found myself rolling my eyes constantly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

ekcd_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Quick read but definitely did not live up to hype. There a few major plot points, poorly paced and wayyyy too long. The author sure loves to eat a dead horse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sarasreading's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

By some miracle I wasn't fully spoiled for this book. I thought I knew one thing going in,

that the main premise is a woman who fakes her own disappearance.

And even with that knowledge, I was still surprised over and over. 

I was worried I'd find it a bit boring, thinking I knew the main twist, but there were so many twists to come it really kept me on my toes! I have a harder time reading physical books, especially first getting into them. But this one was so easy, with its super short chapters and constant guessing. 

I wasn't super satisfied with the ending, but I suppose

they each sort of got what they deserved, except she deserves to be in prison, so there's that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

1.0

If you want to read a toxic sociopathic petty drama fest, this is the book for you.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

deshanejt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Top notch thriller... Genuinely. Some thing I could have lived without were all the fat-phobic, ageist and sexist remarks; The overly redundant obsession with reminding the reader "men suck/women suck". 

Nick and Amy were genuinely raw and unfiltered, both awful people in their own respects- yet I found unnecessary observations made about people's bodies..... On one hand it did help grind home your loathing for Nick and Amy, but c'mon. The descriptions were a little borderline and niche for my taste, which is sus if you ask me. 🤔

So much of this book centered around the internal monologue of someone trying to convince the reader why the opposite gender is trash... After the first couple hundred pages of that- we get it, the characters are sexist a**holes, now you're beating a dead horse.

At any rate, a stellar plot/storyline, just a little too much humdrum for me. 😅 Oddly enough, I would still recommend it. 🥴🤷🏻‍♀️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, and Abortion

amanda_porfavor's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

stilestastic's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Grief, and Toxic friendship

blymanor's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Incest, Miscarriage, Vomit, Stalking, and Death of parent