Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

L'amore bugiardo by Gillian Flynn

29 reviews

vaguely_pink'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Classism

janewa's review against another edition

dark funny inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I was already a big fan of the film, so when I started the book I was primed to compare and contrast, but by the time I’d got my teeth into it I had forgot about the film! The framing device that the book uses is great, really sets it apart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

hannahsk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Stalking, and Alcohol

m0rdred_the_fallen's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

If the ever author ever makes a sequel, I sincerely hope it's about

their son

burning them alive and recording their dying screams of agony for a ringtone, because both Nick and Amy deserved a painful death, but Amy primarily.

Not gonna lie,

Amy

had me fool for the first third of the book, I felt truly sorry for both of them, I mean talk about tragic. But then the second third began and I understood that they truly deserve each other because of how they each feed the other worst side;

Nick is codependent child with daddy issues and Amy is a narcisist with mommy issues that still has beef with a fictional alterego and her seven unborn older sisters. Honestly, neither of them is fit to be a parent.

Go was always the voice of reason and Nick should have been fully honest from the start with her and heed her advice.

Also good ridance to the Elliots, those two should've never been parents and their seven unborn daughters dodged quite the bullet of having such passive-agressive a**hole of parents who wanted a robot, not a child. The irony of them being child psychologists who wrote those awful Amazing Amy books, which I bet my life did more harm than they ever did good to a whole generation.

This is also the only point I concede to Amy, her parents not only built an empire on her back, but also inmortalized every little dissapointment and failure so that she could never forget them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

smallragingoth's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

deviya's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

i—

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

saraavowlerr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I loved the writing and the overall plot but I’m not a fan of the ending and some parts felt unnecessary. I liked how the plot twist happened more so in the middle but it left the ending sort of boring for me. I liked the back and forth of the characters and as a reader constantly going back and forth who’s crazier. I feel like it’s one of those you can reread and really pick up on personality flaws that may explain the characters from the beginning. I recommend it. But it’s not the best Gillian Flynn book she’s written and it’s definitely not the best thriller.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

anastasiak's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Stalking, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

I have had this book on my radar for YEARS, but I finally decided it was time to read it because 1) I found a great copy at a library book sale and 2) it is a great thriller for spooky season. I was utterly blown away by this story and once I picked it up, I could not put it down.
"Gone Girl" follows Nick Dunne, a man whose wife, Amy, goes missing the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary. We know that Nick is hiding something, but did he murder his wife? In between the chapters we get Amy's perspective through letters that shed a lot of light that perhaps this marriage is not as great as we were led to believe.
 

I was really enjoying this story until it is revealed that Amy is still alive. She staged her death and framed her husband so that she could escape her life because she feels like everyone is leaching off of her. I had heard from other people that they really loved Amy because she is such a "boss bitch", but I did not get that vibe from her at all. Amy really infuriated me as a character because she is such a toxic person. Nick is not a terrible person, and he does not deserve to be framed and sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. Yes, he cheated on Amy and had an ongoing affair, and that is inexcusable, but there is NO justification for Amy to behave as she did. She came across as an entitled woman who threw a hissy fit when things did not go her way. She is a highly unlikeable character, and I disliked her so much that I ended up empathizing with Nick for most of the novel.
Amy aside, I really enjoyed this story. The writing and prose are so beautiful and poetic. Nick is a writer, and his inner dialogue is enchanting to read. Gillian Flynn knows how to write the perfect prose that is not too flowery but still so eloquent and captivating. This mystery was also riveting. We know very early on that everyone has something to hide, but it takes a while to peel back all of the layers and uncover what the truth is. I have really grown fond of domestic thrillers and this one set the bar high.

 
This was the perfect thriller for me, and ultimately, I only subtracted half a star because of how much I disliked Amy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

mle11's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Classism