Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny by Holly Madison

3 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

 I picked this up because I have recently fallen down the rabbit hole (pun intended) of rewatching The Girls Next Door and exploring the dark and twisty world of Playboy.
"Down the Rabbit Hole" is Holly Madison's memoir that mainly highlights her time at the Playboy mansion. In the early 2000s, Holly was Hugh Hefner's number one girlfriend for several years. During her time at the Playboy mansion, she also starred in the E! hit "The Girls Next Door".
I really enjoyed reading more about Holly's life. I have recently binged listened to her podcast with fellow Girls Next Door costar, Bridget Marquardt. This book definitely explores some different aspects of her life and she does a great job of not repeating herself across all of her platforms. Holly is eloquent in her delivery and balances honesty without being unnecessarily mean about those who have mistreated her.
The book does highlight the beginning of her career in Vegas after she left the Playboy world, and it does chronicle her relationship with Criss Angel, if you were curious what her life post Playboy looked like.
If you were ever curious about what went on behind closed doors at the Playboy mansion, or you wanted to learn more about Holly's life in the earlier 2000's, this book is a must read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Addiction, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming

courteneykenyon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

4.5

An honest and sad coming of age story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Misogyny, Bullying, Self harm, and Sexism

yaoipaddle's review

funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

2.0

This book is an easy read and goes by pretty quickly. I like the behind-the-scenes of the playboy mansion and the reality tv life!

The most difficult parts of the book is how biased it is. Memoirs will always skew biased towards the author (it can't be helped) but Holly's seemingly zero awareness to this is hard to read. She classifies people basically as good or bad. But even the people who are 'good' at some point have a rude comment said about them or mysteriously stop being her friend.

Some other reviewers have mentioned specific hypocritical or biased moments and I cringed when she complained about not getting in a twitter fight and proceeded to explain a shady subtweet she made about someone else. Girl just ADMIT ITTTT ITS YEARS LATER!! Moments like that really make me call into question just how "mean" or "selfish" other people really were when Holly can't even bother taking accountability for making a shady tweet?

Anyways, the behind the scenes was fun but I wouldn't take it as truth unless another playboy girlie also confirms it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, and Misogyny

Moderate: Mental illness, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Minor: Infertility, Trafficking, Incest, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts