Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Docile by K. M. Szpara

8 reviews

written_between_the_stars's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Elisha is stronger than me, because I would've decked that man so hard or laughed straight in his face during the first half of this book. Even the first hundred pages. Alexander Bishop the Third you're a ridiculous man.

In many ways Docile did exactly what it promised to do. It's a trope many of us probably read once or twice in a fanfaction before. And it's one of my favorites (if done right). I was honestly surprised to find out Docile was published traditionally, and so recently too. Daring titles like this get rare in trad pub and I'm not sure if three years later it would still be published as it is.

I can't lie the first half of the book infuriated me at times and all I wanted was to jump inside the story and shake the characters until they snapped out of their behavior. I couldn't predict where the story was going at all or imagine many endings that would've satisfied me. Elisha was at points so submissive and Alex SUCH an oblivious prick, I struggled to root for either or see a possible redemption arc.

One of my favorite series of all time is the Captive Prince trilogy by C. S. Pacat and I have to admit I'd pay LOTS of money to read a snipped of the the characters meeting. It would take Laurent of Vere probably less than a minute and two sentences to make Alexander Bishop cry and break down in on public.
During my read and comparing the protagonists I realized I only like to read about bratty subs that fight back, if not externally than at least internally (like Damon).
Alex's behavior is so ignorant and horrible at times, while Elisha is brainwashed into only existing to make him happy. I worried this dynamic wouldn't be explored properly and in the worst case romanticized. (There's enemies to lovers and then there's THIS).

In the end we - thankfully - get a story that deep dives into the psychological aftermath of breaking a person and I think that was the only and necessary decision to make and direction to go

Spoiler

in the second half. If Elisha & Alex simply would've gotten together with little struggle (as it seemed at points in the first half, you got me there K. M. props to you) this book would've been highly problematic (and I don't throw those words around easily).

The system of Docile is interesting as well as scary, which is exactly the point K. M. Szpara wanted to deliver. It doesn't romanticizes it's heavy themes but shows a dystopian world that - I'm sure - many would read as a modern psychological horror story. (I'll just categorize the book as dystopian horror for myself).

I'm not sure if the execution was 100% on point though and wish the author would've explored different aspects of the system. I think the concept had lots of potential that wasn't completely exhausted. Again, in many ways Docile reads like a Fanfiction you discover at 3AM. Unputdownable. Thrilling. But slightly rocky. You wake up dizzy and confused the next morning, wondering what the fuck you read.

In my opinion the book could've done more and while the entire second half

Spoiler

and the court section

was necessary it wasn't as engaging as the first half. I liked the more horror/taboo direction it steered in during those pages, even though it was uncomfortable to read at times.

I also think Docile would've benefited from a trim. This novel easily could've been 300 pages instead of 500. Was it still incredible fast to read? Yes. But still. Like I said, I searched for exactly this trope and wanted to read a book with "bad" and adult queer characters. It did what it promised. But I wish it would've done more with less... I think if Docile were a bit sharper, shorter and nailed the message/horror and characters a bit better, this easily could've been a new favorite and five star read. 

In the end, it scratched the right parts of my brain but I'm not mind blown by the story and the second half dragged out and steered in all sorts of directions. There was no real structure to the book (why I think it ended up being this long). Definitely an interesting read though and if you've never read anything with that trope it might be more surprising and shocking to you than it was for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Rape, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Classism, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Body horror, Bullying, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

tome's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Addiction, Medical content, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Abandonment, Cursing, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

carolined314's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

A hard story about brainwashing, dependence, privilege, debt.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Torture, Sexual assault, Confinement, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Dementia, Drug use, Grief, Dysphoria, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Excrement

ashlikes's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Slavery, Self harm, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Physical abuse, Confinement, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Torture, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

renbot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a super powerful narrative about capitalism and societal/family expectations, and cycles of abuse. The characters start out in an incredibly abusive, unbalanced relationship,

Spoiler

but eventually they both recognize their failings and how they've been coerced into their positions, and they reconcile. Their relationship is incredibly unhealthy, but they work on it, and their compassion and devotion is super powerful in the end.

This isn't an uplifting story, but the conclusion of the story is powerful, and leaves you feeling hopeful for the characters' futures.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Terminal illness

arithegnome's review

challenging dark hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Slavery

Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

bluemoons's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

chicareading's review against another edition

While the lgbt elements were seducing, "Docile" is a white tale about white men discussing modern indentured slavery in a white state wrapped in an awkward, if not slightly romanticized lens. The setup to this book promises to touch on a lot of tricky and harsh subjects, but the characters' overall makeup, pacing, and presentation of the whole conundrum weren't for me. I can't suspend my disbelief this hard, in 2020, when breaching slavery through white people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Dementia, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Slavery

Minor: Torture

Note about the "dementia" tag: This book's slavery is based on a drug called dociline, whoses sustained use eventually erodes the user's mind into a state of blank subservience. The main character's mother has had her personality and recognition warped out in a way that mirrors dementia, but isn't quite.