Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

34 reviews

clara01's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

3.75

I liked this book, it's incredibly raw, relatable and thought provoking. At times it was cringy or hard to get through because the FMC is flawed and real, she makes mistakes and says or does the wrong thing. I found myself either wanting to shake her or hug her. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Medical trauma, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Medical content

mari1532'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I listened to this audiobook with Libby through my library.

Brief Summary: Queenie is a woman trying to find herself after a devastating breakup. However, the more she tries to avoid her problems the more problems she seems to have.

Thoughts: If I was rating this book simply on writing it would be 5 out of 5. Carty-Williams writes with such emotionally vivid gripping detail that you can't help but sympathize or empathize with her characters. That being said this book was a lot. The book blurb describes it as Bridget Jones meets Americanah and I did not get the quicky, cheery vibes of Bridget Jones until the last 10 pages of the book. 

I appreciated how this was written to read as if we were reading Queenie's thoughts as if she were writing in a journal because it made her seem vulnerable and relatable. There were quite a few points where I was yelling at Queenie to not do that thing. Carty-Williams wrote her in such a way that you immediately felt that Queenie was your friend and you wanted the best for her. I think the nuance of Queeni and every other character in the book was my favourite part.    

Of course, there were a few people I did not like in this book even though they were well-written. Men whose names start with T, random Guys, and backstabbing friends were the villains of this book. On some level, I do think these subplots highlight the mess of being a woman in your 20s and on another level that some people truly never leave high school. 

I also really liked the journey that Queenie went on with therapy and her family. The arc of that plot line was beautiful to see and highlighted how people can sometimes surprise you.

This was a really good book and I would recommend it as a read. However, this is more a coming-of-age story and what it takes to discover who you are as a person, rather than a rom-com. It is exquisitely written.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

meat_muffin's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Medical content, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Self harm

justcallmeemily's review against another edition

funny 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

2.5

If it wasn't for book club, i would've DNFed a long time ago. Definitely not my kind of book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

ghostmomxoxo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol

latashman's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

The conclusion to this book was a nice wrap up and conclusion to the growth that Queenie underwent. I hated a lot of this book, the choices Queenie made, the abuse she endured, but I felt compelled to see how it ended. I think the writing was good, it elicited a strong emotional response from me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Alcohol

sarah_reading_party's review against another edition

dark 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

2.75

the good:
-queenie's jamaican british family, their dialogue/slang, and the way they care for each other
-queenie's friend group, the corgis... nothing like a good group of friends :)
-queenie's determination to improve her mental health and seek the therapy she needs

the bad:
-graphic abuse & sexual content - queenie put herself into bad situations and men put her into bad situations. that could have been shown without such graphic content/descriptions. i had to skim some large portions of this book. :(
-some of the workplace things queenie deals with could have been avoided if she just, ya know, worked. alas....

i probably would not have finished this book if it had not been a book club selection. the author is a talented writer and i'd consider reading another of her books in the future!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexism, Medical content, and Grief

flashandoutbreak's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

angelbabe_cj's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful tense slow-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

3.75

The writing here is absolutely excellent, just the story wasn't as much for me. Even if the arc overall was both satisfying and something I enjoyed. The early parts of the story were pretty off putting for me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Suicide, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

beetandbaguette's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment