Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

3 reviews

dwdillydally's review

challenging dark emotional funny slow-paced

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

3.5

Without Merit (2017) by Collen Hoover
#youngadultfiction #mentalhealth #familydramafiction #slowromance #mildspicy #dwreads24

Finished my first Colleen Hoover book! I wasn't sure that I'd like her flavors (dark modern romance, dysfunctional characters), so I started with a title recommended for teens / young adults. When I say "for teens", this is NOT for tweens / preteens. Here are screenshots of the content warnings I tagged, and I'm happy to elaborate on any of them, if you ask.

Depsite alllllll the CWs listed, I do recommend this to the right teen or to us, non-trendy-readers who are Hoover-curious. If it's too much for you, then you probably won't enjoy Hoover's adult books 

There were so many scenes where I was telling the 17yo main character, "Oh no honey, don't do that. Oh nnnnoo!" 🫣 But overall, this book is about family trauma and mental health - vital to talk about. It's meant to be f_<ed up. How bad can the main character's day-to-day life get before she turns a corner and starts unraveling the mess around her? For me, it was rough to read from the start through the middle, then I slowly came around, and by the end, I was rooting for the main character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Car accident, Death of parent, Outing, and Abandonment

ravenclaw_percabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense fast-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Incest, and Terminal illness

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Genocide, Violence, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and War

saraellenme's review

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? It's complicated

3.5

There are some interesting twists in this, but in general it was an overall bummer. The narrator is unlikable, and I know that’s the point, but listening to this book always soured my mood. It is also one of those books that ties up all the plot points neatly with a bow at the end. Very happily ever after.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Incest, and Medical trauma

Minor: Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and War