Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis

21 reviews

nicnels's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

pizzasprite's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.0

I have strongly conflicting feelings about this book.

It a took a while for me to get around to reading this one, since the plot of Axiom's End was so heavily based in American politics, which I am completely uninterested in as a non-American. However, Truth of the Divine does a better job exploring the international implications of first contact than Axiom's End did. The first half of this book was, well, divine - I was extremely interested in the relationship between Cora and Ampersand, and the urgency of resolving the main political conflicts continued on from the first book. I thought Kaveh was a much-needed different perspective to contrast Cora's limited viewpoints. I think that telling the story of first contact from a journalist's POV much more interesting than from a "militarist" perspective. I also loved Nikolas! The alien culture that Ellis has fabricated is truly fascinating, I almost wish this series was all about aliens with no human characters. The way Cora's PTSD and panic attacks were depicted were equally heartbreaking and sympathetic. This book depicts mental illness more earnestly than anything I have read recently. 

The second half of the book is much weaker. The tension between Cora and Ampersand dissolved completely, since Ampersand is largely absent beyond Act 2. The sexual relationship between Cora and Kaveh made me so, so, so uncomfortable. It felt very gratuitous and came out of nowhere, almost like an editor insisted on their romance. In the author's notes, Ellis mentions that Kaveh used to be two characters, and you can definitely see that in the writing. There were many instances in which I felt like I could not continue reading, because their age difference and unbalanced power dynamic made me feel that uncomfortable. Early on, it's established that Cora feels very lonely, and needs another human to talk to: if Kaveh had remained her friend/mentor, this dynamic would have been perfect. However, the fact that they begin sleeping together makes their bond feel extremely creepy and toxic. This makes it difficult to "root" for Kaveh as a protagonist.  I wish the book focused on the relationship between Ampersand and Cora, especially since their romance is alluded to early in the book. I suspect/hope this will be explored more in the next book. 

I will probably read the next book in the series, to ultimately see what happens to Ampersand. But this one definitely left a foul taste in my mouth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Eating disorder, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia

Minor: Misogyny

hanarama's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

4.25

Book at a glance:
• Human/alien relationship
 • Polyamorous
 • Early 2000 alternate history
 • First Contact
• CWs: attempted suicide, suicidal thoughts, self harm, toxic relationships, mental illness, panic attacks, gun violence, racism, Islamophobia, death 

Several months following the events of Axiom’s End, Cora is suffering from ptsd. She has panic attacks, depression, and night terrors. She relies on Ampersand for support and medication. She struggles to relax and to pull her mind away from what happened with Obelisk. 

Meanwhile the American government struggles to determine how to treat the aliens, politically. A growing conservative movement is pushing for a Third Option, that would treat the aliens as people, but with "different" rights than humans. Kaveh, a investigative journalist and immigrant fears that this will open the door to stripping humans of rights. When another alien makes landfall, Cora and Kaveh are thrown together and must fight for the humanity of extraterrestrial beings. 

I enjoyed Truth of the Divine more than I did Axiom’s End. The expanded cast helps to flesh out the world building. Kaveh and Nikola's friendship helps to drive the plot. And Kaveh provides a much needed dose of idealism and optimism to the story. Cora's mental illness is portrayed realistically, to painful effect. Her relationship with Ampersand is written as increasingly toxic for both characters, and as he has been her only support system, both characters seem set for a downward spiral. Without Kaveh for hope and levity, the story could easily have been too bleak. 

Though Ellis writes compelling internal narration, she flounders with dialog. When not about the aliens, the fate of humanity, and other heavy topics, the characters often feel stilted and forced. I found myself cringing at the dialog more than a couple or times, it felt so awkward. 

Despite this, Ellis knows how to set high stakes. The story is steeped in political issues. Though set in an alternate recent past, the story draws on today's most pressing issues of human rights. While I felt that Ellis wrote a good sci-fi that evokes human rights issues and the looming climate crisis, it may feel a little too on the nose for some readers. By pulling inspiration from real issues, I felt that the story was given a greater sense of gravity. 

The ending hits hard. That she gives Kaveh the last chapter felt particularly important to me as it seems as though the series appears to be moving towards bleaker territory. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

momo916's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Ellis covers a lot of ground in this book, from PTSD to the very nature of human society. The tone is, of course, much darker than the first book, but it feels appropriate given the escalating stakes and the unavoidable trauma incurred by the world she has created. This book was much harder for me to finish than the first was, laden as it is with grief, loss, and a staggeringly disappointing view of humanity (or at least the United States) it paints. I recently described this series as the nexus of Phantom of the Opera, aliens, and social commentary, but that comment absolutely indicates more brevity than is accurate. It is all of those things, that is true, but this whole journey is laced with such complexity and darkness that it feels incomplete. It is very well done, cynical as it is.

My only true gripe is that, while their presence was appropriate given the circumstances, some of the social commentary quips were a little on the nose. Granted, their absence would have been notable, so I'm not sure if this is just me being nitpicky. Though this is not at all indicative of poor writing or storytelling, I also did at times get a bit annoyed at Cora

for her pigheadedness and myopic pursuit of reunification with Ampersand at all cost, especially since it did eventually cost her the man she loves

.

I have rated this book 4.75 stars because I reserve a 5 star rating for books that I would immediately read again. This doesn't necessarily mean that I think the other books I have rated at 5 stars were better than this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism and Racism

gwendolynaudrey_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Much darker but also more compelling and interesting than the first, this book takes a big departure in tone from the first. It is extremely page turning, once again never allowing the reader to really breath. You learn much more about the main character's trauma and struggles in agonizing detail. Toxic relationship dynamics take front and center stage in this one, and dark themes of self harm, suicidal ideation, and human nature are put under a microscope. We learn much more about the aliens introduced and mentioned in the first, but the more we learn, the more questions the reader has. Very imaginative and entertaining, I could not put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Moderate: Islamophobia

kharlan3's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Alcohol

bookshopvampire's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

banrions's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I wavered back and forth for like the last three min if I was gonna put this as a 4 star book or a 3 star one. Honestly, it’s a 3.5 for me either way, but ultimately, I think I rounded down because, though once I sat through and read it, I absolutely was powering through and not wanting to stop for long periods of time, I was also often frustrated with what I was reading.

This book took a slightly different turn partway through and added a secondary POV that at first, I was annoyed by, and then INFURIATED BY because I just wanted to get into cora’s head again, and then, I ended up really thinking it was a smart narrative decision, and THEN the final passage of the book nailed me flat and I think that I will be thinking about it for a while.

(This is not going to be a very coherent review, as if mine ever really are lol. That’s not what I do here, I just vent some emotions about the book into a void).

I think I’ll be thinking about a LOT of this book for a while.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

sshelson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia

Minor: Alcoholism and Toxic relationship

glenfleskie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective 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

Got this from a giveaway! I mostly liked it, though I wasn’t a fan of the romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, and Antisemitism