Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Promising Young Women by Caroline O'Donoghue

6 reviews

cecereads__'s review against another edition

4.5

I read the first chapter, then decided I was more in the mood for a mystery so I read Kala (loved it). Then I came back to this one, and I’m really surprised how I just kept turning the pages. (We all know that sometimes a book can drag and you just need to reach that next chapter to take a break) - well, I didn’t expect that this would be the very opposite. The writing was excellent; I raced through it. Even though I’ve read similar books in terms of the premise (office setting, three female friends-ish, younger woman/older man, a twenties London girlie, you get it), I was still so gripped by this one. And yes, I’m sorry for sounding so surprised but I had such high expectations for the Rachel incident (unfairly so) and went in with none for this one. I just know that Scenes of a graphic nature is fully calling my name now (from the shelves bc ofc I got these two after reading the Rachel incident bc I still really enjoyed it! - Just thought it’d be a five star and a bit different than it was).
Anyway, really loved the writing and the story was told so well imo, I couldn’t look away 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Vomit, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

ferstival's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism

starbeans's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

cw: abusive relationships, alcoholism, suicide

(Synopsis maybe to come)

It’s a brilliant debut for sure. 
The writing is captivating, the plot moves at a very good pace — and it walks the line between telling you everything you need to know while still keeping you guessing. During the course of the book, the protagonist’s mental health steadily declines, which is beautifully reflected in the writing style becoming a tad more erratic. 

It highlights basically everything that’s wrong with today’s world in regards to sexism — not a single woman in this book was happy. If you happen to have read «How To Fall Out Of Love Madly», there was the same amount of happy women here: one. The one that’s living by herself without much human contact. Still, it’s a very, very recommendable book.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide

emmagalt's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This is brilliantly written.  It felt like a really authentic space in a woman's brain. Unbelievably frustrating at times, but that added to the honesty.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

studydniowka'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Nie sądziłam, że zgodzę się z przesłaniem tej książki, bałam się, że dostanę miałą liberalnofeministyczną powiadtkę. Bardzo dobra, uwrażliwiona krytyka relacji władzy, które dochodzą do głosu w momencie, kiedy szef uwodzi i wykorzystuje swoją pracownicę. Muszę obejrzeć film.  

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting