Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Promising Young Women by Caroline O'Donoghue

14 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 

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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

danajoy's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense

4.0

Dark. At times, surreal. Infused with toxic environments and mindsets. Promising Young Women follows the time-old tale of a young woman becoming entangled with an older, married, man at work. The way it undoes her and the way she puts herself back together. 

Jane makes horrible, infuriating decisions. She seems a little too passive in her own life (at times I feel like I do this too, perhaps we all do) and it gets too far out of her control. She wants things that don't serve her. 

Reading this felt like a horror novel. I saw the bodily changes and deterioration, the appetite loss and vague mentions of things neither Jane or we as the reader knew about as horrifying. 

The Agony Aunt aspect was quite interesting and I did like the way it made Jane reflect. 

The book ends without tying up all its loose ends. Consent and assault aren't completely considered by Jane throughout but one has to hope with time and more clarity she'd be able to recognise what was happening. 

I do recommend it. This falls into that category of troubled twenty-something women behaving self-destructively which I do tend to resonate with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

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

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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

larasfavbooks's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

So so gripping! Not what I expected but then I’m not sure what I expected 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Blood, and Alcohol

ellaselbie's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape

e11en's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Medical trauma

Minor: Pregnancy

adrienne_rennie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

maartabarrales's review

dark emotional sad medium-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

4.5

If my flight had been longer, I would have read it all in one sitting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Pregnancy

aemulatio's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

bethanstanleyy's review against another edition

emotional inspiring tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage, Abortion, and Abandonment