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A review by wine_and_dine
Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I despise the nameless main character for how subservient she is and her willingness to make herself so small to make a man happy, and some parts were very challenging to read through (page 262).
I despise Cieran even more for his ability to make her feel worthless simply by ignoring her, and that he blatantly thought he was better than everyone else 'because he's an artist'.
But it was written remarkably well and her though development for justifying abuse was so clear.
The manic thoughts made her such an unreliable narrator I constantly questioned if the severity of the abuse was magnified by her incessant need to be loved (and magnified by the panic of not being loved after an argument).
The ending was very abrupt and her character arc felt very incomplete and nothing was learned from the story; it felt like I was reading her diaries and the retrospective Athens chapters were going to show growth from the abuse and from her own (obvious) personality disorder.
VERY strong themes of: longing, obsession, lust, desire, pain, self-harm, love, friendship, admiration, desperation
I despise Cieran even more for his ability to make her feel worthless simply by ignoring her, and that he blatantly thought he was better than everyone else 'because he's an artist'.
But it was written remarkably well and her though development for justifying abuse was so clear.
The manic thoughts made her such an unreliable narrator I constantly questioned if the severity of the abuse was magnified by her incessant need to be loved (and magnified by the panic of not being loved after an argument).
The ending was very abrupt and her character arc felt very incomplete and nothing was learned from the story; it felt like I was reading her diaries and the retrospective Athens chapters were going to show growth from the abuse and from her own (obvious) personality disorder.
VERY strong themes of: longing, obsession, lust, desire, pain, self-harm, love, friendship, admiration, desperation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Self harm