Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Acts of Desperation

If this were autobiographical I’d say it’s an extremely brave piece of work, because ~whew~ Acts of Desperation was quite precisely named.

This reads as a confessional from our main character about her obsessions with love and sex and her volatile relationship with her body and her compulsion to punish it.

There were many parts that were difficult for me to read and plenty of parts where I had to step away because of my embarrassment with the our main character’s sheer honesty about her actions and her intentions.

Not sure I could recommend it, as the trigger warnings are plentiful, but I’m happy I read it.

Content Warnings

aplambeck's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

alt05's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

There was really nothing redeemable about this book for me. The main character, who is nameless, is unlikeable, emotionally immature, and oddly introspective. The book focuses heavily on the main character's relationship with men and herself, which is an interesting take. Though, it's executed poorly. It's as if the author took every social struggle a woman may go through and crammed it into a short 300-page book. The writing itself is pretentious and moody. The separation fo the chapters is weird and doesn't make sense with the direction of the plot. The ending is terrible and provides no real resolution to the events of the book. I understand that maybe the author wanted the reader to put themselves in the main character's shoes, but it reads like a bad diary entry more than a novel about the ways in which women interact with men for love and societal gain. Also, there are very random acts of violence and sexual harm, that don't add anything to the book at all. I don't recommend it.

Content Warnings

quills4days's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

vulpinevik's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Honestly what did I read. I know some people love this book, but it simply wasn’t for me. The main character is very depressed and easily swayed into toxic situations, so she continues to do horrible things and stay in a horrible relationship to a despicable man. There’s little to no growth, and just when you think it can’t get worse it does. This isn’t “support women’s wrongs” if the woman is the one being wronged the whole novel?? I was hoping that half way through the book there would be a climax scene where we notice a very pivotal change—something to leave us inspired that even if we relate to her suffering things will get better. That simply never happened.

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