Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Acts of Desperation

i’ll be straight up i didn’t like this book for like 30% of it but then something changed and i went full 180. tbh i thought this was going to be a commentary on a woman being violently obsessed with an awful guy but it turned into a commentary on the complexities of human nature and self-worth. like what in the actual. and there were so many banger lines that blew my mind so much that i kind of had to sit with it for a second. anyways sorry megan nolan my bad

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questionablereads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.75

This book feels like cigarettes.

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leeshahhh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.25

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aliciae08's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I’m glad I finished with this book. When I first started to read it I did think thought I would end up giving it a four star, instead I just couldn’t wait for it to finish.

I’m finding it hard to find characters with such pronounced eating disorders and self harming behavior very compelling. Although they were moments where the unnamed protagonist have my empathy and understanding, especially when it came to her god-awful boyfriend, I did just stop. What I desperately wanted, for this girl was a really good therapist, which I know isn’t fair but it is what I felt.

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holysmokesitsboo's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Wow I hated how much I related to this character!! Made me realize I should probably look into therapy!!

But in all honesty I really felt this book in my soul and did relate heavily to the main character. It made me have to pause it and put it down at times just because I related almost too much and I had to like reflect on myself. It’s devastatingly realistic. Especially the part where she said she’d starve herself as punishment against others even if they didn’t know because it felt like winning a battle and like are you kidding me?? The way I’ve never had an original experience. I also like the tone of this book and how it read, the feeling of it being autobiographical and I had to remind myself that it wasn’t one.

I think my dislike was just all the cheating at the end. And I know that was like the point and like it’s not meant to be liked or anything but I just hate cheating tropes in books and media. In other cases I’ve full stopped on reading something or watching because cheating is just so overused. I also understand its purpose though and it was like another version of self harm for her. It was also very upsetting to hear about her being assaulted in the end by different men.

Overall I think this book was wonderfully written and the characterization was well done for our main girl. I also like that she’s never named, it’s weirdly intimate to know everything going on inside of her head and in her life while not knowing who she is at all.

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