Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

31 reviews

inlaraland's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Acts of Desperation" is a confession of a woman's heartbreak, and her descent into chaos as she unravels due to being in a toxic relationship. The story follows our narrator, who is a young woman who is in a relationship with an older man named Ciaran. To our narrator, Ciaran is the definition of a dream man and she is deeply infatuated with him. Her affection grows into obsession, and as Ciaran reveals his true colors in their relationship, we watch our narrator desperately lose herself to keep the man she is deeply in love. 

I love watching women come apart in fiction - it's one of my favorite narratives. This work is messy, vulnerable and raw. Our female protagonist is honest about her desire, and her need to find herself int his toxic relationship. We watch her spiral into chaotic decisions, and can only be left stunned with what unfolds with her circumstances. The inner dialogue that reflects on life, love, body image and self esteem rings true of any woman navigating the turbulence of life in her early twenties. 

This work is courageous - and the lens in which the author deep dives into love is one that we shouldn't look away from. I didn't expect to love this work as much as I did, but by the end I knew that this was a five star read. 

This book reminded me of "The Days of Abandonment" and "Hausfrau". I think if you enjoyed both of those works then you might really like this novel. I also recommend this to fans of literary fiction and fans of Irish literature. 
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alissa_lopez's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A tough, but interesting, dark not-quite-coming of age story. 
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charismae_reads's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

2.5

It was so easy to flip through this book and really feel like I committed a break and entry into the unnamed female narrator's head. The main character is honest and undoubtedly flawed.
Acts of Desperation is well written, I can't argue against that. But it often feels like a disproportionate melancholic fever dream all strung out. The ending feels like a slight moment of clarity that contrasts the book's overall somber tone. 

Tbh I fought fight tooth and nail to get past all the gritty parts of this book and breathed a sigh of relief once it was all done.
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anadorablegal's review against another edition

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dark inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

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sgs's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective fast-paced

4.0

If someone else had written this story/plot, my rating probably would have been lower, but the writing bumped the whole novel up at least a star. I used a highlighter all over this book. 

Unfortunately, a very reflective and realistic novel for women, and I (disturbingly) felt I saw a friend’s relationship in it. 
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ninahuynh's review against another edition

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Desperately tried to find the will to continue on; no longer spark any joy from this book.
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ola_oreiba's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

I should’ve know from the name but I could never imagine for the life of me that someone could be so desperate. It was so jarring to read and I’ve never been this verbally furious at a protagonist before.

Reading Acts of Desperation felt like someone with ADHD that has to sit though someone telling them a bad story ever so slowly, it triggers all their senses and turns into pure rage. 

At times, I really wanted to sympathize with her and there were a couple of paragraphs and moments/thoughts towards the end that I vaguely agreed with but it couldn’t justify the prolonged and continued suffering for nothing. 

It annoyed me how the story was chaotic but predictable at the same time although I cannot fault the writing stylistically. It’s just the whole idea of the book is just pushing how desperate someone can be and how deep into desperation they can go and I think in that sense Megan Nolan is a completionist. Nobody can be more desperate.
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kmartro'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? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Written like a collection of essays dedicated to every (heterosexual) woman's worst experience with love & sex.
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morefolklore's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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likeagilmoregirl's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.0

I fell in love with this book on page one.
This is one of those rare pieces of art that makes you feel as though you are looking into a mirror.
I think the writing in this book was incredible and the relationship dynamic was a fair portrayal of what it’s like to live in this kind of turmoil. Specifically, the first half of this book is hauntingly beautiful. 
Unfortunately, the second half of this book fell a little flat for me. I found the dramatic shift in the narrator’s behavior made sense, but came on all at once with little perspective on how she was changing.
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