Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

176 reviews

ti_vraga's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional 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

4.0

 
A poetic read steeped in self-loathing and the desire for the right kind of love.

This novel was almost hard to read. Not because it was bad- it was great. But because I was able to identify with so many aspects of the self-centered, unnamed main character. It wasn’t a pleasant realization. It felt raw, the way a healing scrape seems to always brush up against things, getting re-opened again and again. 

Megan Nolan navigates the character’s identity-lessness in a way that brought to the surface thoughts and emotions I’d thought long buried. As a woman in her early 30’s, my identity isn’t as ephemeral as it was when I was the age of the narrator, somewhere in her mid-20s. But I quickly remembered how it felt to be unattached, shapeless, to be willing to fit into whatever mold you needed to in order to make someone love you. 

My favorite line of the book is “...I was in love and so I was insane…” I’d like to think such a line is a universal truth to some degree. I have certainly felt that way in the throes of love’s infancy. The obsession of it. The inability to do much else but think of the object of your heart’s desire. To feel useless if you’re not of use.

Read this book for its potency. For its blunt honesty. For its insanity.

Content warning: r*pe

 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

prey4thefemale's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.25

damn straight women really live like this?
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

epiphyte's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.25

Brutal and ridden with shame. I loved it, it brought me closer to my own sources of shame and sparked my curiosity about them. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

venti's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.75

narrator should have murdered ciaran. she was in love with lisa 🏃🏻‍♀️🤷‍♀️
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nikylela's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

noahoha's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

saintsramz's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i hate them. ugly ass relationship. could neva be me. they need therapists. I will say though i love the way love is spoken about very very interesting for someone like me who thought they could never be worthy of love. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

augustpeach_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.75

I enjoyed the frantic, anxious and the flawed aspects from the main female character, mixed with the obvious dose of delusion, panic and the self-awareness toward the self-destruction. Accurately portrays love addiction, anxious/avoidant personalities and attachment styles. 

If you're a fan of complicated characters with unresolved aspects from their lives, 'stream of consciousness-style' writing with short, disjointed thoughts discussed as chapters (glimpses of conversations, scattered/faded memories brought back into light in a self-reflective way, etc.)

I purchased this book and plan on keeping it, due to the writing style alone. As a fan of complicated characters, I feel like there's a second read in my future for this novel. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

h_gordon's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jaiari12's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings