Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Magma

i liked the way the book portrayed the change over time in abusive relationships, especially from the main characters perspective - seeing her thoughts and outlook change/fluctuate rather than focusing on the "what happened" ex the exact dialogue. at the same time, i do wish we had seen a little more of the relationship, such as explaining why she even liked him in the first place?

i do also like what the author was doing, seeing it in snapshots, but i do think i might've liked it more if there was just more to each chapter, at least in the beginning? im not really sure, i liked parts of it but wished there was more sometimes.

i liked the way he was written, and i also like the way he was never named. there were a lot of interesting little details like that throughout the book that made it enjoyable even if it was a quick read.

i almost cried when the mom reacted w "my girl" to her suicide attempt.

the book makes it easy to really sympathize with her, esp later in the book, even if you do think many of her decisions are dumb. i don't think i liked the ending at all, though -

the addition of the pregnancy seemed really random (but also i think im also just a bit biased against pregnancy/children plot points, so i didn't like how the ending of this book hinges on it.

i don't know, i enjoyed reading it and i found a lot of the latter half really relatable

even if he also kinda disappeared from a lot of it after her attempt

, and i liked a lot of the stylistic choices, but it left me a bit unsatisfied in other ways.

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acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

1.0

This book was basically the torture of a mentally ill woman in an abusive relationship. Trigger warnings for very graphic depictions of self-harm, suicide attempts, and sexual assault. I liked neither the stream-of-conscience style writing, nor the main character's frustrating refusal to do anything that would better her own circumstances. This book was definitely not my style. I don't think I can handle frustrating main characters. I spent the whole book begging her to make literally any other choices than the ones she did.

Content Warnings