▫️Acts of Desperation | Psychological Fiction
▫️Author: Megan Nolan @mmegannolan
▫️My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
▫️Pub Date: March 9, 2021
Trigger Warnings: Sexual abuse, Sexual Violence, Rape, Alcoholism, Domestic Violence, Self Harm, Eating Disorders
Our unnamed protagonist finds herself utterly besotted by Ciaran, a man with charm and intellect in abundance. To an onlooker in a restaurant they are nothing short of a beautiful couple, enviably besotted and for fleetings of time this is exactly what they are. However, what makes this dynamic so fascinating is that it is often not the acts of love that tie these two together but the acts of desperation.
Ciaran is undoubtedly an example of a disgustingly abusive individual but what is so interesting about the dynamic is that it isn’t always a clear cut good guy/bad guy situation. Our protagonist presents damaging and morally questionable behaviour as a result of his wrath. To behave similarly gives her the comfort of knowing she can hurt in the ways that he can.
This is not presented in a way that gives sympathy to her abuser but explores the complicated coping mechanisms of trauma. A difficult and often sickening read but beautifully executed by a writer that will definitely be an auto-buy author from now until the end of time.
Reviewed by Megan Raynor