Tragic and provocative. This book jumps immediately into the narrator's obsession with Ciaran and the ups and downs of their relationship, regardless of how volatile and dramatic.

"Acts of Desperation" is a very powerful read. This book took me to a very personal dark place as it discusses modern(millennial) sex and relationships in a way that very few authors succeed. I highly recommend this if you like writers like Sally Rooney, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Raven Leilani.

The main narrative revolves around the unnamed female protagonist and her several year relationship with a man named Ciaran. It is a very toxic relationship to say the least, but the inner monologue of the protagonist resonates hauntingly describing her desperation for the relationship to be a success but also wanting the relationship to dissolve. She's obsessed with Ciaran but also fears and despises him. Throughout the course of the novel, the protagonist describes past relationships, sexual encounters, mental health issues, and friendship struggles.

This is definitely not a "feel good" read, and it cuts deep into you - especially if you've experienced anything similar to the desperation and mental state of the protagonist.

However, it is lyrical, beautiful, haunting, spectacular, and poignant. I highly recommend this literary gem, and I really look forward to what this author creates next.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, told in short, fragmented chapters that flit between the narrator's early 20s in Dublin and self-reflective journal entries written five years later in Greece. The narrator's relationship with the cold, controlling Ciaran is examined in a charming, lively first person voice as her history with alcohol addiction and self-harm is slowly revealed. These glimmers into her past provide context for her continual self-betrayal, and though it is never interrogated to the same degree as her love addiction, her relationship with drinking is in many ways the true romance of the book. The later italicized sections provide commentary on women's sexual desires, and a layer of self-reflexivity that may help certain readers to understand her continual struggle for autonomy. At times, especially early in the book, certain scenes of subjugation as are only hinted at, as when the narrator describes begging on her knees for Ciaran, and her internal landscape is sometimes hidden or glossed over in favour of intellectualizing her actions. However, keeping her feelings below the surface in the earlier chapters does allow the narrative to build to a disturbing crescendo, and makes her ending all the more satisfying.

Not a fan. The premise seemed intriguing but I found myself skimming this book to get past the emotional abuse and descriptive sex. I felt this topic could have been addressed in a less disturbing manner.