codependency: the book. isn't that what this really is? marianne assigns her worth to what connell thinks of her and connell is aware of the power he has over her and can't truly connect with anyone else except for her. there's a lot i liked about this book, most of all the tumultuous relationship of the main characters who felt complicated (in a good way), nuanced, and very human. their childhood and class differences have realistic affects on their viewpoints and thoughts, which was explored well within the narrative. connell was very relatable on multiple accounts (which should be concerning tbh). most of my annotations are regarding his feelings which resonated w me on a spiritual level. marianne, on the other hand, while i understand her conceptually and why she is the way she is, i can't fully get behind her. the whole submissive-masochist thing is a big ick of mine and while i kind of know that her sexuality is heavily impacted by her past abuse and trauma, on a personal level as a reader, it's just not my cup of tea, which is the main reason for me giving this four stars instead of five. another con might've been the rampant miscommunication between the two characters but i understand that bit because it's hard to be completely frank w someone when struggling mentally. the dynamic was also very sexual in a way, and i'm just more of a romantic so ig that's a bit of a minus point too. i'd recommend it to someone, but it's a very hit or miss book.
