Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Sundial by Catriona Ward

48 reviews

spicycarl29's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.25

This book moved a little too slow for my taste. It took too long to for the story to build up and focused too much on the back story rather than dealing with the actual problem/mystery of the book. The ending felt rushed, especially after taking so long to build up to it, and it didn’t feel like it flowed with the rest of the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Mental illness, Death, Toxic relationship, and Cursing

Moderate: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Miscarriage, and Mental illness

the_book_bee's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Torture, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Blood, Confinement, and Animal death

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Slavery, Addiction, and Confinement

Minor: Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Adult/minor relationship

misscassylee's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Animal death, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Child death, Drug abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse

kermit_the_wrong's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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

2.0

Never really *got there*. It had potential but just fizzled out somewhere along the way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Infertility, and Body horror

fi_reads_books's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Death

Moderate: Miscarriage, Gore, Murder, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Gore, Kidnapping, Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Addiction, and Gun violence

noelle1121005's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Gore, and Toxic relationship

thehmkane's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Violence, Animal death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, Misogyny, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Blood

soradsauce's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

melliedm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

A horrifying story of how trauma lives inside of us, centered on mother (Rob) and daughter (Callie) who both appear to suspect one another of being a danger whilst escaped together in an isolated desert retreat.

Sundial was filled with surprises and grotesque imagery, but also managed to be a display of restraint. The book frequently gave us just enough information to draw a conclusion without spelling it out for us, which is a refreshing change of pace. A chilling thriller that kept me flipping pages until I reached the ending.

The story is told through switching perspectives of Rob and Callie, Rob’s past as she recounts details to her daughter, and passages from a book that Rob has written. The only sore spot for me was the latter. I had hoped it would be more relevant as the story continued, but for me it served to interrupt the pace. 

Other than that, I loved this read. Make sure to check the content warnings before picking it up, though, because it definitely deals with many big trigger items (albeit quite deftly).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Confinement, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Animal death

rosemarygrace1211's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Grief, and Confinement

Moderate: Murder, Blood, Child abuse, Animal death, Death, Addiction, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Animal cruelty