Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

128 reviews

dairaglynn's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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This book is the one that got me over my big reading slump. While it might deserve a higher rating since it brought me back into reading, I found the first 1/2 - 2/3 of the book incredibly slow and boring. I don't think I started enjoying it until the Sureil became a character. I originally planned on DNFing this series, but since my sister bought me the book and loved it so much I figured I would finish it and just tell her it wasn't for me. Wow was I wrong! The beginning of the book might have been incredibly slow and boring for me, but the ending was excellent and I am beyond happy I stuck with it. So ready for book 2!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting

lolasbooks12's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

yayac94's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Torture, Gaslighting

sandramarinis's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I truly didn't want to like this book, but I did. In fact, I was never bored. I was entertained, especially towards the end where it truly felt like I was watching a movie. 

I was judgemental because it was recommended on booktok and also because I find magical creatures titled "High Fae" a bit tacky. But I managed to look past that, so that's something. 

Positives:
The detail! The world building! I managed to imagine how everything/everyone looks. Things that happened early in the book will suddenly be mentioned in chapters waaay later, and still be relevant to the story. Being able to bring everything together like that shows true talent. 

Negatives:
There were certainly things I didn't like, but I almost don't care. For instance it wasn't necessarily logical how fast Feyre got over deeply traumatic things. Everything she lived through would've given her severe PTSD, and yet she seems to get over it in three pages every time something bad happens. I don't believe for a minute that

a woman would ever fall in love with someone who basically held them hostage and stole them away from their family, ESPECIALLY AFTER SHE FINDS OUT THAT HE HAS KILLED SO MANY WOMEN BEFORE HER TRYING TO SAVE HIS OWN ASS, LIKE WTF?! I can't tell you a single fact about who Tamlin is, what he likes and dislikes and stuff. He seems mediocre to me, but oh well. I was still entertained. Idk about you but that's not love, that's called delusion and desperation I hope Tamlin gets more interesting or that Feyre gets a new and more charming love interest

. Another thing that bothered me was that

SHE KILLED INNOCENT PEOPLE, WAS INVOLUNTARY GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE, and she forgot about that the moment sex with Tamlin was an option? Girl! Same thing after the confinement and torture at the party, like ... I don't believe that's realistic, but I guess people cope in different ways!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Dementia

Minor: Gaslighting

jenndlara's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Just don’t stop at the first book. I promise, it gets even better. And like calls like.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood

Moderate: Gaslighting, War

kds247's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Alright, I’ll give it to the ACOTAR girlies and admit that this was entertaining. I mainly liked the supporting characters over the protagonist, but sometimes their voices blended together. Hopefully throughout the series as each of them develop they’ll become more fleshed out as individuals. The beginning was ROUGH in terms of writing style and dialogue (so much so I genuinely thought she was making fun of the YA fantasy genre), but the further I got the more the dialogue and pacing evened out. Liked it better than Fourth Wing though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent

certainpov's review against another edition

1.75

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment

shinyfox's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, War

Minor: Death of parent

skeletor23's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Book really drags in the beginning to give too much world exposition before we even have the chance to care, surrounds main character by a family of near irredeemable characters that makes reader question why it spends so much time on them in the beginning, and repeats formulaic sequence of main character outright being stupid and putting self into harms way by doing the opposite of advice given, having to be rescued time and time again in drawn out false climaxes. That being said, the book redeems itself in the 3rd quarter, building on characters, creative action sequences, romance, and straight up gore and tragedy into resolution to make us feel something for an initially dull and annoyingly dumb main character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Classism

book spends so much time focusing and building on a main love interest (Tamlin) that it basically character assassinates them at the end by having him do literally nothing and say nothing to help save the main character-who is literally going through a prolonged gauntlet of death and torture to free him out of love- from being brutally beaten and mentally broken and eventually horrifically and slowly killed in front of him. Feels like a massive waste of his character and readers time, and is frustrating to the reader.

lavendar's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment