Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

6 reviews

saliwali's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Torture, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Abortion, Confinement, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, War, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Grief, Misogyny, and Racial slurs

emmehooks's review

adventurous challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

4.5

I was not expecting to so throughly enjoy this book! Badass women spies, badass women defying social convention. The dual timelines wove together beautifully, there was just enough truth in the fiction to keep me interested, and I appreciated that most of the characters were “fallen” people by society’s standards. Absolutely would read another book by Kate Quinn or on this subject.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Torture, Grief, Biphobia, War, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Vomit, Sexual content, Cursing, Excrement, Gaslighting, Antisemitism, Murder, Infidelity, and Alcohol

cadybooks's review

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Police brutality, Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, War, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

madmantha's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Beginning was a bit slow for me but once it really begins to pick up, it does not stop. 
Both narratives blend together seamlessly in the final arc; everything comes full circle.
One of my favorite epilogues ever written; really pulled on the heart-strings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Gun violence, Grief, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, War, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Colonisation, Genocide, Outing, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Confinement, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

Minor: Toxic relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Miscarriage, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Infidelity, Infertility, Religious bigotry, and Self harm

karolinaz's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Gore, Sexual content, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Confinement, Addiction, Abortion, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, Ableism, War, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Murder, Genocide, Body horror, Antisemitism, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, Rape, Excrement, Infidelity, Classism, Cursing, Infertility, and Misogyny

chalkletters's review

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

In the four years since I last read The Alice Network, I’d managed to forget almost everything. I remembered Eve spying in German-occupied Lille, but I’d completely wiped Charlie, her quest to find her cousin and her romance with Finn from my memory. That’s not a reflection of their relative merits, because both the 1915 and 1947 plots have incredibly compelling moments. It might simply be that the title reminds me of the WWI timeline, making it easier to call to mind.

It’s surprising that I’d forgotten Charlie, as she definitely undergoes the most positive character development over the course of The Alice Network, and that’s usually something I enjoy! Her evolution from obedient daughter to defiant bookkeeper certainly feels earned, though I did notice a bit more telling than showing at times, particularly towards the end. 

Kate Quinn handles the plot excellently: there are moments of creeping horror, triumph and shock, and she does an excellent job of balancing the two timelines, keeping both interesting and engaging to the last. The ending is lovely, wrapping everything up and giving a sense of hope for the characters we’ve invested so much time in. Kate Quinn’s prose is consistently effective, with some really lovely moments, especially describing the flower fields in Grasse.

I don’t know if The Alice Network is something I’ll want to revisit again, but I’d definitely read more by Kate Quinn.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Torture, and War

Minor: Blood, Child death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Murder, and Suicide