Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

8 reviews

kailiyahknight's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Violence, Abortion, Gaslighting, Child death, Gun violence, Murder, Gore, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Blood, Child abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, War, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

seforana's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Classism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Abortion, Gun violence, Death, Violence, and Infertility

ddnreads's review

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

*inhale*

AAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH

HUFT

😡🥺😫😫😫😫😭😭

"Did we make it?"
*insert smile through the pain meme*

The Stationary Shop is a romance laced with historical fiction set in Iran. Told through non-linear timeline, it revolved around the political condition at that time, young once-in-a-lifetime lovers, and difficult condition of one's family. 

The story traced back the tangled love background history of a mother who affect the young lovers' path to the future. 

I have my suspicion, but how it turned out still enraged me :((( I hate miscommunication trope.  And I think they deserve better. At least the closure gave it justice 🥺

If you're into historical fiction romance with complicated family dynamic, the love of a mother and the lost of children, pick this book up and suffer with me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Child death, Mental illness, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence

ksuazo94's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: War, Violence, and Gaslighting

bandysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A couple months back, I found The Stationery Shop on the shelves of my local used bookstore. The cover was so stunningly beautiful that I picked it up without really knowing what it was about. Lucky for me, it is mostly a historical fiction set in Iran with some romance mixed in. The book follows Roya and Bahman as they witness political protests, attempted coups, and eventually fall in love with each other. 

First of all, I really loved the way the author brought Iran to life. The setting is almost a character of its own as it is so present and involved in the plotline. I could fully imagine the stationery shop, the markets, and everything in between. It reminded me a lot of some of my own travels in the Middle East and I absolutely loved that sense of nostalgia from the reading. 

Additionally, I loved Roya as a main character. She is clever, opinionated, and knows what she wants. She is a good daughter to her family and a loyal partner to Bahman when they fall in love. I felt a rapport with her immediately and continued to feel it throughout. 

I also enjoyed the way the story was split between past and present. Sometimes when there is a split timeline in stories, one timeline is stronger than the other. That is not the case here. I loved both timelines and love the way the two timelines eventually come together. 

My only real critique of the book is that the main source of conflict could've been so easily resolved. I won't give details here as I don't want to spoil the book, but suffice it to say, that you can't think about the conflict too deeply or it creates a bit of a hole in the story. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it without reservation to anyone who likes historical fiction and romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Violence

wellreadjill_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional sad 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: Police brutality, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Death, War, Child death, Classism, and Mental illness

gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

This book was an amazing read. I really loved how the relationship is developed in part one and then parts two - four is about taking the reader on a journey through the aftermath and seeing how their lives went on and how it all came to be.

I found myself confronted with so many emotions reading this, which has now left me in an emotionally confused state as I keep processing this book and everything in it. It does not shy away from making very complicated characters, that you despise for their actions, but sympathetic because of their circumstance, but then frustrated as those circumstances are not an excuse for their actions, and so the cycle continues whilst reading. It leaves you in a strange but also real situation where not everything is black and white.

The plot at the beginning had me interested but not hooked. I enjoyed it for the most part, but when I stopped reading at part 3 during my first sitting of this book, I could have left it as I didn't have me hooked (granted I was also in a bit of a slump so that contributed to this feeling as well). Part 3 was much of the same from part 2 but had some really heart breaking and warming moments that felt so real., but part 4 is where this book shines in my opinion. This part hit me like a train. I was all over the place and the epilogue had me stunned and tore my heart from my chest with the emotions that I felt and everything that lead to that moment.

I highly recommend this book , but also encourage to look up the trigger and content warnings as there is some heavy and triggering moments in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Violence, and Child death

readbycarina's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Child death

Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Islamophobia, Sexism, and Self harm

Minor: Cancer and War