Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Bluebeard's Castle by Anna Biller

18 reviews

beccaand's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity

whitneyfoster's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.75

I picked this up because I'm in a phase where I'm exploring gothic fiction and I was excited to come across this. The cover makes me think of the old romance bodice rippers. I’ve heard “erotic romance” to describe this but I’m not so sure. There’s definitely a lot of spice that I skimmed over, but sex wasn’t at the fore front even though they talked about it enough. 

Bluebeard's Castle is marketed as a "feminist retelling" of the French folk tale of Bluebeard. I honestly did not get the "feminist" part of the retelling. The protagonist seemed to be pretty obsessed with men even though she had a career and her own money. 

I understand that the writer was trying to realistically protray what its like to be in an abusive relationship, but the protagonist seemed quiet passive. She wasn't even trying to help herself. The book seemed to read like a teenage diary entry. I love him, no I hate him, no I love him! I have read a lot of stories that more effectively portray domestic violence.

Despite the cover, this novel takes place in the modern day, which I think the writer forgets at times. Other than random mentions of modern conveniences like Google, it seems like the author wants this to take place in another era. 

One thing I would change about this novel is to shorten the descriptions. There would be 2-3 pages just describing a room in the castle. I skimmed a good bunch of it. I did find myself caring about the characters enough to know what happens and I don't regret reading the book. I'd recommend this for anyone who loves gothic fiction/thrillers and/or dark romance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Gaslighting, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Infidelity

Minor: Vomit and Blood

amynoelle's review against another edition

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

gal_fieri's review

dark slow-paced

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

1.0

don’t be taken in by the cover art-it’s the only good part of this book. truly just so bad & tedious to read. the constant immediate flip flopping is so tiring. biller clearly thinks she’s making a real statement or being subversive or something but it’s just really atrocious writing & not subversive at all. at least if it had been a movie it would have been pretty to look at but since it’s a book even that forgiveness cannot be given.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Domestic abuse

marinalikeaboatyard's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

1.0

emerald fennell would direct the shit out of this 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Colonisation, Torture, Addiction, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

thisischels's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

Really wanted to love this one, but the style just wasn’t for me. Execution fell flat, and I felt myself wanting to just get through it to have it finished. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity, Classism, Death of parent, Murder, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

i_would_prefer_not_to's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

I can't tell if it's written badly as pastiche or if it's just badly written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Rape, and Violence

mhantzsch's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a really interesting read and knowing that Anna Biller is a filmmaker, you can really see how that influences her writing style. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Torture, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, Blood, Domestic abuse, Addiction, and Infidelity

Minor: Animal death

lateromantic's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A slow start - if you're a fan of Biller's films you'll like it, the prose has that same stilted, photographic quality as her scripts, and she drops in many references and aesthetic tidbits. I wouldn't call it feminist so much as female-gaze - there is rage but no righteousness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Murder, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Classism, Misogyny, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

literally_mint's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Animal death, Stalking, Infidelity, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual assault, and Misogyny