Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

A Neon Darkness by Lauren Shippen

5 reviews

alicelalicon'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Murder

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gaslighting, Murder, Death, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Racism, and Drug abuse

dodecashedron's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It's always weird when you read a book where the main character is kind of a baddie. 

But I felt the author did a great job of having us empathise with him without sympathising too much or making us forget his own role in all this.

It is so clear that Robert/Damian's view of the world is so skewed,and thst he cannot see this. Every time he fucked up and you thi k he might learn from this, he learns the exact wrong lessons. That combined with 0 accountability make him interesting to read about, impossible to be around. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Addiction, and Murder

theheartisanaro's review

challenging dark sad

3.0

This entire book screams "it's Damien's world and we're all just living in it". It was hard to get through and mostly unpleasant to read but I did find myself understanding Damien to some extent and feeling sympathetic towards him. The one thing I didn't like was the occasional switch between perspectives which felt choppy and didn't really add much to the overall plot. I also generally think Lauren Shippen is better at writing podcasts than books, but I'd still recommend this to anyone who likes The Bright Sessions or enjoys reading about an emo teen with no character development.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Vomit, Alcoholism, and Violence

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, War, Confinement, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt

saukittome's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, and Murder

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Gaslighting