Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

17 reviews

nychta_diamanti's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Cursing, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Classism, Blood, Bullying, and Confinement

browneyesblue84's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I like the setting of Their Vicious Games. This marks the second YA thriller novel that I read in the past year. Despite being an elder millennial , I still like YA novels especially YA thrillers and horror stories. I was unfamiliar with the author but saw the cover in Target last year. This book took residence on my TBR from then on. I needed something fast paced and different to fill in the gap between preorder releases. This novel definitely satisfied me. Also, I realized that I preordered the authors next book without realizing who the author was. 

Joelle Wellington’s writing is easy to read. I was hooked from the first chapter. Adina is a relatable character who strives to fit into a world of opulence and power. She loses her one opportunity after a moment of intense emotion brought on by a “friend” who was jealous. That reaction cost her everything except for a change to obtain her diploma. Adina decided to do what she could to take part in The Finish, a competition that offered something that she truly needed a second chance. However, she was not prepared for the truth about this competition and how truly high the stakes were. 

I am rating this novel five stars out of five. Yes, it’s that good. Each chapter has an even balance of well thought out prose, dynamic characters and even pacing. I’m looking forward to reading the author’s next novel. If Their Vicious Games is this good , I get the feeling  that it will be even better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Blood

Minor: Grief

boba_n_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Squid Games meets The Bachelor? Sign me up! ... To read about. Not to compete in. This fast-paced young adult thriller takes "eat the rich" to a whole new level. 

Adina is a Black teenager who was about to secure her future through her scholarship to Yale. Her plans are ruined once an incident at school causes her to lose that well-earned scholarship. The only way to get it back is to enter the Finish--a competition where young women prove themselves worthy of being a part of the wealthy Remington family through three different events. It is not long before Adina and the other girls in the Finish realize that the stakes are higher than money and power. It's life or death. The younger Remington boys say they're trying to change the system, but are they? Being one of the only girls who didn't grow up in the rich world the Remingtons live in, Adina realizes she has to either change herself or change the Finish to survive. 

Though the characters may seem superficial at first, each one has their own motivations and moments of reckoning. Wellington's commentary on race and class and what people will do to achieve and maintain power is fascinating. She certainly doesn't attempt to make the reader comfortable, and there are many times I had to remind myself that I wanted Adina to get out and not to conform to the Remington way. 

This novel challenges social structures and typical tropes, and it was just a damn good book with a satisfying ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Sexism, Misogyny, Classism, Gaslighting, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Racism, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol and Vomit

jennanaps's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Grief, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gun violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Gore, Racism, Toxic friendship, Classism, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Addiction

ashylibrarian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

Readers will be left in a state of shock and horror (in all the best ways) after finishing Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington. This is a fast-paced novel that is packed with thrills and chills, and readers won’t even begin to imagine the terrors that will unfold within its pages.

There are so many amazing strengths to consider when talking about this book. Two (2) of the biggest things that stood out to me were the brilliant world-building and meticulous character development. All of the characters in this book are used with purpose. Some of the side characters we do not see much of, but when you do read about them, you know they have been placed with thought and intention. Readers will also be able to see the world of this book unfold as they read as if they were watching a movie. The Remington Estate, the clothes, the expressions on the characters' faces. Everything is painted so vividly and clearly through Wellington’s alluring prose.  

Another aspect of this book that Wellington handles so well is the impact that classism and racism have on the characters and society that run rampant through the upper-class New England community where the prestigious Edgewater Academy resides. There are many barriers that Adina faces throughout the book - barriers built from the materials of systemic racism and classism. This book is set in a fictional New England world, however, readers will likely be able to see connections to socioeconomic and racial injustices that are happening in our world today. This is definitely a heavy read, but it is also a read that is packed with traditional horror characteristics and creates a modern twist on the “final girl” trope.  

It was difficult to pinpoint a weakness in this well-crafted punch of a novel. One thing I would say is that readers might be a bit off-put by the quick-developing attraction from the female characters to the male characters, Pierce and Graham. It’s clear from the beginning of the competition that the money and power the Remington family carries has a lot to do with the motivation for many of the girls’ attraction to Pierce, but the attraction between Adina and Graham seems to develop within a page or two, making more of a quick-combustion attraction that does not have much backing. 

Their Vicious Games is a book that I would highly recommend to readers who enjoy fast-paced thrillers that leave them feeling utterly shocked, especially if they like books that intricately weave together themes of race and class with classical horror tropes. I would likely recommend this book to older teen readers due to the fact that some of the content in this book is fairly intense and there is strong language used throughout. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Blood, Death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Confinement

cassmills's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Racism

on_my_bookshelf's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Bullying, Gun violence, Classism, Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Racism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Hate crime, and Death

leahjanespeare's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting and Racism

bella_cavicchi's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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

This was delightfully twisty, thrilling in both its shock and its dark satire.

And I feel I should note somewhere that I couldn't help but visualise Leighton as Gwyneth Paltrow and I now can't shake that casting (for the inevitable film adaptation) from my head!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death, Classism, Bullying, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexism, Racism, Medical content, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infidelity and Vomit

takarakei's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

Ace of Spades/The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor... in hell.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Gaslighting, Classism, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol