Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

167 reviews

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

The end portions feel a bit rushed and contrived but I was gripped and steadily reading for much of this novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

A large aspect of the conclusion of this book’s plot could be described as potentially transphobic, making a kid conform to a gender identity that isn’t their own

cloudwalkerbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

fairytalefootnotes's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Narrator(s): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tropes, etc: Haunted, Child Sees Things, Recovering Addict FMC

POV: Single, 1st Person

Cliffhanger?: No

Brief Summary: Recovering addict Mallory is looking for a new start after rehab and is thrilled when the Maxwell family hires her as a live-in babysitter for their son Teddy. Things are going great until Teddy begins to draw unsettling pictures dictated to him by his “imaginary friend.”

The Praise: I really enjoyed this! Mallory was a really great character and was easy to root for. Teddy was so cute and I loved the relationship Teddy developed with Mallory. The story in general was unique and surprisingly sweet at times. I also really liked the fact that Mallory’s story was so real. She wasn’t a troublemaker or from a bad home or anything people usually assume about people suffering from addiction, she was a promising student athlete whose life was upended by an injury and guilt. It was refreshing to see.

The audiobook narrator did a great job as well!

The Critique: I can’t really think of anything I really disliked about the book!

Final Thoughts: This was creepy, twisty, and surprisingly sweet. A really great read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death and Infertility

syreetam's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

raeofsunshine's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Infertility and Car accident

nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Classism

eklektikam's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Gaslighting

abbysingh's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infertility, Violence, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content, Dementia, Stalking, and Alcohol

jesikakaley's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Drug abuse

Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Kidnapping

meg1241's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I couldn't put this book down! Great read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Classism