Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Infamous by Lex Croucher

23 reviews

binevolentbookworm's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.5

 an absolute delight to read!

 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexism, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Drug use, Sexual content, and Infidelity

evakonic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Slavery, Colonisation, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Murder

kelseaduguid's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Drug use, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Infidelity

Minor: Drug use, Toxic friendship, Death, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

peh27's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

humblebookdragon's review against another edition

lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Because both Eddie and Nash were so UNLIKABLE, especially for the entire duration of the novel, it was really a feat to finish this book. The only thing that kept me going was that Lex Croucher wrote Rose as the voice of reason, and perhaps the voice of the audience, so the self-awareness of how Eddie and Nash were was appreciated, but it was still a rough one. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Drug use, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

Minor: Classism and Colonisation

patricktreads's review

adventurous challenging funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I was very excited bout this work because I had recently read a lot of period romance pieces. However, something about the vibes in this book just felt off. I did think the writing was well done, but I genuinely hated many of the characters, one of which being a main character. 

I feel like if a few of the romance elements had been changed, it plus have been a lot better for my vibes. 

Even with that I think the narrator did an absolutely amazing job in the performance of the work. All of the voices were uniquely done, an the dramatization was superb. 

In the end I gave this a 3 stars, and I would like to thank NetGalley n the publisher for this audio arc

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Biphobia, Bullying, Classism, and Toxic friendship

lexnicole's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

4.5

I really hate Nash Nicholson 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Colonisation, Drug use, and Sexual assault

mybeevenme's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Colonisation

also very dubious consent

booksdogsandcoffee's review

challenging emotional funny inspiring 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

3.75

Thank you St Martian’s Griffin for an Arc in Exchange for an honest review 

This is a witty, smart mix of Bridgerton meets Colette meets Dickinson. I have fallen in love with queer historical romance and Lex Croucher wrote Infamous with such a women empowering voice and tenderness that I found myself squealing when the two main characters finally admit their feelings for each other. With the time that it was set in I did have a hard time with some of the plot line and it was a struggle to listen to at times, but overall was fantastic. 

The narration was amazing and I had a wonderful time listening to this book!

Cw
Sexism
Sa
Domestic violence
Alcohol 
Drugs
Toxic relationship
Infidelity 
Gaslighting 
Misogyny 
Sexual harassment

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Classism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

fictionalportal's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense 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

4.0

A fun read for the most part, though the protagonist Eddie is very difficult to stick with after a point. It's worth mentioning a few major content warnings, since the tone of the book shifts very abruptly in the third act. Spoilers below. 

The way Eddie speak to her love interest, Rose, is rather lacking in empathy and a touch manipulative at times, which makes it hard to get into their relationship at first. This dynamic does shift over the course of the book, fortunately. Early on, Eddie often says things like "You don't feel this way, do you?" rather than asking a straightforward question. I understand that she's relatively young, but her voice read more consistently like a sixteen year old than a twenty-two year old in terms of emotional maturity. 

Massive content warning for multiple instances of non-consensual sexual advances and attempted sexual assault. There's also a very confusing sequence fueled by hallucinogenic mushrooms that really ruined the last part of the book for me. In short, the main character is coerced into doing shrooms, and then it's unclear whether she hallucinates being assaulted or if she's actually assaulted. Then she hallucinates the man who tried to assault her shooting someone who interfered during the incident. Tonally, it didn't fit at all with the rest of the book, and honestly it was a very upsetting turn for an otherwise very lighthearted and fun story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book up until the last 80 or so pages, including the lackluster epilogue. The book is very well written, the dialogue is compelling, and the characters have really strong voices, but it seemed like the author ran out of ideas for plot and needed to contrive a way to raise the stakes at the end. While there was character- and plot-based setup for the events that occurred in those last 80 pages, it didn't feel necessary to go that direction, and it really tarnished an otherwise very enjoyable read for me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Toxic relationship, Classism, Gun violence, Alcohol, Misogyny, Drug abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Racism

internalized homophobia, hallucinations