Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

37 reviews

faduma's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Racism

amibo's review

slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Forced institutionalization

bronzeageholly's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Death of parent, Abandonment, Murder, Racism, Classism, Grief, and Hate crime

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, and Gaslighting

clarabooksit's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Grief, Confinement, Sexism, Classism, and Blood

Moderate: Violence, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Animal cruelty, and Gun violence

apworden's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

I loved this book overall, but the nagging irritation at how

Ade seems to naively or intentionally ignore how her actions affect people of color, first with the men who helped her carry the boat up the mountain and, even worse, her risking her young family with a caste-based society seemingly  without much preparation.It feels like Ade never has any true self realization around this. Ade seems to be presented as the one who needs to forgive Yule and not as someone who also owes a reconciliatory apology. For this reason, I can’t bump it to 5 stars, but it was sooooo close. This is one of those stories that could have best realized with a sensitivity reader or co-authorship with a POC writer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Racism

Moderate: Gore

melancholymegs's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Self harm

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Murder, Blood, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Colonisation, Classism, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Xenophobia

dariusmortee's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious slow-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

Holy shit why haven’t I read this book sooner. It’s so good and magical and exactly in my alley. 

I would compare this book to The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern in vibes. 

Alix managed to write this book in a way I start to believe there may be actually Doors hidden in our world. It makes me want to go and explore, see if I can end up in different worlds, without minding the risk of ending up in a shitty one. I love how stories are woven through this book it makes it so much more magical. 

The Once and Future Witches was my first book by Alix E Harrow and I will absolutely read more if she decides to publish them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Classism, Racism, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Slavery, Gaslighting, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

szuum's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Racism, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, and Classism

Moderate: Self harm and Sexism

saturnsierra's review

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

It was a very slow start for me, but the plot picks up around page 100.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Racism, Classism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Slavery

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.0

Harrow writes beautiful prose and excellently nails the desperate longing for something more that every young  woman feels growing up in a world full of adults who make it their mission to squash their spirits. January, Ade, and Jane are brave and strong in the face of prejudice and heartache, and I can't help but sympathize with them on a rather personal level.

The concept of looking for an escape, a way out, a Door is deeply relatable. There is nothing more appealing to me than a door. Especially when that door is old, secluded, or has a special Something that has drawn me to it. I find it difficult to resist the urge to try to open every door I pass, and then I am left wondering what was behind it, even years after I've passed it by. It was so cathartic to see a character who is just like me in that regard, always asking questions and looking for answers.

If there was anything I'd say against it, it's that descriptions of events, people, places, etc. trailed on for too long until it felt as though I was reading a list of adjectives. She's also quite fond of the words "oil," "greasy," "shush," and "bronze." And the ending was rather abrupt.

Overall, I enjoyed this read. And it hits a lot of bullet points in my reading wheelhouse: female MC, historical settings, time travel, magical realism, secret doors/passages, and women on journies.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Grief, Classism, Confinement, Racism, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Forced institutionalization