Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

93 reviews

anreesez's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This is beautifully written, excellent world-building and characters, but it fell a little short in the conclusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Gaslighting

amberj40's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

lighterthaneyre's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

The story telling is really evocative and atmospheric. It honestly took a while for it to sink in that there was no Fairy Tale Logic happening IRL- it was a construct carefully balanced by all the characters, who bought into the ideas and values. But the Fairy Tale Rules were no less strong because of it- almost more so.

Honestly didn't see the twist at the end coming, which is a great sign. Normally I can call endings like this, but it crept up in a nice way.

None of these characters are "likeable" per say. I found the Groomsman off putting due to how he viewed his wife, as a mythical Creature or Being, and not a person. Indigo throughout is shown as self centered, exacting, and vengeful. Azure mostly inspires pity and protectiveness, but she so quickly becomes a shadow, there isn't much substance to cling to. Even though none of them are "likeable", they balance the story they're telling well, and all the decisions seem extremely coming from the people we see them being.

I'm not sure what's keeping me from giving it a full 4 star rating- I liked it, I enjoyed reading it, I was anxious to read the ending when life made me stop halfway through. I will probably think about it for a while. But I don't think I would ever come back to re-read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pedophilia and Death of parent

RE: Pedophilia

One of the narrators, Azure, has a step father. The step father is never directly stated to lust after her (from the ages of around 12 to 18), but she describes how it feels to be the object of sexual interest. She experiences jealousy from her mother. At one point, she is framed for sleeping with her step father. No physical contact is made, but the emotional violation is described.

maxgoatcher's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

mimi8193's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Not one of my typical reads. The characters in this book are lowkey kinda insane but omg once it got going it was really addicting. You just want to find out the truth. And the plot twist at the end😮‍💨

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

capriqueen's review

mysterious tense 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

3.0

The story was really trippy the whole time, had me questioning what was real or not. The past timeline story was more interesting to me than the present, I didn’t really care for the bridegroom’s story. I kind of had a hunch about the plot twist at the end, still good tho

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Gaslighting

kri_29's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

klsreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

Wow, does Roshani Chokshi know how to write a beautiful sentence. You can really feel the world she crafted, which is no small feat as she jumps between whimsical and brutal realities. I love a coming of age story. I love a dark fairy tale. I love a personified house. I love a weird marriage with secrets. 

As always, check the TW's. There's nothing overly graphic, but plenty of unsettling, nasty things.

1 star docked because while this was stunningly beautiful and filled with fairy tale lore from around the world, the plot was quite slow and sometimes got lost in all the metaphors and similes. Because of that, I think it dragged and it took me a while to get through (though I am silly, silly busy right now). I'm a bit torn saying this, though, because I adored the character development in the backstory and am unsure if this could've been done at a faster pace. I wasn't as interested in the present-day story in the book, though the twists and turns hit some emotional slam-dunks. 

I will absolutely be reading more from Chokshi. Her writing is gorgeous! Highly rec if you like dark fairy tale, slow-burn, coming of age stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, and Grief

nina_rae_131's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I thought this was a bit slow. I enjoyed Azure’s POV more than the Bridegroom’s. I didn’t see the plot twist coming. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent

enchanteddroppings's review

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

This is not Fantasy. The fact that the Fae were mentioned is probably why it is listed as Fantasy, but it has nothing in it related to the genre of Fantasy. 

This is Gothic Magical Realism Coming-of-Age Psychological Thriller. I might even throw in Paranormal, but I feel like calling it Gothic Magical Realism overlaps with the genre. 

This book is not for me. I’m done with Litfic type coming-of-age stories or toxic friendships. The book felt so slow and wrapped in mystery only to have a big twist at the end. The twist wasn’t the problem. It was the journey to get there. There was no plot; just dripping and crumbs of clues to lead to the twist at the end. It was basically like reading a person’s diary. If I wasn’t listening to an audiobook, I would have DNF the book in the first 1/3 of the book. 

Another thing about this book is that if you think in logical terms, then the genre “Magical Realism” can be removed and this is just a Gothic Coming-of-Age Psychological Thriller. What comes off as magic can be replaced with psychological disorders or personality disorders. If you want to live in a magical world and believe in magic, then this is a Gothic Magical Realism Coming-of-Age Thriller. The book spends most of its time walking on the line between the two sets, the same way certain people in the book walk the line between the two worlds or mental states. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cursing