Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

60 reviews

pipcorn's review

mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Classism

Minor: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship

disquiet's review against another edition

hopeful fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Murder, and Infertility

Moderate: Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Child death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent, Misogyny, and Grief

kbairbooks's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I swear I have been reading so many dark books recently and it’s messing with me a little bit so I’m gonna try and pick up some lighter things for a little bit to lift me out of this mood. This story was told from three different perspectives and had three different narrators and I enjoyed that it was a dark feminist dual timeline story about betrayal and murder and coming to terms with Feelings and the important things in life and the people that matter but also damn that plot twist at the end

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Gaslighting, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Gore, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Abortion, Blood, and Infidelity

Moderate: Classism, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

meghansarmiento97's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, Vomit, Blood, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Medical content

alialioop's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Infertility and Gaslighting

lestatsoul's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia

Minor: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Child death

griffinthief's review

reflective medium-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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

embersonthehearth's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.25

Not great, not awful. Easy to read, but the writing is not the best.
The story develops in two streams: past and present.
The past one is interesting, however it could take place anywhere at anytime. There is nothing that makes it relevant to the place and location.
The present one is just bad. The protagonist is unbearable even though we're supposed to be rooting for her, and the things she goes through are just plain ridiculous. Bored housewife meets Indiana Jones, but if he was a complete idiot.

The worst part is that the concept of the book is, if not unique, very interesting. Pity the story wasn't better developed.

I can see why the book is popular though, it's chick lit (which I actually like). It's easy to read, you want to know what happens next, and the characters are mostly women. For what it is, it's ok. Just don't sell it as an historical mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Abortion, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, and Medical content

nicolewhopickedthisbook's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Watch the Who Picked this Book? Club Livestream review and discussion
https://youtu.be/7iHQGuUQprE

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

From the author, Sarah Penner: -infidelity, divorce ideation -bodily effects of poisoning, blood -recall of a past miscarriage -brief predatory behavior against an adolescent -brief suicide ideation

bellebooks's review

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Nice job in representing the society of the 1700s, as well as a more positive spin on apothecaries as helpful medicine rather than evil spells, as was the custom at the time.  However, I wish there was a little more showing rather than telling; I wanted more imagery and descriptions of emotions rather than being told (e.g. descriptions of hair being pulled back, rummaging through notes with a furrowed brow vs. "Caroline got serious.")  But that's a stylistic choice rather than a story element.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Drug use

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Child death, and Blood

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault