Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Poisoner by I.V. Ophelia

5 reviews

woodsybookworm's review

dark mysterious 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

2.0

The Poisoner follows Alina, a botanist who also happens to be a well accomplished poisoner - she's taking out shady men left and right and getting away with it too. That is until she runs into Silas, an avid playboy who is seemingly immune to all her tricks. Silas happens to be more than just a snake in the bedroom, he's downright vicious, and now he's got his sights set on tormenting Alina. In a game of cat and mouse between two killers, which creature will come out on top? 

I really truly wanted to love this book but I found myself so annoyed by the main characters and their actions. I was screaming at certain chapters like "just talk to each other like normal people!" Is it absolutely gorgeous? Yes! The cover, the artwork, the little details were absolutely stunning. Is it something I find myself wanting to read again? No.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Gaslighting

crinkledmochi's review against another edition

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

3.5

UM… imma be honest I was enjoying this until the last few chapters, there was a warning at the beginning of the book but  why did all the characters just act like that was normal 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism

ewilkins's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Such a great style of writing. Spicy. Dark. I loved the world she created and the new monster lore this book had. I was all in until the last 50 pages. 

**spoiler** 
*spoiler* 
I absolutely hated the raping that happened at the end. Silas allowing... and then taking part in her abuse, after knowing what she'd gone through was so out of Character it made me have go reread the section again. Disappointing that our badass avenger was raped multiple times, and for what? Nothing. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

mwalsh97's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

3.0

Well that started dark and got darker. I would only recommend this book to those who enjoyed Haunting Adeline. Otherwise, this book is probably not for you.

I really enjoyed this book up until the last 40-50 pages, then it was very harrowing and made me feel like I needed a soul shower.

The concept of a Victorian Era woman poisoning those who mistreat women is an amazing concept and I love the inclusion of her being a botanist. Even the take on vampires in this is really amazing, definitely more on the erotica side of things than I usually read but still well written. I felt that the book I read in the blurb is not the book I got, the blurb made this sound a lot more plot heavy than romance/erotica heavy.

But please please please heed the content warnings in the beginning of the book. They are there fora reason and they are needed. I am going to add in the content warning provided on the author's website: https://www.ivophelia.com/poisoner
• Primal
• Vampires
• A variation of knotting
• Risk-Aware Consent Kink
• Chasing 
• Biting
• Hair Pulling
• Blood play
• Forked tongues
• Brat/Brat tamer
• Spitting
•  Mutual Stalking 
Kinks included, but not necessarily intended for romantic/erotic effect considering their negative depiction in the context of the story. Either way, they should be labeled:
• Dub/non-con
• Impact play with whip
• Inappropriate use of rice
• Degradation/Praise
• Sadism

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Stalking

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

The last 40 to 50 or so pages are just sexual assault and torture. Proceed with caution.

livfowler's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

You know when people recommend you a “dark romance,” but then it turns out there’s just a little light choking or something? This is not that. Like actually, seriously, reader beware.

The main characters’ internal dialogue is sometimes a little stilted, especially at the beginning, but improves a lot as their interactions become more frequent and the stakes become higher.

Smutty bits were *chef’s kiss* delectable. Had me making feral clicking sounds that I didn’t think possible.

I think my favorite part of this book was that I predicted one plot twist from a mile away, but I was so focused on it that the next twist hit me like a train.

Speaking of, there’s a little train action (like actually on a locomotive train, get your head out of the gutter), and I sincerely hope for more in the next installment. Picture the already

incredibly erotic chase scenes from book 1

but across train platforms and through different cars as Silas pursues Alina

across the United States

. 

All in all, dying of thirst for book 2.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism