Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

6 reviews

annorabrady's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

This book balanced lightheartedness and humor with deep grief so perfectly. I've genuinely never laughed so much while reading a book, and there have been very few pieces of media of any form that have elicited the same amount of well-earned and satisfying tears from me. 

Finishing this book was hard because I both wanted to know how it ended and loathed the idea of it being over. I appreciate the twists in the story and how earned they felt. They didn't exist for cleverness or because of lazy writing, they existed because the characters made decisions that warranted them. 

The cast of characters was truly wonderful. Their antics and their support of each other are equally valuable. The questions they pose and the answes they offer are healing. And even the minor characters have a presence many main characters in other books never reach. 

I will say that there are some hard storylines for those who have experienced different kinds of trauma. But as someone who's lost family and friends to similar circumstances, I value the care given to these stories. And, as someone who lost their mom just over 6 months ago, I will say that this isn't something that's too heavy. At least it wasn't for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicide, Gaslighting, Child death, Confinement, Death, Medical trauma, and Panic attacks/disorders

diana_raquel's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.75

“The first time you share tea, you are a stranger. The second time you share tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share tea, you become family.”

T.J. Klune is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. I loved this story! I didn't know what to expect from this story but I wasn't expecting a deep story about life, death, grief, and change. However, at the same time, I should be expecting a deep story. In every book that I have read by this author, there is always some deepness to the story. 

The characters are interesting, well-written, and well-developed. I really loved them and the fact that the cast is diverse (with good representation), which is always a good point in my book. However, the only reason that I have for not giving a 5-star rating to this book is that I think that the pacing is a little unbalanced. I think that there are some places in the story where the pacing became faster than it should. But, overall, is a solid narrative.

I strongly recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Violence, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Murder, Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Suicide

Minor: Gore, Cursing, Confinement, and Abandonment

batwinggoth's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-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

The book has a slow start, but the delivery of main character's struggles and inner monologue are written whimsically and humorous which is a great balance to the dark and heavy themes of the novel. The characters are all written well with great detail to each. The story's narrative is well encompassing of both predictable story progression and the pleasantly unexpected that pull you even deeper into the story being told.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Car accident, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Self harm

The book is centered around dead people and meeting people from all walks of life as they die in various ways - understanding and helping them process their dead and pass. Most characters are complicated and real with great detail of their emotions, feelings, and inner dialogue and they process their life and what happened to them or what they're currently going through. There's a child

who died from terminal illness whose mother is actively grieving and constantly visiting the tea shop (central setting of the book).

There's a character who we meet who was

murdered in an ally who recounts his death and expresses his extreme anger drastically.

There's a character who was bullied and emotionally abused

by his parents and experiences a sudden loss of his partner in the hospital and ends up dying by suicide due to his overwhelming grief.

The main character begins as an extremely toxic, workaholic and overall extremely bitter man who had been once married to a woman, the both of whom where extremely toxic and gaslighting towards each other in the end. The sexual harassment

is only in reference to a man and a woman who visit their tea shop often and constantly hits on Hugo in inappropriate ways and in one instance the man even says he'll 'wear him down' despite Hugo already rejecting him multiple times.

The animal death

is only mentioned because a main character, Apollo, is a ghost dog who had passed.

I may have missed other important instances of tagged content, but hopefully this helps give folks a better idea about the themes who need it to determine whether reading the book is right for them. I'd say while it's not impossible to skip past some graphic subjects, death and grief are unavoidable and I would suggest you not read the book if you are actively in mourning yourself unless you find reading about other people's grief and experiences cathartic in processing your own grief.

breadwitchery's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Suicide, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

chichisode's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

i trust TJ Klune with my life when it comes to reading materials. amazing and complex character development as always. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Animal death

zoe_m's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting