Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

22 reviews

drlove2018's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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

5.0

Not for the faint of heart, and the beginning is rough going, but definitely worth it for the end!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Death

chellcake's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Torture, Religious bigotry, Child death, War, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Physical abuse, Grief, Vomit, Self harm, Bullying, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Cursing, Colonisation, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Grief, Pedophilia, Rape, Confinement, Drug use, and Trafficking

geekywoman14's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.5

It's worth reading for the world building alone. There is a lot of trauma and sometimes it gets annoying with the secrecy and rules, but ultimately, the pay off makes it worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual violence, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Gore

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Torture, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Confinement

emhunsber's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexism, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

The brunt of the graphic content is within the first quarter of the book, then content remains dark but becomes less graphic.

ekmook's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, War, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, and Grief

kiwi_33's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-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

This book was enjoyable for numerous reasons: a powerful female protagonist, a cast of interesting and nuanced female characters, male characters that aren’t only portrayed as antagonists but also as allies, a good dose of mystery, beautifully crafted world building…

But it does have a couple of shortcomings, however small. I do feel more pages could have been spared for the world-building. As an avid enthusiast of envisioning an entirely new world created by a passionate writer, I feel there should have been more there.

The reveal with White Hands also felt somewhat out of character. It was surprising, which I suppose is a good thing, but I feel there should have been more hints as to her true intentions. It just felt completely out of place when it happened. I felt that she could maybe be part of an entire third faction (against the emperor, but also against the alaki and deathshreiks), that could possibly prove to be an ally, or another enemy. What actually ends up happening seems less interesting to me? Like, it could make for additional interesting conflict to also have a women’s faction be opposed to the alaki. It would also add depth to the story. As a reflection of how societies around the world treats women, cases of women fighting against women’s rights instead of supporting them have been seen countless times. I hope that aspect of societies will be explored in the next couple of books.

The ending to the book also felt pretty rushed. The pace suddenly increased, which could convey a sense of urgency, but it only felt like the book was missing the maybe 50 extra pages it might have needed to feel more complete. I am really looking forward to the next instalment though, and was happy to find out it’s being released later this year.

The cover art and coloured borders were stunning on this one, which played a large part in me buying it and discovering an interesting, thought-provoking story. I’m looking forward to adding the next one to my collection.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Body horror, Misogyny, Sexism, and Gaslighting

Minor: Bullying and Lesbophobia

katsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

“No matter my origins, there is worth in what I am.”

“The physical body—it heals. The scars fade. But the memories are forever. Even when you forget, they remain inside, taunting you, resurfacing when you least expect.”

“They might need us now because we're valuable, might pretend to accept us, to reward us - but never forget what they did to us first.”

I'll be real. I put this book down about halfway through and almost didn't pick it back up. But I'm really glad I did. Other than the dip in the middle, the world-building was solid and intriguing. The patriarchy that Forna depicted was hard to read at times but I couldn't help drawing parallels to the real world. 

I really enjoyed the found family trope. The secondary characters were so lovely and I ended up really liking how the author seemed to hold up the platonic relationships to the same level as the romantic one. It made the romantic relationship feel healthy and grounded while also not letting it take over the rest of the narrative. 

I am interested to see how the second book progresses given that this one seemed to wrap up pretty nicely. It's almost like the author wasn't sure she if she would get to publish the second one so left enough loose ends, just in case, while tying up the big, important ones. 

I also want to give some pretty major trigger warnings for death, torture and violence. This is marketed as Young Adult but I would definitely push this towards older teen readers for those scenes alone. The main character and her friends can heal from almost any injury so there are multiple scenes of torture including a pretty prominent scene of dismemberment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gaslighting, Grief, Blood, Confinement, Death, Child abuse, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abandonment and Animal cruelty

Minor: Sexual assault, Trafficking, Death of parent, Rape, and Sexual violence

stardust_heidi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

I've had this book on my TBR for ages, ever since I got it in an OwlCrate box last year. I finally picked it up and ended up devouring it after almost putting it down a few chapters in. The male dominated, patriarchal society was overwhelming at first, but OwlCrate usually chooses books with powerful female leads and an emphasis on feminism/crushing the patriarchy, so I kept going. 

Word of warning, definitely check out the warnings for this book from myself and other readers. It's more upper level YA in terms of themes of graphic: torture/death/violence/etc. There's a light romance, but it's certainly not the central theme of the book. 

I loved this unique magic/power system -- it was a fascinating look at a society that deems woman as less than already, but if your blood runs gold, you're suddenly a demon and even more impure. It was powerful watching Deka come to acknowledge this and cast that twisted sense of worth (or lack thereof) away. I found the emphasis on sisterhood and the bonds of female friendship invaluable, and it was wonderful reading the transformation between them as they grew in trust and sisterhood with each other. 

I loved the end of the book and will likely continue the series with the next book. However, it wrapped up in a satisfying way if you didn't want to continue. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Death, Sexism, War, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence

bookdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse

rachaelfryman's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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

4.0

One Sentence Summary: Feminist fantasy filled with brutality, battles, and bad-ass female warriors!

Reminds Me of: African Mythology, meets feminist themes, meets EPIC battles

Three Reasons You Should Read This:
1) The cover - I mean come on. This is GORGEOUS!
2) The powerful messages of feminism and anti-misogyny are on pointe!
3) There were so many twists that I did not see coming and I audibly gasped a few times! :)

One Thing You Should Know Before You Pick it Up:
This is extremely violent!! This should be expected in a book that features so many battle scenes, but please know going in - a LOT of violence!

Content Warnings: death, death of a loved one/parent, extreme violence, misogyny, mutilation, rape, sexual abuse/sexual abuse of a child, torture, trauma

Favorite Quote: “Never forget: the same gift they praise you for now, they will kill you for later.”

Sound Track:
Monster - Meg and Dia
Unstoppable - Sia
Bring Me to Life - Evanescence
All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
Zombie - Bad Wolves
Headstrong - Trapt

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, and War

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent, Trafficking, and Pedophilia