Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

52 reviews

soaphest's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.75

started very strong, well-paced, but the story lost its steam a bit the further it went on. characters weren’t really given much depth

so even when jen and griffin died i didn’t feel a particular way about it because we really didn’t get to know them that well.

there was some lost potential with the whole creature aspect of this book and the conclusion wasn’t as satisfying as i had hoped for it to be. still, henry has a way of writing which makes you finish her books in just hours. ultimately i love reading her works & this book was no different. overall it was a very compelling read but i just wasn’t particularly wowed by it in the end.

also i was a bit confused how the whole plot point of heather was just dropped out of nowhere? it was made into this huge thing & ultimately nobody knew anything about her and it was never explained why that was, which also made the ending feel a bit rushed and abrupt

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Drug use

cmdiaz004's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.75

This played out like a movie! Heart-pumping, action-packed, scary, thrilling, and even quite humorous in some places! I thoroughly enjoyed this. Trigger warnings: emotional/physical abuse towards a woman. If you can get past that, it’s well worth it, in my opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Cursing, Body horror, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Death of parent

cursivewolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Heartbreaking all around. You really feel for the main character and the struggle of her abuse. I wish the creature plot line had been expanded on more, but overall I enjoyed the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Animal death, Confinement, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Death of parent and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Rape, Mental illness, and Vomit

nonfictionfeminist's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Rape

archaicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

I absolutely love myself a good creature feature, especially one so well written! In this winter horror novel, Mattie finds herself prey to not only her “husband” who has held her captive and abused her for years, but she is also suddenly the prey of a strange and vicious creature that has made the caves near her cabin it’s home. When some cryptozoologists stumble across Mattie and William’s cabin they also stumble across the creature, and Mattie’s struggle to survive takes another turn. 

I loved Mattie as a character as well as the cryptozoologists she meets. You want them to survive! This was a great blend of creature feature and survival horror that I could not put down. Highly recommend reading Near the Bone for the perfect winter horror vibes!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, Gore, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Murder

magikmoonchild's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Violence

outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Mattie lives in a cabin on a mountain with her abusive husband, William. She isn't allowed to wander far from their home, & she has never seen anyone else for as long as she can remember, but when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox, she realizes that they're not alone after all. Something strange is in the woods, a natural predator, so William wants to get rid of it as he fears it will bring more people up the mountain to hunt it. 

This starts off quite slowly, but gradually builds to where a small group of people are fleeing for their lives from whatever is killing everything around it & leaving their corpses strung from trees. This part of the book is gripping, especially as Mattie starts to remember her life before William. Talking of William, never have I wanted a character to meet a sticky end as much as I wanted him to. I have rated this 3.5 stars as it wasn't quite as good as I had hoped, but it was a decent read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Miscarriage, and Pedophilia

ryankaybee's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, and Violence

Minor: Drug use and Miscarriage

chelsea_court's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Miscarriage, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Infertility

caseofspades's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Child death, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Rape, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Child abuse