Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

50 reviews

gabi_715's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0


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bella613's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

2.75

The first half of the book felt like all the confusion of watching "Lost" with none of the intrigue. There was absolutely no explanation of how this "Grace Year" idea started or why anyone thought that toughing it in the woods for a year somehow got rid of ~magic~ that no one seemed to have in the first place. Don't even get me started on
the little jars of toes and eyeballs or whatever. Was that included to keep the reader horrified, or are we expected to believe that people in town really buy their daughters pickled phalanges to prolong their youth?
I was pretty sure that even the author had no clue what was going on. The excuse for having no context on anything was "we don't talk about the grace year", which, to me, isn't very believable and doesn't make you more curious.
There's no mystery when there is no clues. If you leave your reader completely in the dark it doesn't hook them in. It's assumed that the grace year is meant to be a way to control young women, but if you want to subdue them, why would you tell them they have strong magical powers? What is the incentive for them to get rid of their magic, and what is the plan for this glorified no-supply camping trip to do the trick? It's a cool idea for a premise but wayyy underdeveloped because none of it made any sense. 

I did enjoy the later-middle part of the book, which introduced a lot of possible outcomes. 
As Tierney gets close to Ryker, I thought they would talk about the community that he is from. Since they're adopting the outcasts of the town they probably understand what is going on. It sounded like the people on the outskirts were more than a few families' worth of people, and obviously if the main civilization only has 30 ish girls each year, it's a fairly small town. Seems like an extremely fragile system they've got going, especially since the leaders are only a handful of middle aged men in a council, and there seems to be no state leadership or anything. Possibilities moving forward from that point could include a mini-rebellion of outcasts against the measly leaders, or a rescue mission to take the women and children to the outskirt community instead. It was not in my reader bingo card for her to return from the woods with a surprise underage pregnancy, abandon her plan to actually tell the truth (to the citizens who somehow believe these teen girls are witches who can be fixed by a year in the woods) and willingly accept the marriage she's been against her entire life. Not to mention that in a matter of months, she falls in love with this guy she previously felt trapped by, despite recently having watched the father of her child be murdered in front of her. And her husband is the new leader (as a minor) but somehow hasn't done anything to change the town except secretly burn one shelf of human remains.

The ending, in summary, was extremely disappointing. I have no idea if there is a sequel planned but I have no interest in reading more of this. 

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persephonefoxx's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.5


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arsmagicalibrorum's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.0


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ellakwatson's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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geminisoul's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't think I even have words to describe how much I love this book. The author did such an amazing job of creating this world and even the unanswered questions seem purposeful. I think this is one of the best books I have read in a while. 

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bubblybelle's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0


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shannonredwine8's review

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0


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emilylandry's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.5


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bbailey10's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5


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