Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Credence by Penelope Douglas

37 reviews

booksalacarte's review

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Credence- 1⭐️ 5🌶️

Contemporary Romance

Taboo Romance

Multi POV 

Small town

Polyamorous FMC

Tw: suicide, parental death, SA, Rape, emotional abuse, physical abuse, pedophilia, predatory behavior, grooming a minor

The start of this book is interesting. A 17yo, raised by her parent’s assistant, looses her narcissist parents to suicide and goes to live with her step uncle in the middle of nowhere… but then the FMC turns 18 and things take a turn that I knew was coming, but by the end I felt like I was reading a train wreck I wanted to just finish and be done with. I think the setting was the only thing I enjoyed about the story. The rest just was a giant red flag. I think I kept reading because I was interested in how the situation could be sustainable enough to be considered a happily ever after.

This… was not the book for me. I don’t enjoy reading about the romantic couples abusing each other. I don’t consider that romance.

All of the characters were sad and depressing. There wasn’t a single person in this book that knew what joy or contentment looked like. Every single person in this book needed interventional therapy. The men were all misogynistic and gross. And once they had their “turn” they basically disappear from the plot . How? What? 

The POV shifts were fine, but the 1 POV from the MMC (who is barely in the book other than SA/R scenes) was written to make his internal monologue sound like an absolute psychopath. 

 This was definitely a “taboo romance”. Although there was not really anything romantic about it. The girl sleeps with her step-uncle and step-cousins, who are supposed to be alpha males, but didn’t get possessive when it came to their own family. Nope. The spice was very disjointed and flipped on and off like a switch. It read more like Stockholm syndrome. The only character that showed her any type of romance was her pedophile step-uncle. 

As if it could get any worse, it was over written. There is more than enough plot with the step-family…. Absolutely no other plot tools were needed to add to the drama. 

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for the Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, and Physical abuse

dawnlayla0715's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Violence

s3vn's review against another edition

dark tense 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? Yes

3.25

Well.. if ignoring the sexism, gaslighting, predatory behaviour,  toxic possessiveness, non-consent and the fact that the main character is 17-18… it was okay. i liked the main character, but the guys were a bunch of toxic assholes tbh. Still, the writing and plot was quite alright. I even cried at one point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, Death of parent, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Drug abuse

eunbee's review against another edition

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

1.0

GIRL THAT IS YOUR COUSINNNNN. AND YOUR UNCLEEEEEEE.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual content

kaelizaco's review

adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

sweetbrinas's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, and Incest

caitlinreads123's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

wtf was that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Incest, Grief, Drug use, Animal death, Alcohol, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Medical content, Mental illness, Gun violence, Gore, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Cursing, Child abuse, and Bullying

spunkyfunky's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

corporealmystic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, and Gaslighting

missmae94's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Incest, and Panic attacks/disorders