Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

22 reviews

cdoubet's review

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Sexism, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and War

Minor: Abandonment

sierrabowers's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.25

I started this book with high expectations, and not going to lie… it was a let down. After coming off of ACOTAR, this book was a miss for me. Great plot set up and characters, but the mid to end of the book got boring for me. I was just waiting for something to happen, and by the time it finally did, I was just rushing through it to get it over with because I wanted to read something different. I still like Sarah J Maas’ writing style, but this wasn’t a series that I will continue. I think I am going to try Throne of Glass series next. Hoping ACOTAR isn’t the only series I like from her! I did like the redemption arc of the main character, but it was a little unrealistic and of course she

ends up being more powerful than Danika

it just wasn’t shocking to me, especially

falling for Hunt too

. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide attempt, War, Abandonment, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Slavery, and Violence

booksalacarte's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.5

8/2022 First read- 5⭐️

Bound by blood. Tempted by desire. Unleashed by Destiny.

This is a dark high fantasy novel with elements of modern technology. Think Fae, angles, and vampires with cellphones and security cameras.

The world building took a long time to get into. The characters and trope of the Chosen One with powers like no other are very familiar for Sarah J Maas, and she doesn’t disappoint.

When it comes to world building, I’m telling you, Maas is one of the best. This book had be in a chokehold. I read it in 24 hours (until 4am 😬) because I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to start the next book!

Reread- 4.75⭐️ 2.75🌶️

Urban Romantic Fantasy

Adult Fantasy

Fae

Mythical creatures

Modern technology

Found family

Murder mystery

Secret history

Bodyguard romance

Forced proximity

Explicit Language

Drug use

Suicide attempt mentioned

The dark, gritty, messiness of this series is starkly different from Maas’ other series. This wasn’t a fairytale, but more real… all while remaining a high fantasy romance. The world building was almost too intense at times, with info dumps all over the place. I found myself not as desperate to read the book the second time. Because I knew that the random side plots would be all pulled together and monologued in the end. It turned my first read in 24 hours into 6 days. 

Reading this a second time made me realize how much I wove book 1 & 2 together. Now that I’m in the other side, I think emotionally, the book was just as good. But looking at it, plot-wise, this book was a little all over the place. The last 1/3 of the book was action packed, thank goodness. But it was plot points hitting, one after the other. 

The characters are wonderfully flawed and live their flaws out loud. Something that is refreshing and messy at the same time. It’s harder to take off the rose colored glasses when it comes to fantasy main characters. I think the character building did a great job. 

It’s hard also because the ending wasn’t a cliffhanger, so it almost felt like a series coming to an end because of how long it is

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Colonisation, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Body horror, Gaslighting, Blood, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Bullying, Death, Medical content, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, and Gun violence

ka_ke's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

I was nervous to start HoEaB when I got it but now it may be a new favourite. I even appreciated the lack of explicit smut, but I do hope there is some in HoSaB. I related to Bryce on an unnatural level, I understood her pain, her grief and her struggle to keep fighting. Thank god I have HoSaB to start now! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Violence, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Bullying, Colonisation, Cursing, Murder, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, and Slavery

Minor: Torture, War, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

kingrosereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-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

I did very much love this book. I ended up staying up all night to finish it before falling asleep 250 short of the end. It is longer than it needs to be but at the same time I like that the investigation is hard and confusion with a lot of dead ends. Like a real investigation.

I always knew Micah was shady and his death was HILARIOUS. I was completely shocked at Hunt’s betrayal. I always knew he’d rebel when he got the chance, but not like this.

This book puts you through the emotional ringer. I like Bryce a lot. I think she’s funny and a straight badass. I’ve seen other people says she’s a classic “I’m not like other girls”, but I don’t see that at all. I see a normal, young woman that likes to party. I don’t use drugs but I know lots of young people use it recreationally and it made Bryce more real to me.

There’s also the obvious consequences of her using drugs the night Danika dies. The revelations of Danika’s death and synth and the Horn were all over the place, but I think that’s the point.

The swearing was also like ridiculously on point. My friend and I swear just like this and just as much, so that was very relatable. This book made me laugh, made me cry, and made me happy. 
I think that Bryce’s grief and depression were also extremely relatable and written well. And it took a whole book for her to get to a better place. I also LOVE that she uses other people’s preconceived notions about her to her advantage. She’s also pretty sex positive, even though it’s clear she does use sex sometimes as a form of self-medication for her grief and as a way to combat the underlying feelings she has about being seen as a “lesser” being. Bryce is badass. She can fight, shoot, and wear all the girly girl stuff women get bashed about on the daily. I like her attitude and am excited to see where the story goes from here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Slavery, Gun violence, Gore, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicide attempt, War, Death, Police brutality, Self harm, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief

Minor: Abandonment

begentile's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Murder, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Gore, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Vomit

ahirsch00's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

It took a while for me to really get into the book. It was a slow start, and a lot of information is thrown at you in the first few chapters, so it made it difficult to process at first. But there are a ton of twists and turns that I never saw coming. I was on the edge of my seat by the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, War, Vomit, Abandonment, Classism, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, and Slavery

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Sexual content, Drug use, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Suicide, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

As someone who loved TOG but ACOTAR left me feeling a little underwhelmed, I was hesitant to read this book. I also had a friend who rated it 2 stars so it didn't give me high hopes. Holy Hel was I wrong and the emotional rollercoaster this book sent me on when reading it!! I loved every second of this book and had to restrain myself from screaming about it. This book in equal parts made me smile and broke my heart.

I loved the overall plot and the mystery it held. It kept me going with all of the twists and turns. I gasped, I regretted what happened, I loved what happen and by the end, I sat there with the book staring at the wall whispering "What the fuck. What the fuck." As I had to comprehend how everything ended and went down. I also thought "Thank the gods that book two is out now and I don't have to wait a couple of years.". I also liked that all the plot points from the start of the book were resolved and because they were resolved, there are now new plot points for the next book due to consequences. In a book that is 803 pages long, I would have been really annoyed that one of the plots points was not resolved for 'reasons'.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. There was a fun range of them and I also enjoyed jumping to different characters. Ruhn was one that I really enjoyed reading and watching interact with everyone. I found a lot of the characters in this book felt really well rounded and had their own lives, issues, and priorities. Granted not all were as all fleshed as others, it also comes down to how much they are written in the book and at what times. I am very excited to see who returns in the next book, and no doubt the new characters that Bryce and Hunt will work with and against.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Torture, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Sexism, Murder, Alcohol, Addiction, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Cursing, Xenophobia, Abandonment, War, Suicide attempt, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Body shaming, Pregnancy, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

kellicat94's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and War

msradiosilence's review

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

0.25

I would’ve given this book a 0 or if it was possible. For FUCK’S sake.

Okay, first of all, I love swearing. It’s the most fun a girl can have. But dropping a fuck word, twice, on every page is excessive. And unnecessary. 

Speaking of unnecessary, I don’t think there was a SINGULAR person who wasn’t described as beautiful (female) or powerful (male). And the amount of times Hunt or Bryce were described as such?? What the fuck. Also, stop with the racial ambiguousness. Hunt and Bryce are white, not *golden*, not *tan* these bitches are white. I think the only two “brown” people were Juniper (maybe? After 800 pages you forget what happens) and another person I’m forgetting bc it was a brief encounter and I was beyond fed up at that point. It’s not hard to diversity your characters, especially in a fantasy world you made yourself. Stop being ambiguous and say it with your whole chest.

Also, the amount of “toe curling” and nonsense that was happening was unacceptable. Not that Maas knows ANYTHING about anatomy, especially writing lines like “vital arteries.” ??? You mean ALL arteries?? Because I can assure you they’re ALL vital. I’m also calling bullshit on Bryce double fisting a sword and a rifle (which, you get no details. It’s just “Hunt’s rifle.” What kind of rifle? One you need to cock *and* can use one handed? I think the fuck not). And correct me if I’m wrong, but Bryce as a half-Fae is reminded time and again she’s not as strong as the other Vanir so how is she cutting down demons (who Hunt states he fought and BARELY survived ONE) one handed? Huh?

Coming from a forensics background too, the investigation was a hot fucking mess. Nitpicky, but DNA analysts (what I’m studying to be) don’t actually go into the field. The only people at a crime scene are the police, CSI, and nosy nellys. It’s the basics, anything you can google. And this had to be the most boring murder I’ve ever read about, with conclusions that literally anyone could’ve come to in half the time it took Hunt and Bryce, who are the dumbest people on the planet.

Bryce is the reason people who know the victims/people of interest are not allowed anywhere near the case.

For a book set in ONE city, this world has absolutely no meat. If you copy and pasted any passage from ToG about any of their cities, same for ACOTAR, they wouldn’t read any different. I had friends in my undergrad who could world build so much better, and in less than 800 pages!! How can you write 800 fucking pages and not actually say a fucking thing???

Go to therapy. I know Maas said it was great and then immediately shit on it, but Bryce is in no way a role-model. If you are having thoughts about self-harm, unaliving yourself, you need to seek out help. It’s such a dangerous message to put out, especially as a well-known author, that you can just “deal” and you “deserve the pain” and “taking it away is forgetting the ones you’ve lost”. If it’s so serious

your friends are talking you off a roof

you need help. Please call a professional. 

I finished this book out of pure spite. There was ONE character I actually cared about (Aidas) and that’s bc I have a hangup about death and darkness gods, etc. Will I read the next one? Not immediately, and I won’t be buying it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, and War