Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

28 reviews

ejsimpson's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

have had this book for three years but never read it because I was convinced it wouldn’t be as perfectly spectacular as Migrations. Reading the majority of this book had me second guessing that, but then that twist came and ruined absolutely everything for me. 
The world building, the characters, the setting, <i> the wolves </i> and the slow build up of tension in the town, between Inti and the farmers or some other characters, the emotional reveal I knew was waiting for me later in the book about Inti and her sister. We were gearing up for a promising five star if not solid four star title. But the reveal, after so much was lost, it wasn’t the type of emotional devastation I was expecting. I wasn’t devastated, I was furious. This completely ruined the story for me, everything just suddenly fell apart and felt like it didn’t matter at all. I was mad at everyone, mad that I was enjoying this story as equally as Franny’s, and that it all came crashing down in a sort of unforgivable way. 

⚠️ Spoilers:
The dog dies. No, you know what, he was murdered. 
There is a pretty graphic scene with one of the wolves, think GoT-like. And others of them who are killed, or die. 
Aside from it being released a few years before OTWW, this had to have been inspiration for My Sister, the Serial Killer.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Child abuse

jaedee09's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a beautiful, tense, emotional story. This book made me feel so many things - anger, love, sadness...strength. At first I wasn't sure about the flashbacks, but quickly came to appreciate how poetic the story was written.

That birth scene was incredibly powerful!

Such a poingant way to blend a story of conservation, family ties, murder, and love.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Animal death, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Murder

Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol

sonlight21's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

2.5

When I started this book I was not expecting what it would become. This is not a light hearted wilderness book. The emotional journey taken is wild, tense, and dark. There is a lot to learn but also a lot to be aware of before entering. 

At first I found the writing style hard to get into. It felt broken and chopped. I didn't slip into it until the last 60 pages or so. Some of the plot felt broken and missing such as the main relationship. It felt like it was just sprung into existence no feeling or relationship built. 


Please read the content warnings! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Animal death, Gun violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Cursing, Pregnancy, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent and Gaslighting

Minor: Hate crime

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

2.0

I expected more, and I find myself thinking about this book even after finishing it, in the wrongest ways...

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Murder

mdwsn27's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Murder, Animal death, Grief, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Gore, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Rape, Stalking, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Abandonment

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Abortion, and Confinement

kiwialexa's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Grief

donaldleitch's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

3.75

The novel, Once There Were Wolves, is difficult to characterize.  It is generally dark with some disturbing elements.  There is a mystery within the story, yet I would not characterize the book as a mystery. 

 

The novel is based on the reintroduction of wolves into Scotland.  The story revolves around a committed biologist working on this project and the local population’s fear of the wolves.  Living with the biologist is her sister, a victim of family trauma.

 

Despite some of the uncomfortable content, I am satisfied with my reading of the novel.  I feel like I know more about the nature of wolves and the debate around the reintroduction of animals to a once native habitat.  This reintroduction process can be hampered by both sides of the issue by those that ignore research from blind commitment to a cause and those that are reluctant to understand perspectives and their roots.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Sexual assault

Moderate: Gaslighting, Violence, and Physical abuse

_annika__'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

1.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Animal death, Death, Sexual violence, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Medical content, Infidelity, Violence, Mental illness, Child abuse, and Gaslighting

any_bethany's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Animal death, Blood, Death, and Domestic abuse

ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

My IRL book club read this and overall, we really enjoyed it. I loved that I was immediately immersed in the story. It had short chapters (thank goodness!) and was a fast-paced, propulsive read. After struggling for weeks to be gripped by a book, I was so grateful to actually want to read. That alone left me feeling overwhelmingly positive about the book, and upon finishing, I rated it pretty highly. But then the more I thought about it, the more there were elements that really didn’t work for me. 

 

The wolves are excellent and are some of the best characters in the book. The human characters weren’t always well fleshed-out and their relationships didn’t always make a ton of sense (there seemed to be more telling than showing of the fact that characters cared for each other). The main character has a rare neurological condition that is mentioned constantly, but doesn’t really seem to add anything to the book. Finally, the ending is kind of a mess and way too rushed to really make sense of anything. However, overall, the book was a compelling, mostly satisfying read. I prefer Migrations, but I’ll continue reading McConaghey’s work. Lots of content warnings in this one though.

 

CW: animal death, gore, murder, sexual assault, abusive relationship, dementia, domestic violence

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Animal death, Blood, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Violence

Moderate: Dementia