Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

40 reviews

kbairbooks's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

Wow this was. Breathtaking. (Spoiler review) the depth, the insight, the growth, the pain, the just pure incredible artistry…. Wow. This was something else. Working through the trauma of losing her father, and all the personal failures as a person and a sister and a daughter. The physical help from the training, the mental help from working at the library, the emotional help from the house then Emerie and Gwyn then Cassian. The spiritual help from the music, the steps, being pulled into the bloodrite just wow. This was an enchanting read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

livviz_03's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

3.75

It took me a good while to get into this book. It‘s really slow in the beginning but speeds up in the end. Once I got into the book, I didn’t mind the slower pace of the plot though. This book is centered around Nesta and her journey, not so much around the plot. Which was unexpected for me, especially if one has read the other books in the series, which are very much adventure driven. 
So you might need to adjust your mindset before diving into this, at least that’s how it was for me. Once I did that, I was actually beginning to enjoy following Nesta along and trying to understand the mindset behind her actions. Adding to that, I really didn’t like Nesta because of how she was portrayed in the other books. But I also think Nesta isn’t supposed to be a lovable character, which makes it even more intriguing trying to understand her. And even though I really hated her in the beginning for all that she‘d done ( or not done), I must admit that she creeped herself into my heart at the end of this journey.
Like many others, I related to her on some levels, which probably made it hard to just unconditionally love her from the beginning. She also simply isn’t portrayed as likeable, but I actually loved to see that in a fictional woman.
On the other side, the side characters are very much lovable. I enjoyed every written word about Gwyn and Emerie and found it very interesting to learn about them and their backstories. The dynamic of the three was the absolute best.
My cons: very slow start and hard to get into (it really is a mindset question though), some out of character moments regarding the inner circle, some issues should have been addressed better.
Honorable mention: the house. I FREAKING LOVE the house! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Sexism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual content

Minor: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abandonment, Child death, Eating disorder, War, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Toxic friendship

mypatronusisajedi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Physical abuse, and Torture

claudiamacpherson's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Months after the war with Hybern, Nesta is still estranged from her sisters and the rest of the Night Court. Finally, Feyre gives Nesta an ultimatum: she can start going to training with Cassian every day and work in the library in the House of Wind...or be banished to the human lands. Angrily, Nesta agrees—but she won’t acquiesce that easily. It doesn’t help that she’s now spending hours a day with Cassian, the one person who always seems to set off her anger—or worse, her desire. Though the war has ended, peace is fragile, and the human queens are up to something that Nesta, Cassian, and the other members of the Night Court must prevent...or go to war again.

I was underwhelmed by the ACOTAR series when I first started reading them (partly because they had been so hyped up on booktok, and probably also because I listened to the audiobooks...mistake), so I didn’t have high hopes for A Court of Silver Flames. I surprised myself by enjoying it more than the others, though the plot is still just as confusing. The biggest difference I felt between this book and the previous several was the importance of the female relationships. Though Feyre has some female friends, their relationships never felt as fleshed out as Nesta’s friendships with Emerie and Gwyn. Also—and I am fully aware that this is a very unpopular opinion—I never liked Rhys all that much, and seeing him from Nesta’s point of view only supported that opinion. Cassian, on the other hand… (My favorite of the “bat boys” is still Azriel, though, so I’m holding out hope that one of Maas’ upcoming books will be about him

...and Gwyn, perhaps?? I never cared all that much for the Azriel/Elain pairing (she is just too boring, I’m sorry) but I want him to find a happy ending, and I loved Gwyn!

)

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):

Happpy! But still plenty of room for sequels because God forbid these poor idiots have a minute of rest.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Minor: Domestic abuse and Fire/Fire injury

jasneave's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

bookishmegs_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Cursing, and Death of parent

oceanw1's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexism

runitsthepopo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical trauma, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture

franstaffs's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Gore, Cursing, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Miscarriage, Child death, Death of parent, and Torture

reading_ray's review

DNF - 12%
 The only thing I liked was the map.

I could not get past the first 5 or so chapters. How Sarah had the Inner Circle leave Nesta on her own to deal with her PTSD and get mad at her for not getting better is so aggravating. Mental illnesses, for most people, don't get any better without help. Her family should have reached out sooner, not when they were embarrassed by her behavior. 
 They didn't reach out because they were concerned for her but embarrassed when she spent their money. Which I feel the need to point out, they have been paying everything for her for a year. I also find it unbelievable that none of the Inner Circle are sympathetic towards Nesta with her PTSD. The fact that the Inner Circle can't relate to her PTSD after having gone through what they did in the first three books and what others are said to have gone through before is completely unrealistic.
 There were also better ways to get Nesta up to the mountains. The Inner Circle didn't need to trick her out of her house, steal all of her things, condemn her building, and give her an ultimatum where both options are threatening to her life(go to a place that is known for its misogyny or to a place where Fae are hated).
 On a final note, A Court of Wings and Ruin had an ending. There was not hint of another book, besides it being listed on Goodreads. This reeks of an author only continuing a series for more money. I know authors get their money but I feel that if an author is going to continue to write about a world different characters should be the focus of the story. Yes in the first three ACoTaR books it was about Feyre and Rhysand and this was about Nesta and Cassian, but Nesta and Cassian also had important roles in the first three books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Forced institutionalization