Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan, Jodi Picoult

78 reviews

lexithelion's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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

This was the best book I read in 2023 and even long ago. This book has many complex themes woven together perfectly to highlight the purpose of the book. I LOVED the way this book tackled difficult topics but was still lighthearted and a good story. I wish the police proceedings were a little more realistic, but otherwise, this book is great at making you believe that multiple people aren't who they say they are, and it leaves you guessing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

feralpoodles's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Very good, very emotional and heavy, but also gripping mystery. Definitely very dark, basically any dark/heavy emotional theme you can think of is at least mentioned in this book, but I don’t think it’s too heavy handed most of the time. I liked the back and forth perspectives between Olivia and Lily, but (mostly stylistically) I liked Olivia’s chapters better. Sometimes Lily’s chapters made the pacing feel a little stilted, and the timeline wasn’t quite clear for me. I actually didn’t realize that Lily’s perspective was in reverse chronological until the very end (though that could just me my problem because I tend not to register time spans/dates when they’re written out at the start of chapters). Thought it was a very well done exploration of abusive relationships and the cycle of abuse. Great plot twist in the middle, I audibly went “Whaaat” when it was revealed, and I flipped back through what I just read and stuff made a lot more sense, which is my favorite kind of twist. A bit preachy sometimes, there’s a few bits after the plot twist that feel like a tumblr psa post that break the immersion a bit, but there weren’t too many instances so I can forgive them, especially since the topic is so misunderstood and polarized right now. Dragged on a few times, but overall kept me very engaged and emotionally invested, definitely heartbreaking, lots of complex emotions. Loved all the bee stuff too, was very interesting to learn about and thematically was very satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt

barktea's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Transphobia

silverhill's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Death, Dysphoria, Transphobia, and Grief

Moderate: Gaslighting, Blood, Outing, Deadnaming, Medical content, and Bullying

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Death of parent

goodin10tions's review

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Mad Honey is it's own story but I feel like if you are a fan of Saving Jacob, Middlesex,  or The Lovely Bones you will love it. The journey of all the characters is haunting and melancholy. Sensitive readers should research the content because there are many possible triggers.
This is a long story (15 hrs) but it goes by really fast. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Bullying, and Homophobia

Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Grief, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts

sariereads's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Violence, Death, Homophobia, Bullying, Child death, Outing, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia

amesnotamy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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: Homophobia, Medical trauma, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Violence

sholtie's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Outing, Deadnaming, and Blood

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Alcoholism

mamareadstuff's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

First 5 star read of the year. I couldn't put it down. I had so many theories. I didn't know what I was getting into. I loved this. So much. I did hope for a slightly different ending, but we can't win them all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Outing, Self harm, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Grief, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Deadnaming, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Medical content

violetbentbackwards1036's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Misogyny, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Abortion, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Deadnaming, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, and Violence