Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

87 reviews

msradiosilence's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

TLDR; 4.5 rating rounded up, I love monkey’s paw wishes, I love queer women, and I’m not gonna lie this book almost had me crying.


Full review to come. :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Rape, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Stalking

mary_stormageddon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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

4.25

I think this story could have benefited from a few chapters being cut, as it did drag on from time to time. But, in the end, it broke my heart, ensuring that I'll never forget Addie LaRue.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

coco1mocha's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting

kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Cancer

todorjelena's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Interesting premise. The story is pretty slow for the first 100 pages but it does pick up a bit afterwards. It has a couple of minor plotholes that become noticable by the end. I didn't mind the ending

The book part was probably its saving grace not gonna lie. Her big plan to outsmart Luc and beat him at his own game was a bit meh to me.

I don't know how I feel about the art and art history elements. They sometimes feel like they were just thrown in there as filler.
For a person who has lived for 300 years she has maintained a pretty limited worldview. I find it odd that after being alive for 3 centuries and all her talk of loving to read stories and learn as much about the world  as possible she has only learned some European languages and traveled to a handful of European countries and the US.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

magic_multicolored_miracle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.75

Is forever worth your soul?
That is the question at the heart of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. The novel follows a girl who trades her soul, and unknowingly the ability to be remembered, to a man who might be the devil or might be a Old God in exchange for an immortal life of freedom. 
Full of romance and art and clever turns, the novel starts slow but soon builds into a crescendo. Alternating chapters between her modern life in New York City in 2014 where she meets and falls in love with the enigma of Henry Strauss and flashes of the life she lived over the last 300 years, mostly tangled with "anniversaries" with Luc, the being that she promised her soul to, the book does an excellent job of telling two stories twined into one. And though it is a complete piece on it's own, the story coming to a beautifully bittersweet ending, it teases a third at the close, promising that forever goes on and there is still hope yet.
It does not shy away from the horrors facing a woman alone through history, but reminds the reader that Addie is clever and strong and will make it through, and that no matter where and when she is, there are beautiful things to be find when she looks. 
A definite must read for fans of trickster fae tales, doomed love, and the timeless power of art and stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic

cyndi1966's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and War

chasingpages1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Stalking

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ericius's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

4.75

a bit too long, somewhat slow to read and a bit sad, but i forgive it because it was an emotional journey it made me cry and smile and i loved it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders

throwback682's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense

• 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

5.0

I was so scared to finish this book. I almost quit because I couldn’t bear the idea of the sad ending I imagined.

I’m so glad that I stuck it out. The ending wasn’t what I expected at all (although some might see through it more easily) and it wasn’t happy but it was very satisfying. Henry’s last pages had me near tears.

I think the concept of the plot is really creative, and the author keeps track of a thousand little details of Addie’s curse that could’ve created a thousand plot holes. 

At times it was predictable, but not in a way that spoiled my enjoyment.

I knew almost right away that Henry had also made a deal, but there were plenty of details I didn’t foresee, too.

This book made me  want to savor every moment of life and love. It was entertaining but also thought provoking and heart-fire stoking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Cancer, Dementia, and Classism