Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

73 reviews

mysticslinky's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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


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crypticspren's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

4* because I use the CAWPILE rating system. 

This book was honestly a complete rollercoaster for me. The book is split up into 3 sections. The first POV is Amber. Throughout this section I was very iffy on how I should feel. It wasn't morally grey... It was straight up morally awful and I felt a little uncomfortable at points. She is essentially a sociopath and con artist, intent on stealing a woman’s husband and doesn’t care who she hurts in order to do so. 

The second section is from Daphne's POV. This took me totally by surprise and gave the story an entirely new outlook. This section is also the one worthy of the trigger warnings. I have a personal history with this kind of stuff and the weight management element (if you've read it, you know exactly which bit I mean) absolutely floored me at once point... However, I think it got the balance between "trauma dumping" and "empowering story of survival" just right.

The third POV is a narrator that covers both. It is by far the most satisfying section of the book and the ending was really enjoyable for me for the most part. The way in which daphne played 2 sociopaths against each other and used their greatest weakness (their ego) to escape was nothing short of genius. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was how Amber “got what she deserved”. As someone who lived in an abusive relationship, I would go through it again to get to where I am now but I wouldn’t wish it on anyone - not even an enemy.

It is definitely a book I don’t regret reading, but I couldn't recommend it to anyone without a significant warning for its contents.

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asaenz87's review

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dark funny mysterious sad fast-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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gcraig's review

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dark emotional medium-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


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coffeebookssleep's review

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challenging dark mysterious 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? No

5.0


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beccic's review against another edition

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

2.5


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kcrutch's review against another edition

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

4.0


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sldibened's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

3.75


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opplecopter's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-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

3.0

If you like books that read like a Lifetime movie, you’ll love this one. I was expecting a thriller and just got a drama. I’m surprised this book was so popular in my book groups because I honestly wish I had left this as a DNF a long time ago. The first 100+ pages is about Amber Patterson and told from her perspective. I almost put the book down at this point because this part felt absolutely endless. Amber is a 20 something year old pathological liar who rambles on and on about how unfair her life is because she doesn’t have loads of money, material possessions, connections, popularity, power, influence, etc. Poor Amber is just a victim in her own eyes and she goes above and beyond to portray herself as such. She’s whiny, selfish, immature, and extremely annoying. Amber is determined to have a life of privilege, wealth, designer clothes, expensive jewelry, and being admired by those around her along with a husband who is not only loaded but who will basically be putty in her hands. She “accidentally” meets Daphne Parrish. A beautiful woman in her late 30s who has all these things. Daphne has a perfect life, a perfect family, and a perfect husband, Jackson, who adores her. She has an exquisite home, a staff, a charity foundation, and more. Even Daphne’s home, closets, cabinets, everything is perfectly organized, placed, equally spaced, and spotless. Amber of course is furious. How dare someone else have nice things while she lives in an apartment, right? So, Amber targets Daphne with a plan to ingratiate herself into her life and ultimately to take her place as Mrs. Parrish. Lots of lies, scandal, manipulation, and secrets come out as this story progresses. Overall, I found this very boring. There was no excitement. It all felt very contrived. Yeah there was a twist that I found to be ok,  and people get their just deserts, but it fell short for me. Once the twist was revealed, it felt like this book dragged on and on and at 400+ pages, that was a lot of dragging. It didn’t leave an impression on me and the 3 stars I gave was being generous.

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ssnarker20's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.0


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