Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

12 reviews

nyquillll's review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

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

0.5

This book was so hard to get through. I can't remember how I came across it exactly, but I was expecting it to be similar to other sports romance books I've read. This was completely different, but almost in a bad way. Or, I should say, the plot itself wasn't horrible, but the writing style was so not my jam. 

I got 6% into the book and realized it would be really really hard for me to read this book. My first impression was that it was full of long-winded, paragraphs of descriptions that were only sparingly sprinkled with dialogue. And a lot of the time, the long paragraphs weren't even on topic, they were tangential and seemed to run away from the starting point. I ended up skipping to around the 50% mark and then just deciding to majorly skim to see if at some point it would be worth it to force myself through it. It wasn't and it didn't happen. 

While I did finish the book, it was an uphill battle. The dialogue/descriptions didn't get better, and I also wasn't a huge fan of the tropes this book was trying to incorporate -

(possibly) golden retriever/black cat energy, stoic-man-who-never-expresses-how-he-truly-feels, will-they-won't-they, SLOW FUCKING BURN (this was torture), marriage of convenience (one of my firsts and might be a last too), touch-her-and-you-die (but it wasn't done convincingly)

. I also hated the fact that

they didn't even hug until the 90% mark or something?????? And then the author was like "Hey, let me add in a pretty graphic sex scene in the LAST moments of the book - THAT'LL make a gr8 love story." And no, it did not, for me. Also hated, hated, hated how she did have feelings for him and while theoretically we know he does too because it's a romance book, he literally behaved like a LOG around her - and he didn't even acknowledge her presence much before the whole arrangement.

ALSO ALSO ALSO DESPISED HOW SHE CONSTANTLY WAS COMMENTING ON HIS SIZE - "he's such a big guy," "he's massive," "he fills the whole room," etc. etc. (might not be completely accurate on phrasing, but you get the idea). 

I will say, I did appreciate the harder topics that were covered in this book, particularly toxic family dynamics, navigating family trauma, dealing with death of parents/parental figures, unlearning/deconstructing past coping mechanisms that are no longer serving you, allowing yourself to feel scared but to not get stuck in it - to let the fear flow through, how scary it can be to trust people to stay, finding the strength to cut people out of your life who don't deserve to be in it, and how scary it can be when life doesn't pan out how you planned it - but that doesn't mean it ends.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Grief, Addiction, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gaslighting

Some quotes I highlighted:

"'I'm not going anywhere without you.' He squeezed, his words ringing through my ears. 'You're not alone.'"

"'I like your smile. That's all.' The big guy shot me a sour look. 'You make me feel like a Grinch.'"

"'I'm putting on my shoes, Mrs. Graves!' Idiot."

"I wasn't going to say no to the other half of my paperwork getting into my bed when I'd rather not be by myself."

"Me: <--Forever Alone--> Aiden: "

"'For everything. For not noticing. For not caring. For not making you feel like you could tell me things.' His voice was hoarse and just a little ragged."

"It's a long story." "I have time for you."

"My friend. The keeper of my secrets. My moral support. My paperwork."

"Everyone telling me I looked great recently only made me really self-conscious about what they used to think of me before. Did I look like shit?"

"The guy who had lost his favorite thing in the world and had let me force him into training for a marathon."

"He made a light noise, a tender one. 'That's my girl.' His girl? 'I am?' I just outright asked him, hoping more than a little he wasn't just...that was stupid, Aiden wouldn't just say that. 'The only one,' he said it like there was no other choice in the world."

"'That's my girl. That's my fucking girl.' 'What are you doing here?' I practically bawled into him. 'I missed you.' 'You what?' His arms tightened around me. 'I missed you very much.'"

""

""

""

mels_reading_log's review

emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

3.5

This is a grumpy/sunshine, fake marriage, slow burn, sports romance novel. Both of the main characters have childhood trauma and trust issues to work through. I really enjoyed the transformation of Aiden, as he opened up and became more comfortable with Vanessa.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual content, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse

juliaaaaaa's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.5

great trope but badly executed. look, i love a slow burn, but i was expecting more chemistry tension and build up, it didn't give me butterflies until the last chapter

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Car accident, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Injury/Injury detail

sebradley29's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Deportation, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Bullying, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Cursing

hecksbecks's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I have never felt more seen as a reader. I know, I know, there are A-LOT of authors out there that are able to conjure a character that looks like us all and reminds us of ourselves. HOWEVER, Van was just this perfect little combination of every niche imaginable and I loved her. As always with these kitschy romance novels the ending felt rushed but in this case it was okay because we were teased with a slow burn the whole damn time. The characters mesh well with one another and the prose is easy to read, I’d recommend it to someone who was a fan of these kinds of books for sure. I also see myself reading more from Zapata in the near future. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Panic attacks/disorders

ohlovehandles's review against another edition

hopeful tense slow-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? No

4.25

I've honestly always liked slow burns once they're done right and this did it for me. It's not the best writing out there and definitely not the intense burn at the end that you yearn for when ending off a slow burn. But the way that I got so attached to where the two main characters would end up and how, had me in a serious chokehold. I could not put down this book for the life of me and honestly I regret nothing. 

If you're not into slow burn I definitely would not recommend this because it is a long book that has a lot of repetitive inner dialogue, which can definitel annoy some people. But, if you were into Wattpad romances as a teen, it may seriously give you so much nostalgia of those days but with a lot more consistent writing. 

All in all, I loved the ride this book took me on and I'd definitely re-read because I'm a sucker for love i know I'd never have :').

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Car accident, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Drug use

cozyduck's review against another edition

hopeful slow-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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Child abuse, Deportation, Abandonment, and Drug abuse

ymread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny inspiring lighthearted sad 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

shuelace's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted slow-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

2.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Addiction, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

anaya_reads's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

Literally loved it. It was so sweet and adorable. The slow burn was on 100. Don’t like how they dismissed the fact that Aiden basically  got sexually assaulted and essentially said it’s happened more than once. To add insult to injury, Vanessa laughed at it. Besides that, wonderful. P.S. I’ve declared Mark Andrews as my Aiden Graves despite the difference in position. Fight me on it 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Sexual content