Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

21 reviews

mblanke's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide, Death, and Child death

Minor: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Blood, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Grief

hapalyn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gaslighting, Child death, Death, and Dementia

bookishgoob's review against another edition

dark emotional lighthearted tense medium-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

3.0

Riley Sager does it again. and by does it again i mean writing a “not like other girls” main character and using “ample bosom” as a descriptor for no apparent reason. Maggie was so annoying to me. she oozed pick me energy to a point where it made me want to DNF. another thing i don’t like about sagers writing is that he literally waits until the end of the book to do the final twist which is predictable but often annoying. plot twists are fine at the end once in a while but damn, every book? i don’t know man. i have a lot of problems with riley sager and his writing. i would almost recommend you watch haunting of hill house (5/5 show) than read this but i do have to admit that the atmosphere was creepy and would be a great “spooky szn@ read. it’s quick. it’s creepy. it involved and old house. so i’m torn.  either way the characters were so bland but the story was good. do with that information what you want. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Stalking, and Suicide

beccam22's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The haunting of hill house but with the setting of crimson peak. Overall it was fine, I didn’t find it original at all but it was an entertaining read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Self harm

crosberg's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Definitely not for the faint of heart and if you want something more like a haunted house story and less like the tale of the terrible things people can do to each other, this might not be the book for you.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Child abuse, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Violence

The book does discuss in detail a very lengthly period of gaslighting by parents to their child. It also mentions child abuse, murder, and suicide. There are also rumors about grooming a teenage girl.

emmaruth223's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Violence, Suicide, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Child death

Minor: Alcohol

toorsdenote's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Solid ghost story, cool plot twist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Car accident, Chronic illness, Dementia, and Vomit

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I don't even know what to say y'all
I don't know what I expected but it wasn't this. This book scared me so much. I'm scared of armoires now. I feel like I can't really talk about this book effectively while still keeping it spoiler free, but I think what I will say is that I did not see the ending coming and I can't tell if I was disappointed by it or not. I opted for the 4 star rating bc of my confusion in relation to that, but overall this was a very immersive and well written book that I think you'll love if you're into horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Suicide, Cancer, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Child abuse, Animal death, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, and Forced institutionalization

davidrb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad 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

2.5

Oy vey. Just...not my favorite. Twists weren't fun, story didn't go anywhere...it had some interesting things to say about the lengths that men will go to justify their actions, and then it just didn't use them for anything. But, despite all that, a fun and easy read. Definitely good fodder for this time of year just to get into the mood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Violence

kathkas's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Gaslighting, and Murder