Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

12 reviews

c0rpsekat's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

MORE QUEER FOCUSED HORROR PLEASE !! this book is so dark , gorgeous , and cherishable !!! the most beautifully written experience i've had the pleasure to read . i truly felt anxious and scared as i lived DEEP in this universe Kristi DeMeester created , but i also felt such sadness , love , and sympathy for the characters and their stories . Lila and Caroline are not only my favorite characters i've read , but ones that will stick with me in every day of my life . as a queer , afab trans person who came out at around Lila's age raised by a single mother who recently passed away ... wow . this book spoke to me in ways i never knew a horror novel could . an absolutely chilling , sorrowful , and astounding ride .

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Grief, Lesbophobia, Body shaming, Death, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Body horror, Bullying, Sexism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Drug use, and Drug abuse

aparker89's review

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Body horror, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Torture, Child death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Dementia, and Pregnancy

oliviavm8's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Beautifully written. I felt the grief and sadness radiating through this book. As a woman who has been subjected to abuse by a man- this book hit me deeply in places I tend to keep hidden. It took a while for me to fully understand and grasp the concept of the book but when I did it hit so deep within me. Ugh, so raw and emotional- absolutely loved it. Five star book for me- any woman should read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Body horror, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

honeymoonleo's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Death, and Animal death

kabrown28's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Murder, Lesbophobia, Animal death, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

szyca's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexism, Animal death, Mental illness, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Body horror, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, and Grief

kateapatton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, and Gore

Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

ohhthehorrors's review

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

wherethewildreadsare's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

So uhhhhh this book was different. Dark. I just finished and I'm not quite sure what to say....

Let me start by saying I was intrigued and engaged the entire time. I read huge chunks at a time and begrudgingly put it down each time when I had to do something else. When I read the synopsis of the book, I expected it to be some sort of "serial killer survival's club" psychological thriller. It was not, I was wrong. And that's on me. After going through and seeing that it's marketed as horror, a genre I do not read a ton of, that makes a lot more sense. This book is not for the faint of heart. When I say it's dark and twisted, it's DARK and TWISTED. 

The story is centered around a mother/daughter duo, each getting their own POV chapters. The mother, Caroline, mostly being in 2004 New Orleans and her daughter, Lila, "present-day" 2019. Without giving too much away, this book definitely has elements of an anti-patriarchal system. The entire premise is women being punished for going against the status quo, going against the submissive inferior sex they're expected to be. About keeping them in line. There is a lot of gaslighting and patronizing from the men within this book. And a LOAD of triggers in this book. So please read up on those before diving into it. 

Nevertheless, this book deserves its props. I could not put it down and can easily seeing myself reading more by this author. 

PS while there's absolutely no comparison between the descriptions within the book, I kept imagining the Beasts from the 2004 movie, "The Village". Every time, that's all I saw.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Pedophilia, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Animal death, Vomit, Murder, and Death of parent

cheesedance's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Sexual harassment