Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

To Swoon and to Spar by Martha Waters

3 reviews

extracelestial's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.5

I’ve been excited to read Penvale’s book but this one… agh. I liked a lot about Jane and relate to feeling uncomfortable around others, but her supposedly awkwardness really felt over the top. There were moments where I thought it was sweet that Penvale liked that she was different, and other times I felt like he was deranged. Some moments of “her?” à la Arrested Development.

My main frustrations with this book were 1- the gaslighting. My god! The gaslighting. And 2- it took a really long time (like 200+ pages) before the first kiss. I get it. It wasn’t a marriage either of them expected, it’s a slow burn, etc. But I usually *adore* a long game slow burn and this just didn’t feel inspiring. 

Overall I thought this series was fun and I loved following each couple and seeing them reappear in and out of the series. Maybe a Sophie and West novella is to come?

For now, I will be dreaming of my own estate by the sea with an enormous library, sea views, and enough room invite all my friends.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

grojas7's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny mysterious relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

internalnonsense's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted 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? Yes

2.0

The premise of this story is a woman faking a haunting in her home in order to scare off her new husband-of-convenience. Of course, they fall in love instead. It’s a cute idea, but the pitfalls are present pretty immediately. Characters act in incomprehensible and downright unlikable ways. While I’m not afraid of problematic leads making dumb decisions, I need the story to know its characters are being dumb and make them mature from it. Instead, we have the lightest of consequences, the most basic self-examination, and we honestly only get the barest justification for why. 

The story we have is the female lead actively gaslighting her husband, who’s been entirely considerate of her, and recruiting other members of the household to deceive him. Even past the point where he’s clearly no threat to her or her autonomy, she’s actively disturbing his sleep, lying to his face, and trying to push him out of his family home. Her excuses for this are so flimsy, and the male lead’s behavior so above board the entire story (other than the occasional sarcastic comment, overblown for drama), it completely killed any sense of romance for me. 

To the book’s credit, it is a part of a larger series but is very approachable as a standalone. While I sensed we were supposed to be more familiar with some of the characters, it re-established them without  much trouble and the backstory of the previous books didn’t overshadow our main story here. The writing is fine. There are cute moments that didn't end up working for me but others who click more with this style and are more forgiving of the premise might enjoy a lot. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...