Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

38 reviews

katikins's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A little slow to start, but once the ball got rolling I couldn’t put it down!  An academic, sapphic Dexter. Incredible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault and Gaslighting

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.5

A serial killer FMC with a thirst for justice with a dark academia setting? Excellent 👏🏼 A 4.5 star read for me. The dual POVs were well done and the twists were *chef's kiss*. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol

kitandink's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

well! 

also, hell of a plot twist

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, and Toxic friendship

zombiezami's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, and Medical content

Minor: Gun violence and Death of parent

enyltiak's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

It's really fun to be inside the head of a serial killer like Scarlett—someone I truly sympathize with, understand her motivations, and root for. I don't even want to call her deplorable. Questionable, sure. But fascinating and an intriguing protagonist. Carly and her storyline were a little less enthralling to follow... at least for the first half. The plot twist mid-way through the book

where you find out that Carly is Scarlett, and that that portion of the novel is set in the past

really shifted the direction of that plot and built up the intrigue. This book isn't a literary masterpiece or anything, but it is fun and an exciting read. 

I think there's plenty to unpack in the feminism of the novel and the way that race and sexuality and class intersects with misogyny could certainly have been unpacked, but... ultimately I just don't think that's something this book meant to do; it's dealing more with the impact of sexual assault and the lack of response and support for girls and women who face various violence at the hands of men. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

melchncookies's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

What a great, terrible and scary story! There’s a couple really great twists that I didn’t quite see coming. The narrators were perfect choices for the audiobook. 

Carly is a good girl who discovers sexual freedom. Scarlett is fantastic feminist serial killer. Eventually their worlds collide, but not in the way you’d expect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Gore, Infidelity, and Death of parent

bringitona's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Grief, Stalking, Car accident, and Death of parent

noshinbean's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Torture

msradiosilence's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.0

TLDR; 3 rating, I love women’s wrongs, I love queer women, but there is something missing here.

Content warnings at the bottom. :)

I am a sucker for bisexual female main characters, and this one kills men who hurt women?? It sounded so far up my alley. I went in hoping Scarlett and Carly would team up and take down all the horrible men on Gorman’s campus but that’s just…not exactly what happened.

So Scarlett and Carly are the same person. I figured that out just a little bit before the reveal, so cheers!

I really appreciated Carly’s arc, but because the time was ambiguous, the four or five page chapters and then the switches back and forth between Carly and Scarlett did give me whiplash in a few places. I understand why (to keep you on the edge of your seats during tense moments) but there was something lost in the back and forth. 

I’ve seen a lot of people complain about how there’s quite literally a single man in this book who is a genuinely good guy, and it’s sort of explained away because he’s gay. I think people pointing this out are missing the fact that Scarlett is a horrendously unreliable narrator. Someone described this as genderbent American Psycho, and while I’ve never read that book, I’ve seen plenty of reviewers who bite back at incel misogynists who look up to Patrick Bateman enough to realize that the comparison is likely an apt one. Scarlett is so consumed with her belief that men ain’t shit, and while it’s very likely the men she kills haven’t committed crimes egregious enough for the reader to sentence them to death, Scarlett’s had enough. She reads a lot into situations, often colored by her own trauma, and since this is from her perspective, we should take her observations with a grain of salt (in most cases). With the exception of Drew, all the men in this book read as horrible predators, and we as the audience only have Scarlett to rely on until another character confirms it (Mina with Kinnear,

Mikayla with Jasper

, jury’s still out on Stright). But whether you believe Scarlett or not, the point is she’s unreliable, but these men are still pretty awful.

And that’s the point, isn’t it? It’s a cautionary tale against trust, because it’s not always the ones you don’t know. Scarlett is a dream, and one that I’ve heard quite a few of my friends echo. Because even in the year of our lorde 2023, the doctors and the deans in Carly’s storyline are still saying the same shit. I saw it happen in undergrad to friends of mine. We have a long, long way to go before the events in this book are only the work of fiction.

Anyway. I thought the book was fine but it didn’t change my life. So, solid three stars.

Rating: 3

Would I recommend? A tentative yes, but mostly for the TWs and content.

Content warnings: Graphic: Fire, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Gore, Grief, Sexism, Cursing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content (about sexual assault), Sexual content (on page, consensual), Sexual harassment, Blood, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence. Moderate: Death of parent, Rape (mentioned, not on page), Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Suicide (mentioned). Minor: Torture (mentioned), Car accident, and Drug use

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Suicide, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Torture, and Car accident

anova's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug abuse and Sexism

Minor: Infidelity and Rape