Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Our Share of Night

Not really sure what hoopla was about this book. I get how it’s actually a political allegory, but it was way too long, had too many unnecessary digressions, and not enough resolution for my satisfaction. Enjoyed the overall story, but there were far too much that I didn’t care for in between.

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arayo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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ember_is_gay's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i was obsessed with this book while i was reading it, i spoke to everyone about it and recommended it to them and was so excited to talk about it. this had me hooked in so quickly, i loved how book moved through timeframes non-chronologically and gave us such a rounded insight into juan and gasper.

even though this book is so so long, it didn't feel that way at all. i was so caught up in the story and honestly my one complaint is that the ending felt rushed and i would have loved it to have been more dragged out (although i am not sure how much of that is because i just didn't want the book to end).

i honestly cannot wait to read this book again and to find someone who loves it as much as i do so we can spend hours talking about it.

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alicia_rausch's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

This was an extremely difficult book to rate for me - and felt akin to Donna Tartt's work in which I must shelve them as "masterpieces I kind of hated reading yet I can't stop thinking about them."

The world, the characters, and the tone of the novel is masterfully done, though it remained much lighter on horror than I expected and the pacing was extremely slow. I found myself wanting to quit this beast multiple times and yet I’m glad I pushed through. I think, a bit like Vampires of El Norte, it was marketed as heavier on the horror than it was - and I was expecting a much larger % of the novel to be action, when in reality it was just a few sequences.

What it is, is a generational drama with horror elements, which should have been how it was advertised. It’s a quiet book, with a creeping sense of dread, and dark elements as we follow the family and how the cult affects each member over time. Like a darker, more effed-up Pachinko.

The rep for LGBTQ+ was well done, and like Pachinko, I greatly enjoyed the historical elements about a time period (and place) I am not overly familiar with.

The actual writing/storytelling was excellent and the way the puzzle fit together at the end was satisfying. I love an ambigious ending so that was a plus for me. But I just could not get past the excruciatingly slow pacing.

To the right reader, this will be an instant favorite - unfortunately, that reader is just not me.

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