Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

14 reviews

paulabekkerus's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

chapters_and_pages's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I’m literally rereading these books purely for the nostalgia and I can’t lie, it’s been interesting… 😂

Look, we all know these books aren’t great, but sometimes reading a trashy, entertaining book is what we need. 

This book is my least favourite, Edward’s a dick, Bella’s whiny and annoying, Jacob isn’t much better, but it’s kind like that saying about a car accidents… you want to look away but you just can’t…

Overall, it’s not a great book, but, my god, it’s entertaining… 😂

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

tepidgirlsummer's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.0

I forgot how much of a slog it is to get through this one.

I’m in the throes of a Twilight Saga reread. New Moon has always been my least favorite book, but I’d forgotten why. I sort of remembered it being boring, but thought maybe I hadn’t read it with the right perspective the first few times. I have a greater appreciation for emotional nuance than I did in my very early 20s, and several fellow Ratties defended this installment as important to understand the emotional bond between Bella and Jacob in the future books.

But holy moly is this book a snooze fest. It’s probably about 150-200 pages too long. And aging has only made me even more weirded out by how much Stephenie Meyer normalized these extremely codependent and manipulative relationships. Also, there is virtually no plot. I think this one is supposed to be more character-driven, but there’s hardly any character development after the first couple hundred pages.

I liked Twilight more this time around than I did previously. I remember Eclipse being my favorite, so hopefully that reread doesn’t disappoint.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Blood, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Colonisation and Classism

pink_peony's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

*sigh*

So. When I read twilight the first time (when I was younger) I remember being team Edward. But now that I’m older, and Edward creeps me out, and I read this book, I seriously wish Bella had stayed with Jacob. Not that he’s great but, compared to Edward, in my opinion, she could have had a more stable and less mentally warping relationship. 

Now that I’m older, especially in this book, Bella’s unhealthy infatuation with Edward really unsettles me. 

The way she acts after he leaves it’s almost too similar to an unhealthy obsession or attachment. It’s disturbing how she goes into this catatonic state and becomes so depressed (and even suicidal) that she not only shuts out everyone else in her life, but also seeks out to harm herself if it would give her a brief image of him. The fact that she had night terrors and nightmares, or that she became a sort of a zombie it’s extremely concerning. She basically became a shell of herself. And yes, breakups are hard, but it was almost like in Bella’s case it’s not the end of a relationship but of an obsession. They made it seem like she would never get better or be happy without Edward, that she cannot exist without him. That’s NOT good. That’s unhealthy and she needs therapy.) Bella’s and Edward’s comparison to Romeo and Juliet is even more alarming, especially when Edward tells her he would literally unalive himself if she dies. This is not a romantic relationship or healthy. The fact that is framed as one is what worries me.

However, when she was with Jacob, I liked that she was truly smiling again. It wasn’t a relationship that felt obsessive or codependent, it felt safe and even warm. I could see Bella having an opportunity of having a stable and healthy relationship that had both friendship and commitment in it without any obsession or unhealthy infatuation. Jacob wasn’t perfect, but boy he wasn’t like Edward at all. Far from it. 

However, even still, I have to say that the only thing standing in the way is Bella. She herself would have to realize all of this and how her relationship with Edward is affecting her mentally and emotionally. In a way, she seems to be drawn to self destructive behavior and that’s extremely alarming. The fact that she confuses her obsession with love is even worse, and her choosing Edward again feels like her just going back to continue this codependent cycle of infatuation.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting

stindex's review against another edition

adventurous

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

0.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

macliffe's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Gore

ptitirodactyle's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Blood, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

Minor: War

tiana_king's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

chloevienna's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

as much as i hate stephanie meyer and certain aspects of her books, they’re always going to have a special/nostalgic place in my heart. team edward >>

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing, Death, Violence, and Car accident

merah's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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? Yes

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Racism, Torture, and Violence