Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

17 reviews

fanboyriot's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• 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

It definitely gave off And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (which was mentioned in the book) plus the narrator was great, her voice was quite relaxing.

I went into this knowing nothing about it and I kinda recommend that.  The plot is  much more interesting that way in my opinion.  However, it definitely felt dragged out and at times, it seemed like there were some unnecessary chapters but overall it was pretty entertaining.  

The plot twist near the end got me.  I wasn’t expecting that but I’m not sure how I felt about it at the same time.  Everything tied in together to the poem of the family.  Exposing the family secrets one by one leading them to the biggest secret of all and getting revenge for it after so many years.

And lastly, never cross Nana… or else you’ll end up like the rest of the Darker family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Bullying, Child death, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Ableism, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Confinement, Medical trauma, and Death

Moderate: Car accident, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Body shaming, Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, Drug use, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Sexual harassment

bxnnny's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

i feel like i need to re-read this book now that i know what the twist is to see how much i missed! i enjoyed the pacing of the story and the obvious homage to agatha christie's and then there were none, which is such a great classic mystery. i felt that the writing/way the main character narrated was a little odd at first with all the analogies and metaphors, but it made more sense once the twist was revealed. i love a good locked room mystery and this was a fun one for me. this is also the second book i've read by alice feeney and i'm just as pleased with this one as i was with rock, paper, scissors. she just gets it!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Child death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Gaslighting

readingtotravel's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Suicide

natasyareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Hate crime, Grief, Gaslighting, Death, Abandonment, Cursing, Blood, and Bullying

Minor: Alcohol, Rape, Gun violence, and Body shaming

rose_reads03's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I think this is the first thriller I have ever read, and might I just say 🤯
I had guessed quite early on part of the twist but there was definitely some of it that really was shocking 😳

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Blood, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol

rachaelbunny's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Murder, Death, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Suicide, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical trauma, and Sexual content

zalouis's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Car accident, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Medical content, Abandonment, Addiction, Medical trauma, Bullying, and Grief

bethboo's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I really thought that I wasn't going to like this book. The first 2 hours of it had me second guessing whether I wanted to even read it. Maybe I would have felt different if I had ever read Agatha Christie or even knew the story of And Then There Were None. Cause apparently the entire book is a nod to that. But it really pulled me in when we started to get to know the family member. The home movies were always my favorite. The narrator was phenomenal, sounding choked up and adding tears. She was great.
All the characters were horrible people and very cruel in a realistic way. They felt like real people, like I could turn around and google their names and see them in the flesh. That could partly be attributed to the narrator and her success in telling the story but that's one of the main reasons that I liked this book.

The ending. It was horribly unsatisfying and is really coloring my thoughts about the book even though I'm trying not to let it because I enjoyed the twist and turns and writing right up until the last hour or so.
 
 

Spoiler

Ghosts? The HUGE plot twist is...a ghost?? That's like so weird? Like this isn't a fantasy novel or something magical. She was just dead...like huh?? SO fucking disappointing.
It was a big shocker to learn how Daisy had died and it really fit in with the other characters. However, Trixie and Nana being the killers?? *eye roll* You think a tiny 15 yr old girl and an aged 80 yr old woman could move 3 dead bodies of grown adults? Like come on.
And the whole game of killing every hour on the hour and the poems, idk it just felt a little too sadistic and twisted for Trixie and Nana. Especially since their motivation was love. Like I could have believed a crime of passion by Nana, because of her anger at being the last one to know, but the game doesn't really feel realistic for them. 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Grief

uranaishi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child death, Car accident, Chronic illness, Murder, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gore, Ableism, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Abandonment, and Gun violence

Minor: Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Drug use, and Pregnancy

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

What a rollercoaster ride!! I love Alice’s books and I never can guess the twists. One twist I loved, the other I didn’t. I really thought I knew where they were going and I did not 😂. It’s a great who done it mystery novel and I definitely recommend it as excellent reading! It will keep you up though, it’s pretty scary at times. But I loved it!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Car accident, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Medical content, and Sexual content