Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland

8 reviews

mari_teran's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Death of parent, Misogyny, Grief, Gaslighting, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty

kiwichill's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Stalking, Physical abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Deportation, Infidelity, Child death, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Minor: Medical content

june_haya's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Moderate: Grief, Violence, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Vomit and Stalking

spellygirl's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad 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

3.0

Really unsure how to rate this. I liked the flower language. I liked the parts with Moss and some of the other Flowers. I liked the stories about the tourism and indigenous people. I liked Sally 

It was also very slow paced, jumping around a lot
And committing the same mistakes as so many others. I know it happens in real life, but it still bugs me. 

Checking trigger warnings is recommended.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse

Moderate: Confinement, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Death, Sexual violence, Infidelity, and Stalking

whenjessreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

If you’re going to read one Australian fiction novel this year, make it this one (actually, don’t. Read lots. Make this ONE of the ones you read this year).

This book opens with the 9yo MC Alice daydreaming about ways to set her father on fire. If that’s not what you expected, don’t worry, neither did I. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart isn’t fairytale-esque, it’s about the cyclical nature of violence, surviving abuse, self discovery, and the healing effect of nature.

I thought this book was compassionate and honest. It spans twenty years - both a coming of age and a personal growth story. The land is its own character, and the novel is split into three sections: the first set in sugar cane fields by the sea, the second at a native Australian flower farm, and the third at a meteoric crater in the middle of the Australian desert. Each setting was so beautifully and poetically described, though the time shifts between each section were a little distracting.

Personally, I found the first two parts of the book the most emotionally impactful. I thought the importance of the flowers got lost nearer to the end and the magic disappeared a little. However, I feel like I was holding in all the emotion I gathered throughout the course of the story and when I put it down I felt overwhelmed and just wanted to hug my cat and cry on someone’s shoulder 😅😅

There were a few niggling issues - some of the characters could have done with more air time, and some with less; there were secrets that didn’t need to be kept; and the MC was occasionally overdramatic/naive - but as a debut novel I thought it was stunning. 

“The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is a story about stories: those we inherit, those we select to define us, and those we decide to hide”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

bellaleimgruber's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gaslighting and Alcoholism

ellie_reads_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Stalking

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Colonisation, Child death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexual content, Stalking, and Terminal illness

aoifemarie's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence