Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

39 reviews

athryn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.5

This took a while to get to the actual adventure part, which was where it really took off for me. Before that, there's quite a bit of trauma to go through, and I will say that it made it so I had to put it down quite a bit. I thought the interspersing of the two narratives to be pretty interesting. I thought this was a good spin on a concept done by a few other people recently.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War

natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Moderate: Misogyny and Racism

Minor: Gaslighting

chris_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Dysphoria

Minor: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Colonisation

malley's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Self harm, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Gun violence and Pregnancy

carolined314's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racial slurs, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, and War

Minor: Pregnancy

thereadinghammock's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

While I usually enjoy meandering story telling and have no issues jumping back and forth between storylines within a novel, the pacing and format of January's chapters and Yule Ian's were so jarring for me and I found myself struggling for much of the first half of the book. Once the stories began to converge, however, I was all in. I LOVED being able to piece mysteries together just before they were revealed (sometimes a chapter or two ahead of January's revelations). As someone who often guesses wrong in "whodunit" stories, it makes me feel like an accomplished sleuth. I especially loved the emphasis on the power of words in this story. Between how January wrote as a storyteller, and the power they have as blessings within the City of Nin, such as tattoos marking life milestones and blessings stitched into ship sails.

I went into this book with high enough expectations to have been a bit nervous. I enjoyed Once & Future Witches, and my sister had finished this book before me and praised it as having a Starless Sea vibe (while still being quite it's own book). When someone compares a book to one of your all time favorites, the worry of disappointment is high. After a bit of a slow start, I was quite pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed TTDOJ!

<spoilers>I nearly cried at the Scaller family reunion on the pier. My heart breaking for Yule Ian, warring with the guilt of leaving his daughter behind, against his will, but reuniting with his wife after nearly 20 years apart. With Adelaide, letting him stew in his grief for just a moment, before gesturing to January and Bad, limping their way down the dock to celebrate the family reunion they never thought was possible. I also love the open door left for us, the reader, as January reveals her story is the one she wrote for Samuel, to help him remember. And I truly hope January is able to find Jane and write her a way home too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racism, Self harm, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Misogyny, Self harm, and Stalking

pythonesque's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

3.5

This book won't be everyone's cup of tea.

You are reading a book about a book - with the said book chapters included as interludes. Fist 50% of the story is exposition (admittedly beautiful and gut wrenching) and the slow atmospheric buildup might be better suited for an audiobook, given that only around midway the story picks up the pace.

It was very poetic, pretty, but honest and raw kind of a tale. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Moderate: Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

directorpurry's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Slavery

bibliowhore's review against another edition

5.0

this book is about a[n]:

1. book within a book
2. wide-eyed logophile folks with fervent longing for adventure
3. escapism from the ugliness and/or banality of life by traveling through different wondrous worlds—both literally and figuratively (which im doing rn—the latter, i mean)

in conclusion: this book and i are a match made in heaven. will file the experience of reading this as one of my favorite memories

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism