Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The House in the Pines: A Novel by Ana Reyes

22 reviews

cake_cats_books's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Drug abuse, and Alcohol

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this book more than others. It’s a topic of fascination to myself. Not sure I’d want to explore how possible it is, but it made for an easy read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Death, Murder, and Toxic relationship

kshertz's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

It’s an interesting concept! I love an unreliable narrator. The author is going through withdrawal and has a problem with alcohol. Is she the problem or is Frank a killer? I liked following the ups and downs . The ending was just okay. I did not guess what would happen. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Drug use, Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Child death

mjmitch10's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

 I wanted to like this book. It had potential and should’ve been original, but it ended up just feeling predictable and full of tropes. I absolutely hated the ending, even though I saw it coming. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gaslighting, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Police brutality and War

keelsrn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Addiction, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Drug use, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and War

kwmcm25's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

archaicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

First of all, this is not a thriller for everyone. It’s slow paced, the writing is inconsistent, the twist is honestly pretty goofy, and the main character kinda sucks. BUT, this thriller had a twist that evaded me for most of the novel and it was a fun ride from start to finish with some intriguing ideas, even if those ideas are pretty farfetched.  Overall I did enjoy The House in the Pines but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for something polished and cohesive.  This is not a cerebral thriller that will blow your mind, nor is it well crafted. There are some interesting moments of foreshadowing and a decent mystery element, as well as some moments of truly good prose, but not enough to make this worth it if that’s what you’re looking for in a thriller. 

If you want a fun, twisty thriller with weird characters, confusing storyline pivots, and a reveal so silly it works, then check out The House in the Pines. If you can’t ride with the turns though, I would highly suggest not picking this up because you have to suspend disbelief A LOT to get any enjoyment out of this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

erisouls's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug use, Kidnapping, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

dfrancis's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Murder, and Toxic relationship