Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

33 reviews

vouija's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

betherinahq's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I listened to this on audiobook and I was hooked! I kept finding excuses to go for a drive and I kept choosing the longer way to work so I could keep listening for longer!

It hooked me in from the off with an ominous line about someone being killed in history then an opening chapter where I couldn't decide if she was right or if everything was in her head. 

The setting of 15th century (sorry if I got my time periods wrong!) Italy was fascinating too. I like a period novel but it’s usually set in England so it was interesting to learn about the courts of another country around the same time. 

A really compelling story and the writing was exquisite!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Gaslighting

Moderate: Murder

sandere's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Much like in Hamnet, O’Farrell’s writing beautifully gives life, imagination, and voice to the story of Lucrezia di Medici, a daughter of one of 16th century Italy’s most powerful families, and her fraught marriage to the vengeful, violent Duke of Ferrera.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting

kangaroo1990's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Confinement, Rape, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying

thegoldfish's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

I! should have! read! the! content! warnings! on! this one! buddy!!!!

Nevertheless, I'm glad to have read it. Some of the most stomach-churning accuracy I've ever seen in evoking the dread and desperate inner rationalization of being stuck in a relationship with someone who wants to hurt you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal cruelty

sienamon_roll's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious medium-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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Rape, Murder, and Gaslighting

heather_freshparchment'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Vomit, and Medical trauma

sarah_bettina's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Gaslighting, and Classism

phrasecollector13___'s review against another edition

informative relaxing 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

2.75

Renaissance's re-telling are simply not my type of reading.  Maybe I can work around Renaissance story if they are short or is an article simple and straight to the point.

Taking that in consideration, I didn't like this book, but I did enjoyed the reading.  It's a slowed pace book that I would pick up for when I would need a break from really rushing books and I want to slow down in the genre or a book I will pick to keep myself busy while in an appointment or when I'm bored.  I didn't found anything special about it.  It was simple and dull.  Also, it was predictable for me.  I really loved Lucrezia's rebel inner self, but she was too passive and... she was just a child in adult's matters.  It was heartbreaking that she could not understand what was going on around her and how she was left alone with herself and her maid (who was another child) and they had to "navigate" the adult world.  Since they were child who would not know how to handle/navigate the adult world, it challenging to read through the book.  I honestly consider this book more historical with a tiny little touch of fiction.  And I believe that's what manage me to read it to the end.

Which was one of the best part in the book.  I really like the twist fiction allowed the writer to gave us another conclusion to Lucrezia's story.  Since Lucrezia was showing feelings for Jacopo I just... loved their platonic relationship.  And for her by the end to decide to run away from Alfonso was a huge plot twist.  I thought that she was dying in that fortezza that night, but she escaped!  I would have loved to see a short story/novel about Lucrezia's and Jacopo's friendship (and possibly relationship) develop.  Now, that was a story I would have definitely enjoyed.  It was the innocence and their tenderness that moved me and I wish that Lucrezia could live the "love" story that her parents had, but Jacopo and her were born at the wrong period of time and in the wrong positions.

I believe the main reason this reading wasn't entertaining to me was because of the period the book was settle and that made it predictable and dull for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

vitsa's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Murder, and Gaslighting