Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

24 reviews

mark_lenkeeva's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Stalking

mrsalexisrjones's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, War, and Classism

Minor: Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

oldemort's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

This is my second time reading this book. 🙃 I only first read it a few months ago, but I’ve been missing the characters. 🥹

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH! 😍 All of the characters are so amazing and perfect and I wish they were real and that I could be friends with them. 🥰 KAZ AND INEJ ARE SO AHHHHHHHHHH! 🤩 (That was a scream) 😘 I also love the found family in this book. 🥹

The

whole ice court

plot got a bit confusing for me near the end, so I was just there for the vibes. 🙃 Which were amazing of course! 😌 I loved learning about the character’s back stories, especially Kaz’s. 🥺 There are so many plot twist and even when I think I know what’s going to happen… BAM! 💥 Plot twist. 😱

Anyway, if you couldn’t already tell, I absolutely love this book and the universe. 🥰 My rating is 4.5 ⭐️!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Ableism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

angorarabbit's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.25

TLDR: I really have enjoyed some YA Lit, this wasn’t one of those though. 

 

Context: I am aware that there is controversy regarding this author. I am not on X nor have I watched the Netflix series so there are others who can talk about that with more knowledge than I have. My rating of the book does not reflect these controversies. 

 

Written in 3rd person with the pov changing from chapter to chapter. Chapters are titled with the pov so it is easy to keep track of whose head you’re in. We come to know the characters by their actions and the flashbacks we are privy to. Unfortunately there are no chapters for Wylan. (We find out why in the next to last chapter.) The action is clear and exciting. Ketterdam and the Ice Court are well described including sounds, colours and odours. So what’s my problem? 

 

Ketterdam is basically Amsterdam sometime is a hazy past. The words are Dutch or bastardised Dutch, the port, the rich merchants all of that was basically no work at all to imagine. The Ice Palace is a little better, but is still mainly a rip off from the many fantasy novels before it. At best this is lazy world building. 

 

The crew is diverse as far as their ethnic backgrounds, but what is ethnicity in the context of a fantasy novel? Is Inej coded Roma because she is a talented acrobat as well as a cat burglar, assassin, and a former forced sex worker? Or is she simply given a certain colouring so that the novel ticks the diverse box? And talking of former sex workers, given the criminality of the Barrel, why is it only female characters who were involved in sex work? The lqbtqaa+ diversity is only hinted at. 

 

And then this whole Grisha thing. A deus ex machina supremo. In a jam?, get the character who isn’t doing much to be a hidden Grisha. Need healing?, presto your Heartrender can mend too. No wonder everybody and their maiden aunts are enslaving them. Question is why are they so bad at defending themselves when they can stop a heart before you even see them? 

 

It was the ending that really burnt my toast though. A novel needs a beginning, middle and end. I expect the first book in a duology to leave open endings but I need some sense of completion too. Six of Crows ended with all cliffhanger and no satisfaction. And the truth is I really don’t care enough about this band of teenage thugs to read another 500+ pages to see how they finally get themselves out of the jams they keep putting themselves into.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent

While there is no sexual content there are frequent references to sex work and sex workers. Graphic gambling and gambling addition.

lovorka's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

tinyjude's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.75

After watching the tv show I was really interested in this part of the story and characters, and they didn't disappoint at all. I had the books on my shelves for a long time and I finally found the right timming to appreciate them.

Since I already grew fond of them watching on the screen, it was easier to follow everything and appreciate the nuance in each character and story arc. It was enjoyable, especially getting to know more about each characters' backgrounds and wills.

If the screen adaptation sold Kaz and Inej romance with ease because of both actors' incredible work, I was even more invested into their interactions and the slow burn going on in the book. Damn, those final words they exchange... still hitting the right spot. Inej and Nina are my queens, I love them dearly, especially Inej.

The age of the characters is one of the things that makes it quite unbelievable; even just aging them two years could have helped solidify their prodigious nature and talent, but I guess some people will find it cooler if they are that young and proving to be such a threat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, and Deportation

a_islandcriptid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

bookish_perseus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

gaycatsand_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-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

5.0

SOOO GOOD! FAV BOOK EVER

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic