Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Gidéon la Neuvième by Tamsyn Muir

28 reviews

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I don't know what happened to my original review but this time was a re-read and I still loved every moment of it.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kelisabeth's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

ehoustonmyatt's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

I found the first half of this book so tedious that if it had not been a book club book I would have DNF’ed it. 

I agree with other reviewers that it picked up in the second half but I didn’t love the way it ended. Hopefully things take a turn for the better in the second two books of this series but I feel like a break is necessary before attempting them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

adbooks20's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Genocide, Terminal illness, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic

valorelei's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

one of my favorite books ever. i’m convinced tam muir is a dissociative system at this point (me too)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

lyr1cal's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

“Gideon the Ninth" is the first book in the Locked Tomb series, and it's an absolute delight. Gideon is a hilarious narrator whose humor perfectly matches my own. The plot is incredibly immersive, with a vivid setting and beautifully described magic. Watching the relationship between Gideon and Harrow develop was thrilling and the ending was devastating. Gideon has earned a spot in my top 10 favorite characters. I also really enjoyed the mystery of the book, uncovering keys and the secrets of the house aswell trying to figure out who killed the contestants made the book impossible to put down. Overall, I give it a 10/10 and already want to reread it to catch all the hints I missed the first time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

sabrina_marvil's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

Wrong.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Not in space

supernova_reader's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Good suspense throughout. Strong opening. Spooky vibes. Lots of death and skeletons but not in a way that jolts you out of the plot. Excited for the next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Slavery, and Cannibalism

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

beefthedwarf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

Edit: after a few years, I've bumped this up to 5 stars. I'm obsessed with the series and the gripes I had were resolved after re-reading (high re-read value!) and understanding the characters better.

The writing was incredible and unique, and I found myself loving Gideon more than I ever thought I could love a main character. Due to the later plot twists and complex story, it also has a very satisfying re-read value. 

My biggest gripe is that Harrowhark did very little to redeem herself, and it was consistently difficult and heartbreaking to see Gideon be treated like absolute garbage, yet still cow to Harrow in a heartbeat. In my honest opinion, it takes more than a tearful apology and a confession of suicidal guilt to make up for the years of slavery, beatings, and abuse Harrow and her family put Gideon -- and all their slaves -- through. 

I think the book also suffers a bit from being the prequel/world building intro to the rest of the series. 

Regardless, the book left me enamored and intrigued enough to add Harrow the Ninth to my reading list.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

The author depicts characters of color, particularly men of color, in a poor light. There is rampant colorism. An indigenous man is a perpetrator if colonial violence.