Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

39 reviews

ncastro098's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Mary was a wild ride and took a lot of turns I wasn't expecting. I loved nearly every moment. I listened to this one on audible and the narrator, Susan Bennett, performed the best narration I have ever listened to. She was able to portray all the characters without making anyone sound goofy and really brought the main character to life. Would highly recommend for audio, just maybe get the consent of anyone in listening range, because Mary doesn't hold back. 

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natspat98's review against another edition

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

4.0


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story_of_steph's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

I’m not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t that. Weird. I didn’t love it but didn’t hate it either.

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sonygaystation's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

Holy motherfucking shit. This book hit exactly right in all the places it wanted to hit. I was NOT expecting a cis man to be able to do this kind of exploration of female rage and gender but holy shit. I’m in love with this book. I had so much fun through all the nasty humans and gore, and I LOVED Mary and her aunt even though her aunt is the absolute worst human and Mary herself needs some work. But damn y’all Nat Cassidy did the thing because despite being 20 years younger than the MC, I related so much to her. Also it just makes my year when I can find genuine horror that’s not only good but ACTUALLY has in depth commentary and metaphors and doesn’t lazily rely on mental illness and its bastardization. I loved this to pieces. Seriously. I’m about to tell everyone I know to pick this up, Listen to this via audiobook cuz omg Susan Bennett does not hold back!!!!!

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_meeg's review

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NGL dude this one was just too brutal for me. Felt too unwell to justify continuing reading after the cactus scene.

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kaitlinonfire's review

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challenging dark 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

4.0

This book is nuts!! I loved it.

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kermit_the_wrong's review

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

5.0


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vixenreader's review

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

4.75

Akin to the works of Ottessa Moshfesh, this is an intimate, scary study of a disturbed character going through ordeals that are both relatable and horrifying. 

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alexisgarcia's review

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

2.0

hmm… major content warnings here. i do appreciate women’s issues, especially later in life, being amplified and normalized. however, it might just be me but i feel like people enjoying watching or conducting sexual violence shouldn’t be in horror. it feels like the author is just grasping at straws trying to find anything that will scare readers. it  made me sick to my stomach, but not in the way horror should. this was also 150 pages too long. the plot itself was really unique and had a lot of promise, but i think the author copped-out on a lot of the “scares”.

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toofondofbooks_'s review

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

WOWWW OKAY so the last like 30 pages had me holding my breath and freaking out so my brain is buzzing right now...

This book took awhile for me because it was just a lot. It was a lot emotionally and the writing was the kind of writing that demanded my full attention, so while I read this I couldn't be around people or multitasking. it had to just be me and Mary. I'm glad I took my time, and I'm glad I experienced it this way, and a couple of times I felt chills go down my spine at certain horror elements that I will not disclose here. I enjoyed the themes all throughout and wrote down a bunch of quotes in my journal. The afterword is also required reading for anyone who is brave enough to get to the end.

My main critique is that there were some scenes that really dragged and I think that if they had the fat trimmed off of them, they'd be more effective and the book wouldn't need to be as long.

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