Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Acts of Desperation

I fell in love with this book on page one.
This is one of those rare pieces of art that makes you feel as though you are looking into a mirror.
I think the writing in this book was incredible and the relationship dynamic was a fair portrayal of what it’s like to live in this kind of turmoil. Specifically, the first half of this book is hauntingly beautiful.
Unfortunately, the second half of this book fell a little flat for me. I found the dramatic shift in the narrator’s behavior made sense, but came on all at once with little perspective on how she was changing.

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owlribbon's review against another edition

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4.5

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carolrol_lina's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

bem ok! O role molieres depressivas começou a me cansar em certo ponto,, mas eh bom! capitulos curtos!

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danielatheinkdrinker's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? Yes

3.75

ciaran was an abuser, but slowly and intricately so was the narrator. a gaslighter who was excitably desperate for any gram of love she could satisfy herself with.

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eralbesu's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.0

If this were autobiographical I’d say it’s an extremely brave piece of work, because ~whew~ Acts of Desperation was quite precisely named.

This reads as a confessional from our main character about her obsessions with love and sex and her volatile relationship with her body and her compulsion to punish it.

There were many parts that were difficult for me to read and plenty of parts where I had to step away because of my embarrassment with the our main character’s sheer honesty about her actions and her intentions.

Not sure I could recommend it, as the trigger warnings are plentiful, but I’m happy I read it.

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corina28's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

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alt05's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

1.0

There was really nothing redeemable about this book for me. The main character, who is nameless, is unlikeable, emotionally immature, and oddly introspective. The book focuses heavily on the main character's relationship with men and herself, which is an interesting take. Though, it's executed poorly. It's as if the author took every social struggle a woman may go through and crammed it into a short 300-page book. The writing itself is pretentious and moody. The separation fo the chapters is weird and doesn't make sense with the direction of the plot. The ending is terrible and provides no real resolution to the events of the book. I understand that maybe the author wanted the reader to put themselves in the main character's shoes, but it reads like a bad diary entry more than a novel about the ways in which women interact with men for love and societal gain. Also, there are very random acts of violence and sexual harm, that don't add anything to the book at all. I don't recommend it.

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