Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Paying Guests

This was a fine introduction to Sarah Waters! The Paying Guests is tense and incredibly atmospheric. The historical attention to detail is astounding - even in the mundanity of daily life, this book paints such a vivid picture. I also love the way that Waters writes women; it's clear she writes sapphic romance from a place of tenderness and care, and it's refreshing (even if some of the particulars of this story are painful). The nuances and peculiarities of Frances and Lilian's relationship were so varied and multi-dimensional; it swung from fraught to fanciful and everywhere in between, and I really enjoyed seeing its evolution.

My only issue was really with the pacing. With the sheer amount of detail this book has, it moves incredibly slowly at times. It's not necessarily all bad! It built some fantastic suspense, but it also made the ending drag out a bit longer than may have been warranted. All in all, this was a great read, especially if you like historical sapphics <3

Content Warnings

laurenw's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Content Warnings

kappafrog's review

Go to review page

dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Pros: Gorgeous writing. I highlighted so many passages. This was my first time reading Sarah Waters, and she really has a gift for describing social and psychological nuances. I particularly liked the first third of the book, getting to know Frances and the house and its little world, wondering at Leonard's behaviour and anticipating the relationship between

Frances and Lillian

. I liked that the book stayed with a single perspective. Lillian was a very sympathetic character, and I enjoyed the time with her family. Frances was at times less sympathetic, since there was a real hardness to her, but at other times she was very relatable. There were some wonderful scenes, like

the roller rink, the heart and stake, the dance party, the parasols in the park.

Cons: There are some truly nauseating scenes. I had to take breaks reading and start to skim because it was making me feel so queasy. After the big incident that happens about 1/3 of the way through the novel, I felt compelled to keep reading, but at the same time, found myself enjoying it less and less.

The stuff with the agony and angst over what to do about Spencer Ward went on and on and on and was just so uninteresting. There were a few bright spots, like the pathos of Spencer being revealed to still read picture books, but overall I found the trial third of the book a trial to read. And then, we got so little resolution at the ending - after all that, we still got no indication of what Lillian and Frances were going to do with their future. A letdown of an ending, after all that!

Overall, I enjoyed the first of the three parts the most. The book was rich with period details and painted an engrossing image of Frances' inner life. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in sapphic historical novels.

Content Warnings

raix's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Most of the tension falls in the last couple of chapters. I honestly had no idea how it would turn out! I was surprised even til the last scene!
I really liked that Frances was already established as being gay/liking women, rather than this being a new experience for both of them. The detail of her previous relationship (and the fact she still hangs out with her ex lol) felt very realistic. I'm still not really sure how I feel about Lillian.

Content Warnings

agavemonster's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.75

Brilliant! I loved the motif of women smoking cigarettes, the disruptive class dynamics of the Barbers' introduction into the Wray household, the depiction of postwar politics and society, the sex writing (a notable bravura was the women's abortive makeup sex), the subtle reveal of Frances' relationship with Christina, the slow-slow-slow burn of the whole story. A quarter-star off because a few moments were handled just slightly less delicately than I would have hoped—the violent swerves of Frances' emotions about Lilian, the discussions of pregnancy and miscarriage which struck me as an incorrect attempt at historicization of terminology, and the very ending, which seemed like it didn't know what it wanted to do with itself. But overall fabulously moody, a great capture of the interwar period, and a wonderful page-turning piece of art.

Content Warnings

aduqu's review against another edition

Go to review page

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? It's complicated

4.25

Wow wow wow. This book enraptured me. I cannot recommend it enough!

The only reason it didn't reach 5 stars is because Part 3 does slow down the pace significantly, despite the fact that is the tensest part of the book.

Content Warnings

nathandre's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Content Warnings

zosiablue's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Sarah Waters presents: Good P*ssy Will Make You Insane. Also, a subtle nod towards prison abolition! I think I was a bit spoiled by Waters' other books, I kept waiting for a huge deceptive pin drop. While there were a few mild twists, this was mostly a gay love story and a courtroom drama, equally measured. The love story didn't drag like the courtroom, though. (The courtroom scenes went f o r e v e r.) Regardless, juicy and fun.

Content Warnings

More...