Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

8 reviews

momisty24's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

laurenw's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Outing, and War

Minor: Child death

zosiablue's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

throwback682's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

I read this book based on how much I remembered loving the  same author’s Tipping the Velvet fifteen years ago. I only read a short blurb and didn’t know what the meat of the plot was actually about. I was very surprised.

If you want to know more of the plot, but not major twists or ending:

An older woman and her spinster daughter, living alone after the sons were killed in WWI and the husband died of a heart attack, are financially ruined and have to take in a young married couple as lodgers. The daughter is a lesbian and starts having an affair with the  woman lodger. Then the man lodger dies unexpectedly and that’s where the majority of the tension in the book comes from. So it’s a sapphic love story? But also mostly a murder… not mystery? A crime drama, perhaps.

If you want to know whether it has a happy ending:

Yes? It leaves you hanging a bit but it’s not the tragic ending I feared.

Further ending spoilers:

The male lodge is the only person in the book who dies. No LGBTQ+ deaths.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

There’s talk of a stillbirth. There are pretty graphic descriptions of a medication abortion at home. There is a murder with some grisly description of a head wound. Tons of blood related to both the abortion and the murder. There are several sex scenes between two cis women. It’s indicated that marital rape occurs.

endlessbummer__'s review against another edition

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? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Murder

Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

hamletslover's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Lesbophobia

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book is a long haul, but it keeps good intensity up throughout. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Death of parent

valpuri's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abortion, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Pregnancy