Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

4 reviews

rmnedder's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Blood, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, 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

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.

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