Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

7 reviews

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

kappafrog's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Medical content, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

amflakus's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Homophobia

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.

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Dysphoria

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

sofipitch's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.25

This book changes genres on you so quick and it handles the change so well. I just found I liked the first part, the romance between Lilian and Frances more than the crime story. Also I wish the ending hadn't waited till the very end bc I figured it could only end one way with so little time left. It felt anticlimactic. Def more plotty than a character book but I enjoyed it nevertheless

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, and Abortion

Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

Minor: Domestic abuse, Grief, and 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