Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

15 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

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

nathandre's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia

mxpringle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book took such insane turns that I never expected from the start of it. I thoroughly enjoyed how real the characters felt throughout all that they were faced 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and War

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexism, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

quantumponies's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Abortion, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia

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

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

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