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kellyinbookland's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
thetomeraider's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Oof. I hated this book. I know it's beloved. I can't help it. Please do not revoke my LGBTQ+ membership.
Recently after reading a book that constantly is on lists of "Best Latinx Fiction" - and hating it - I realized that some older books (older meaning 20 years or more) that are lauded as groundbreaking may indeed be groundbreaking for their representation or subject matter at the time they were published but that may not mean they're actually good, especially as we gain more diversity in publishing. When you have a limited choice in something that's much needed, all of it seems pretty spectacular. Maybe a bit of that is what's happening here for me.
So,I do recognize how important it was for lesbians to have this representation, and even that explicit lesbian sex was revolutionary.
The book is divided into three parts and the 1st part was quite enjoyable. Nancy is an oyster girl from a seaside town who, while at a music hall, lays eyes on Kitty, a male impersonator & performer. She's immediately fanning herself. Kitty has her hot and bothered. Nancy is sheltered and maybe doesn't get why at first but she for sure has a redhot crush on Kitty. She becomes friends with Kitty, they go away to London together where Nan becomes Kitty's dresser and later part of the act, yadayada.And they become lovers. This whole part is kinda sweet. The whole crushing hard on someone and the beginning part of falling in love and new sexy funtimes is captured so well. This is also where it becomes pretty obvious how flat Nan is as a character. Her whole character is just "I love Kitty and having lesbian sex with Kitty". Me as the reader does not understand what's so great about Kitty. She looks good in a suit, I guess? Cool. Also, Kitty is not all in on this love affair and how Nan cannot see that is confusing. But anyway...predictably, Kitty hooks up with their manager Walter and breaks Nan's heart.
Nan loses her shit, is real sad, and in Part 2, inexplicably starts dressing as a dude and on the fly becomes a "rent boy" which is just...ok. Nothing wrong with sex work but kinda weird to dress as a young man to get paid by men who are looking to have sex with another men while she is actually a woman and the customer not knowing that. Then she kinda gets...kidnapped?Whisked away, I guess. By a rich lady who wants to keep her as a companion & sex servant while dressed as a boy. That ends and in part 3 she meets up with Socialist Florence who she briefly met in part 2 and got the tingles about.
SOCIALIST FLORENCE IS THE BEST PART OF THIS BOOK! Ugh, she was great. More Florence, please. Flo was in love with a woman previously who did not feel the same. That woman died in childbirth leaving Flo & her brother to raise the baby. I love those non-traditional fams. Good for them. Nan & Flo get it on and for some reason Nan is still going on about Kitty. Bleh. Kitty shows up and Nan has one moment of rational thinking and chooses Florence. The End.
Nan was one of the most insufferable characters ever and I almost abandoned the book several times because I felt like I could not spend one more moment with her. Sarah Waters' writing is actually mostly fantastic, although maybe a bit tedious and drawn out at times. There were points that things dragged and I said out loud, "Oh.My.God. I DO NOT CARE".
ALSO also also... Nancy visits her family, taking them expensive gifts. She realizes as she looks around their dwelling, "Oh,wow. My family is poor" but she's also very busy being hurt that her family didn't appreciate the gifts she brought. Yes, Nancy, that's because you could have been sending them actual money and now they know it. Instead you bought your homophobic sister a dumb fancy hat and now she has another reason to hate you besides being a lesbian.
CAT CONTENT: There's a three legged cat who belongs to Nan's landlady. I bet the cat avoided Nan whenever possible.
Recently after reading a book that constantly is on lists of "Best Latinx Fiction" - and hating it - I realized that some older books (older meaning 20 years or more) that are lauded as groundbreaking may indeed be groundbreaking for their representation or subject matter at the time they were published but that may not mean they're actually good, especially as we gain more diversity in publishing. When you have a limited choice in something that's much needed, all of it seems pretty spectacular. Maybe a bit of that is what's happening here for me.
So,I do recognize how important it was for lesbians to have this representation, and even that explicit lesbian sex was revolutionary.
The book is divided into three parts and the 1st part was quite enjoyable. Nancy is an oyster girl from a seaside town who, while at a music hall, lays eyes on Kitty, a male impersonator & performer. She's immediately fanning herself. Kitty has her hot and bothered. Nancy is sheltered and maybe doesn't get why at first but she for sure has a redhot crush on Kitty. She becomes friends with Kitty, they go away to London together where Nan becomes Kitty's dresser and later part of the act, yadayada.And they become lovers. This whole part is kinda sweet. The whole crushing hard on someone and the beginning part of falling in love and new sexy funtimes is captured so well. This is also where it becomes pretty obvious how flat Nan is as a character. Her whole character is just "I love Kitty and having lesbian sex with Kitty". Me as the reader does not understand what's so great about Kitty. She looks good in a suit, I guess? Cool. Also, Kitty is not all in on this love affair and how Nan cannot see that is confusing. But anyway...predictably, Kitty hooks up with their manager Walter and breaks Nan's heart.
Nan loses her shit, is real sad, and in Part 2, inexplicably starts dressing as a dude and on the fly becomes a "rent boy" which is just...ok. Nothing wrong with sex work but kinda weird to dress as a young man to get paid by men who are looking to have sex with another men while she is actually a woman and the customer not knowing that. Then she kinda gets...kidnapped?Whisked away, I guess. By a rich lady who wants to keep her as a companion & sex servant while dressed as a boy. That ends and in part 3 she meets up with Socialist Florence who she briefly met in part 2 and got the tingles about.
SOCIALIST FLORENCE IS THE BEST PART OF THIS BOOK! Ugh, she was great. More Florence, please. Flo was in love with a woman previously who did not feel the same. That woman died in childbirth leaving Flo & her brother to raise the baby. I love those non-traditional fams. Good for them. Nan & Flo get it on and for some reason Nan is still going on about Kitty. Bleh. Kitty shows up and Nan has one moment of rational thinking and chooses Florence. The End.
Nan was one of the most insufferable characters ever and I almost abandoned the book several times because I felt like I could not spend one more moment with her. Sarah Waters' writing is actually mostly fantastic, although maybe a bit tedious and drawn out at times. There were points that things dragged and I said out loud, "Oh.My.God. I DO NOT CARE".
ALSO also also... Nancy visits her family, taking them expensive gifts. She realizes as she looks around their dwelling, "Oh,wow. My family is poor" but she's also very busy being hurt that her family didn't appreciate the gifts she brought. Yes, Nancy, that's because you could have been sending them actual money and now they know it. Instead you bought your homophobic sister a dumb fancy hat and now she has another reason to hate you besides being a lesbian.
CAT CONTENT: There's a three legged cat who belongs to Nan's landlady. I bet the cat avoided Nan whenever possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
gravys's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
arsenic_'s review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual assault
lilly_anne's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Alcohol
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, and Vomit
bronzeageholly's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity and Toxic relationship
Minor: Misogyny and Racism
mlovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
That last chapter tipped this book fully into 5 stars territory. I love Nan as a character so much. She's not perfect and she goes through so much, but she's rewarded in the end for being the lovesick girl she's always been.
Florence is my favorite out of all the women in this book, though. She is so kind and loving and sincere and generous.
I absolutely love this book and all of Nancy's twists and turns.
Florence is my favorite out of all the women in this book, though. She is so kind and loving and sincere and generous.
I absolutely love this book and all of Nancy's twists and turns.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Miscarriage and Racial slurs
bruisedtigers's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I liked this book a lot to start, then found my enjoyment waning as it went on.
Nancy's story is broken into three parts. The first features her and Kitty, a stage performer who she falls in love with. For me, this was the most enjoyable part. Watching Nancy bloom from her humble roots into a star felt very tangible and the author paints a very charming atmosphere. The second part, however, changes tones and Nancy becomes a renter and eventually falls into the employment of a cruel older woman. This section, while I appreciated reading Nancy exploring gender presentation, has impending dread hanging over it. Nancy's decisions at this point (combined with another girl suffering for her mistakes) start to make her less endearing. The narrative doesn't excuse her behaviour, but it's no less frustrating to read -- and this continues for the third part. It's difficult to really feel enamoured with the third section, since Nancy spends a great deal of it being accidentally unkind and secretive. Her final and 'true' union suffers for this, sadly, since it doesn't feel as fully developed as it should.
Storygraph doesn't have an clear content warning that I can find, but I would forewarn for Nancy being forced into sex work, and the abusive relationship she finds herself in when part two begins.
Nancy's story is broken into three parts. The first features her and Kitty, a stage performer who she falls in love with. For me, this was the most enjoyable part. Watching Nancy bloom from her humble roots into a star felt very tangible and the author paints a very charming atmosphere. The second part, however, changes tones and Nancy becomes a renter and eventually falls into the employment of a cruel older woman. This section, while I appreciated reading Nancy exploring gender presentation, has impending dread hanging over it. Nancy's decisions at this point (combined with another girl suffering for her mistakes) start to make her less endearing. The narrative doesn't excuse her behaviour, but it's no less frustrating to read -- and this continues for the third part. It's difficult to really feel enamoured with the third section, since Nancy spends a great deal of it being accidentally unkind and secretive. Her final and 'true' union suffers for this, sadly, since it doesn't feel as fully developed as it should.
Storygraph doesn't have an clear content warning that I can find, but I would forewarn for Nancy being forced into sex work, and the abusive relationship she finds herself in when part two begins.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
leahrenz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely loved this book! The writing style is vivid and contains lots of hints toward future plot developments without giving them away. Certain objects will be mentioned, Checkov-gun style, or a scenario will be set up in which you as the reader can already tell everything is going to go tits up, or that thing will come back to haunt a character, and all this makes for a highly entertaining read! As a reader, you *know* something is going to happen and it's like waiting to sink your teeth into a juicy fruit... Not to say that the period in between is boring! Not at all. As is essential for good historical fiction, the descriptions crackle with life and give the book a very contemporary feel despite it being set in the 1880-90s. As I was reading I felt it would make an excellent mini-series.
The initial, heady falling-in-love of the main character is also wonderfully described. I further loved being plunged into 1880s London show biz! I would highly recommend this read for any lovers of romance, historical fiction or just a well-written, well-paced book.
"Boys stood drinking at the doors of public-houses, their pomaded heads gleaming, in the gas-light, like silk. The moon hung low above the roofs of Soho, pink and bright and swollen as a Chinese lantern. One or two starts winked viciously alongside it."
"She stood there for what seemed to be a small eternity; then her arm came up, the flower flashed for a second in the beam of the lime - and my own hand, trembling, rose to catch it. The crowd gave a broad, indulgent cheer of pleasure, and a laugh."
The initial, heady falling-in-love of the main character is also wonderfully described. I further loved being plunged into 1880s London show biz! I would highly recommend this read for any lovers of romance, historical fiction or just a well-written, well-paced book.
"Boys stood drinking at the doors of public-houses, their pomaded heads gleaming, in the gas-light, like silk. The moon hung low above the roofs of Soho, pink and bright and swollen as a Chinese lantern. One or two starts winked viciously alongside it."
"She stood there for what seemed to be a small eternity; then her arm came up, the flower flashed for a second in the beam of the lime - and my own hand, trembling, rose to catch it. The crowd gave a broad, indulgent cheer of pleasure, and a laugh."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Homophobia
Moderate: Mental illness and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs
space_bandit's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Rape
Minor: Racism