bronzeageholly's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“If I could choose a different chest I would choose this water. If I could choose a different body I would choose this water”
This beautiful book felt like dipping into someone’s mind, like slipping off the edge of a pool and finding it’s deeper than you thought.
The tension, the longing, the summer heat. Mrs S is a sensual, delicious dive into sexuality and gender, into watching and being watched, into what it’s like to live in your own or other people’s ‘natural’.
The themes of performance and of nature (with key motifs of water, earth, the moon) were carefully and clearly positioned throughout the text: each with transformative powers poignant to the metamorphosis of the protagonist. Through the main character’s observations of light and scent we understand how they view the world and the actions of others. Each relationship formed was palpable, with moments of humour just as precious as the moments of drama.
There was something deeply personal and deeply reflective about this text that I could not demand loudly enough that everyone reads this book.
((definitely an 18+ read!))
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Alcohol, and Drug use
sophiareads_'s review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings: homophobia, cheating/adultery, violence, alcohol and drug use
A young Australian woman takes on the role of matron at an all girls boarding school, where her fascination with Mrs. S, the headmaster's wife, becomes a passionate affair.
This was SO my kinda book, I loved it. The writing style is very unique and stylistic - I can totally see this not being for everyone, especially with the lack of speech marks for dialogue - but it just really worked for me. It made everything feel very atmospheric and enticing. I totally had the feeling of being in the protagonist's head, experiencing the story with her. I don't know how to elaborate on this, but it reminded me of watching Fleabag, so that's something.
I feel like butch representation is very lacking, and I loved reading about a butch protagonist. I thought the explorations of sexuality and gender here were really fascinating and felt very genuine. I just really enjoyed this reading experience!
Thanks to NetGalley, K Patrick, and 4th Estate for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A young Australian woman takes on the role of matron at an all girls boarding school, where her fascination with Mrs. S, the headmaster's wife, becomes a passionate affair.
This was SO my kinda book, I loved it. The writing style is very unique and stylistic - I can totally see this not being for everyone, especially with the lack of speech marks for dialogue - but it just really worked for me. It made everything feel very atmospheric and enticing. I totally had the feeling of being in the protagonist's head, experiencing the story with her. I don't know how to elaborate on this, but it reminded me of watching Fleabag, so that's something.
I feel like butch representation is very lacking, and I loved reading about a butch protagonist. I thought the explorations of sexuality and gender here were really fascinating and felt very genuine. I just really enjoyed this reading experience!
Thanks to NetGalley, K Patrick, and 4th Estate for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Infidelity
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use
Minor: Violence
headinthepages's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, and Medical content
More...