Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

15 reviews

aduqu's review

emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

Wow wow wow. This book enraptured me. I cannot recommend it enough!

The only reason it didn't reach 5 stars is because Part 3 does slow down the pace significantly, despite the fact that is the tensest part of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Murder

Moderate: Classism and Lesbophobia

Minor: War and Suicidal thoughts

zosiablue's review

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Sarah Waters presents: Good P*ssy Will Make You Insane. Also, a subtle nod towards prison abolition! I think I was a bit spoiled by Waters' other books, I kept waiting for a huge deceptive pin drop. While there were a few mild twists, this was mostly a gay love story and a courtroom drama, equally measured. The love story didn't drag like the courtroom, though. (The courtroom scenes went f o r e v e r.) Regardless, juicy and fun.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Classism, Infertility, and Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Violence, and Physical abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

mxpringle's review

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

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

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

throwback682's review

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: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Infertility, Biphobia, Grief, Confinement, Abortion, War, Vomit, Outing, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Gore, and Blood

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

Moderate: Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, and Misogyny

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

hamletslover's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Medical content, Blood, Grief, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Sexism, Infidelity, Death, and Toxic relationship

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: Blood, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Violence

Moderate: Lesbophobia and Homophobia

Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Grief

charley34's review

emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Sexual content

Minor: Lesbophobia and Homophobia

whatcassiedid's review

dark emotional reflective slow-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? Yes

4.0

For once my refusal to read a synopsis pays off! This was a wild ride.

I thought the only twist was the affair but then the murder and covering up of the murder was unhinged.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Lesbophobia

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: Abortion, Grief, Murder, Blood, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Classism, Child death, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Body horror, and Bullying

Minor: Death of parent