Reviews

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.

Content Warnings

seitan's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

lexieryan's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

sincerelysusy's review against another edition

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2.0

I’ve been on a reading hiatus for many years due to nursing school, nurse life and well, just life in general.
This was the second book I’ve finished since my love for reading was reignited by book number one recently. And well, I was so disappointed. Maybe I shouldn’t have been since I went into it knowing absolutely nothing about the book other than what was on the back.
Regardless of crossing several moral lines for my taste, I was just so bored. I almost DNF’d it 3 times before it took a surprising turn and kept me going. But that was 1/3 of the way into an almost 600 page book! And then it just continued to drag on from there. I wish I had come here to read the reviews at that point and saved myself some time. Lesson learned.
Now that I’ve finished it, I realize there were several bits and pieces that I really thought were going to come to something, were going to have some meaning eventually, and never did. They were pointless, as half the book seemed to be.
It just was not my cup of tea, yet I choked it down anyway.

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