Reviews

A decir verdad este libro resultó ser todo lo que no me esperaba que fuera, y digo eso en el mejor de los sentidos. Claramente pensé que me iba a encontrar con un libro de Ficción Histórica pero jamás con todo lo demás que encubre en sus páginas.
Las primeras 150 páginas (aprox.) me parecía bastante normalito y fácil de leer, con una trama interesante pero nada fuera de lo común, y luego de eso comenzó a sorprenderme. Fue sorpresa tras sorpresa, y a pesar de que los giros de la trama suceden antes del 50% del libro, eso no hizo que disminuyera la intensidad hacia el final.
Me mantuvo cautiva leyendo después de superar el primer 30% y no pude dejar de hacerlo, definitivamente estoy gratamente sorprendida, me encantó esta historia, jamás esperé leer un libro de mas de 600 páginas tan rápido.

He de decir que admito que tiene algunos defectos, quizás este libro no es del todo perfecto, pero en mi opinión si se merece mis 5 estrellas porque me sorprendió de una manera que pocos libros lo han hecho, además mi entretenimiento estaba en las estrellas. Sufrí con los personajes y también disfruté con ellos, me encantó!

bpaxton's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

a thrilling gothic inspired novel full of mysteries and dark, layered secrets to rival the likes of Wilkie Collins.
Water's is a master here at only giving you the information she wants you to have. despite not being an avid reader of mysteries, this book (for all it's 500+ pages) had me gripped.
the main characters are soo lovable to the extent that you feel their pain and betrayal as acutely as they do.
this is a brilliant story, expertly crafted and orchestrated centering the women of the past- particularly the ones who liked other women.
Waters has got to be in my favourite authors now! cant wait to read even more by her!

cerysr's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

i loved most of this book! the writing, the twists, the characters are all amazing
i knew a lot of the plot already as i love the film the handmaiden, but it was nice reading it in a lot more detail and the thoughts of the characters that the film can’t show as well
the ending was quite different from the film however and i think the book fell a little weak here, the plot is wrapped up quite quickly and in a much smaller section than earlier sections of the book, when it’s actually one of the most interesting parts of the book and could’ve done with longer given to it

would’ve loved to see more of maud and sue at the end, it is a happy ending and implied that they’ll stay together and live together, but a few more pages on how their lives turned out happily would’ve been nice after the troubles they went through throughout the book

goblinhearted's review against another edition

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4.0

Attempting a synopsis of this book is a little bit of a mindbend. At least 50% of what happens would be a spoiler to mention it here.

Essentially: two members of a "family" of thieves embark on a plot to gain an inheritance from an extremely wealthy estate. The plan is created by a man called “Gentleman”. His plan is for protagonist Sue to pose as a maid for Maud, a woman who is to inherit her uncle’s fortune - only upon marrying. Meanwhile, Gentleman will be the one Maud marries. As the plan unfolds, things aren’t quite that easy - nothing is as it seems and things get unhinged.

(Also anyone who knows Sarah Waters knows there will be lesbians which is all I really need out of life.)

This was a rare occurrence where I watched the movie, The Handmaiden (2016), first and liked it so much that I wanted to read the book.

I can’t tell if I am pleased or disappointed that I found the book to be nearly identical to the movie. I was certainly surprised! It’s not completely the same, but in a lot of ways it felt very similar to watching it, except for the first and last few chapters (and the setting/nationality of the characters, who in the book are English). For that reason, it feels a little unfair to write a book review on this, since I was essentially "spoiled" from the start.

I loved the movie, and therefore I very much enjoyed the book. Perhaps I felt a little antsy because I hadn’t watched the movie all that long ago (maybe a few months tops?) and so I was waiting for something new and different to happen - which I think is pretty reasonable for novels that were adapted into movies. To my surprise, it was quite similar.

The ending is the main place where things diverge, and to my shock and surprise, I could see why the ending was changed for the movie - and I preferred it. This feels like a personal defeat, lol.

That said, I would still recommend the movie and the book (although not together, or at least spaced apart by a few years) to anyone who will listen.

kittyfisher's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

4.0

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