Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

20 reviews

sleepypandaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Grief, and Infidelity

jesshudzik's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Homophobia

Minor: Suicide

kadomi's review

emotional 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

4.25

Sarah Water's debut novel is a story of a butch lesbian living in Victorian London. First arriving as part of a 'masher' act, women acting as men in dancehalls, falling in love with her partner Kitty, she falls on harder times when Kitty breaks her heart and refuses to be a 'tom'. 

I did not always care for Nancy, the protagonist. She's selfish, narcissistic and definitely flawed, and I wanted to smack her up the head multiple times. But she gets a happy ending, Florence is a wonderful character, and well, if you ever wanted to read about strap-on dildos in times of yore, there's a book for you.

It made me appreciate how much easier it is for me today to be an out-lesbian, how far we've come, and how far we still have to go.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual content

katewhite77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A Steamy Coming Of Age Novel 19th Century Style 

Our heroine tells her own story form the age of 19 to 25. She starts out as a sheltered music hall fan, working in the family oyster business. She ends up at a socialist convention in Golders Green. 

The tale between those two points is a captivating 19 hour listen but it is definitely not one for small ears. As always Waters writing is amazing she really brings the 19th century to life using all five senses. She really made me route for Nancy even though at times I wanted to scream Have A Word With Yourself at her.

I consider this a classic of my life time and can't believe it has taken me this long to get to, but now I have and I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual violence and Domestic abuse

Minor: Emotional abuse, Death, Lesbophobia, and Grief

outerscout's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

if therapy were both around & helpful in the 1890s i'd say nancy needs it. a beautiful story with a beautiful, hopeful ending

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Confinement

Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Abandonment, and Racial slurs

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Abandonment, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Classism, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, and Grief

marleywrites's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This review will contain spoilers. 

“Tipping the Velvet” covers a span of about eight years in the life of Nancy Astley, from age 18-25. Nancy essentially has her gay awakening in her small hometown where she helps prepare oysters when a musical act of Miss Kitty Butler arrives at the theater. The two eventually grow closer and their relationship blooms, plateaus, and falls. The rest of the novel follows the aftermath of everything, and how Nancy moves on from it all. 

I found this novel to be extremely impressive. I was engaged from the start— the prose is beautiful and visceral, and the author painted a realistic picture of Nancy’s perspective throughout this novel. Nancy’s emotions are strong and intense, and we see the range of feelings she experiences in exquisite detail. 

I found Nancy’s story fascinating. Her character was well-developed and we saw her grow throughout the novel in a fascinating and treacherous way. Nancy has been through a lot— and in a way, she’s quite privileged through some of situations she finds herself in. However she is simultaneously a survivor of multiple questionable sexual situations with a partner who has a significant powerful advantage over he, she is a renter, she loses everything all at once. 

What I found most intriguing was the emotional changes that Nancy experiences throughout the story. The shift from Kitty being the only thing that can save her, to realizing she doesn’t need her at all anymore, is one that I think anyone who’s had a first love and first heartbreak can relate to. The emotional distance she holds herself at with Diana, with Zena, and with Florence (at first) protects her, but also hurts her. I enjoyed watching the slow but steady shift as she learned to trust and love again, and to recognize it as something steadier, and to learn what it means to have a partner who is proud to be yours. 

The writing style of this author has captured me completely— when I finished this novel I immediately went and added all the rest of her work to my TBR. This was a stunning debut and I can’t wait to read the backlist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Infidelity

Moderate: Death, Violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cursing, Drug use, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Blood, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Outing

Minor: Miscarriage and Racism

moss_martii's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Grief, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Classism

lautreamont's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Racial slurs and Miscarriage

francescaastraea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

The least realistic thing about this book is that more than 4 lesbians in 19th century London would hang out regularly. I mean it takes like six weeks of planning to hang out NOW and these ladies had to spend eight hours a week sourcing clean drinking water

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship