Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Tipping the Velvet

That last chapter tipped this book fully into 5 stars territory. I love Nan as a character so much. She's not perfect and she goes through so much, but she's rewarded in the end for being the lovesick girl she's always been.

Florence is my favorite out of all the women in this book, though. She is so kind and loving and sincere and generous.

I absolutely love this book and all of Nancy's twists and turns.

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bruisedtigers's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

I liked this book a lot to start, then found my enjoyment waning as it went on.

Nancy's story is broken into three parts. The first features her and Kitty, a stage performer who she falls in love with. For me, this was the most enjoyable part. Watching Nancy bloom from her humble roots into a star felt very tangible and the author paints a very charming atmosphere. The second part, however, changes tones and Nancy becomes a renter and eventually falls into the employment of a cruel older woman. This section, while I appreciated reading Nancy exploring gender presentation, has impending dread hanging over it. Nancy's decisions at this point (combined with another girl suffering for her mistakes) start to make her less endearing. The narrative doesn't excuse her behaviour, but it's no less frustrating to read -- and this continues for the third part. It's difficult to really feel enamoured with the third section, since Nancy spends a great deal of it being accidentally unkind and secretive. Her final and 'true' union suffers for this, sadly, since it doesn't feel as fully developed as it should.

Storygraph doesn't have an clear content warning that I can find, but I would forewarn for Nancy being forced into sex work, and the abusive relationship she finds herself in when part two begins.

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leahrenz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely loved this book! The writing style is vivid and contains lots of hints toward future plot developments without giving them away. Certain objects will be mentioned, Checkov-gun style, or a scenario will be set up in which you as the reader can already tell everything is going to go tits up, or that thing will come back to haunt a character, and all this makes for a highly entertaining read! As a reader, you *know* something is going to happen and it's like waiting to sink your teeth into a juicy fruit... Not to say that the period in between is boring! Not at all. As is essential for good historical fiction, the descriptions crackle with life and give the book a very contemporary feel despite it being set in the 1880-90s. As I was reading I felt it would make an excellent mini-series.

The initial, heady falling-in-love of the main character is also wonderfully described. I further loved being plunged into 1880s London show biz! I would highly recommend this read for any lovers of romance, historical fiction or just a well-written, well-paced book.

"Boys stood drinking at the doors of public-houses, their pomaded heads gleaming, in the gas-light, like silk. The moon hung low above the roofs of Soho, pink and bright and swollen as a Chinese lantern. One or two starts winked viciously alongside it."

"She stood there for what seemed to be a small eternity; then her arm came up, the flower flashed for a second in the beam of the lime - and my own hand, trembling, rose to catch it. The crowd gave a broad, indulgent cheer of pleasure, and a laugh."

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