Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Tipping the Velvet

This book could have been dramatically shorter and still had the same impact, imo. Pretty well all of the characters are unlikable, but I don't think the author meant for it to be that way? My jaw did drop when -you know who- arrived at the very end of the book which was kind of what we had been waiting for for a while. Also, the story is being told by older Nancy and the author could have done so much more with that. The use of 'queer', 'gay', and 'fag' throughout the book was so smart. The autobook narrator was hit or miss for me. Overall I would not recommend this book.

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helen777's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

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sapphoria's review against another edition

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I might pick this back up but our main character took a turn that I just cannot get behind. We are supposed to be made agitated, or hurt, or even angry by a good read, but this wasn't that. It made no sense, it was a step too far, it simply didn't make sense. As a result I did what I very rarely do... I put it down and just did not want to pick it back up.

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paperquilt's review against another edition

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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

4.0

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kadomi's review

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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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katewhite77's review against another edition

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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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nekopersona's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.25

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bdingz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense 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

3.75

This is my first book by Sarah Waters and I don’t think it will be the last. I sometimes struggle with historical fiction featuring queer characters because I always have this sense they must be doomed somehow, but this story depicts joy as much as ut does despair. Some parts dragged a little, in my opinion, but it was almost autobiographical in style so I understand why it was as long and detailed as it was.

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