Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

7 reviews

ranbara's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad 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? Yes

5.0

oh.. this is the book of all time. to be a tom from whitstable in 1888..

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Infidelity, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Drug use, Grief, Death, Alcohol, Cursing, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment

juliastern__'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Death, Toxic friendship, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Sexism

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

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

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Lesbophobia, Classism, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Death, Alcohol, Sexism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Dysphoria, Racial slurs, Confinement, Racism, and Suicide

Minor: Child death, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and Miscarriage

gaycornbread420's review

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Racism, Confinement, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Physical abuse

lilly_anne's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Homophobia, Cursing, Violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Vomit, Racial slurs, and Adult/minor relationship