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halieghkai's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Affinity by Sarah Waters left me completely gutted—like I've walked into my kitchen for a meal, only to realize my fridge was missing... Consider this a compliment on Sarah Waters's literary skills to invoke such a visceral feeling.
Affinity by Sarah Waters left me completely gutted—like I've walked into my kitchen for a meal, only to realize my fridge was missing... Consider this a compliment on Sarah Waters's literary skills to invoke such a visceral feeling.
wollstonecrafty's review against another edition
why would you ever read anything else when you could be reading sarah waters
patiolinguist's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant! Waters paints such a vivid picture of Victorian London - it's so dreary and depressing, and yet incredibly thrilling, it immediately draws you into the story. I read Affinity in two days; I couldn't wait to get through it, but was very sorry to finish it. And although I was hoping for a different ending, I'm glad it turned out the way it did - in fact I think I like the book all the more for it.
stineym's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
totheliteraturelighthouse's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
novabird's review against another edition
4.0
Waters created great tension balanced by the sensual and intellectual both between characters and in atmosphere. It had a didn't see it coming ending. An enjoyable read.
khornstein1's review against another edition
3.0
Grim but not gripping, I pressed on to the last page, rewarded with a spectacular ending.
cr4nkyp4nts's review
4.0
Took two readings to fully appreciate. I'm a big Sarah Waters fan and have been for many years. I've read all of her books, in the order that they were published. My first reading of Affinity left me very disappointed. Many of my friends had read it and raved about how great it was - it's the favorite SW book for some of them.
After reading nothing but lesbian fiction - primarily romance - for several years, I've gotten back into reading horror and thrillers and mysteries. It took me quite a while to give Waters' The Little Stranger a shot. I was less than thrilled with The Night Watch because I found it pretty slow and it didn't hold my interest. The backward storytelling didn't help. But once I got into The Little Stranger, why I fell in love with her work in the first place came back. Except now she was telling ghost stories. It started me thinking about Affinity again and I decided then that I would eventually give it another shot.
I picked up the audio version of the book and a couple days ago I finally loaded it up and got to listening. This time around I can finally say that I completely enjoyed Affinity. I believe that my expectations of it being a lesbian romance ruined the book for me the first time around. I kept waiting for the romance to really pick up - you have to remember that this book followed Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith, both romances (although Fingersmith is more of a mystery) - and when it didn't, I suppose I felt a bit betrayed. Misled, at least.
Going into the second reading knowing that it isn't a romance but a paranormal mystery of sorts made a huge difference. I was able to fully appreciate the twists and turns and let myself really see the relationships as they were written, not as my subconscious kept telling me they were supposed to be.
Sarah Waters can write some emotionally dark fiction. I love it and can't say that I'm sorry that she's not writing romance anymore. Although there was definitely a romantic angle in The Paying Guests it was so much more.
Hurry, Ms. Waters, hurry! I'm ready for a new book!
After reading nothing but lesbian fiction - primarily romance - for several years, I've gotten back into reading horror and thrillers and mysteries. It took me quite a while to give Waters' The Little Stranger a shot. I was less than thrilled with The Night Watch because I found it pretty slow and it didn't hold my interest. The backward storytelling didn't help. But once I got into The Little Stranger, why I fell in love with her work in the first place came back. Except now she was telling ghost stories. It started me thinking about Affinity again and I decided then that I would eventually give it another shot.
I picked up the audio version of the book and a couple days ago I finally loaded it up and got to listening. This time around I can finally say that I completely enjoyed Affinity. I believe that my expectations of it being a lesbian romance ruined the book for me the first time around. I kept waiting for the romance to really pick up - you have to remember that this book followed Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith, both romances (although Fingersmith is more of a mystery) - and when it didn't, I suppose I felt a bit betrayed. Misled, at least.
Going into the second reading knowing that it isn't a romance but a paranormal mystery of sorts made a huge difference. I was able to fully appreciate the twists and turns and let myself really see the relationships as they were written, not as my subconscious kept telling me they were supposed to be.
Sarah Waters can write some emotionally dark fiction. I love it and can't say that I'm sorry that she's not writing romance anymore. Although there was definitely a romantic angle in The Paying Guests it was so much more.
Hurry, Ms. Waters, hurry! I'm ready for a new book!