A review by abbie_
Mrs S by K. Patrick

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free eARC!

A sultry and sensuous debut told from the POV of a butch lesbian working as a matron at a prestigious girls boarding school - this is one to add to your summer reading list if you want to read more stories about queer desire (though with a melancholic edge) and aren’t afraid of a little stylistic experimentation.
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Set in an undisclosed location in England, in an undisclosed time period (I was picturing the 90s though), our protagonist arrives at an elite girls boarding school to work as a matron. Presenting as a butch lesbian with an Australian accent, she causes a stir among ‘The Girls’, and eventually catches the eye of the headmaster’s wife, Mrs S., an older, femme woman, and the tension escalates over the course of a summer heatwave.
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The author does a great job with the atmosphere of this one, and that coupled with the anonymity of it all (no one is named properly) gives way to a heady read, as the reader you feel in the grips of the protagonists desire and infatuation with Mrs. S. I did go back and forth between loving the writing and finding it tiring. K Patrick omits a lot of articles and verbs, with mostly short sentences, and so sometimes I found it quite stilted. However, this did also fit well with the feeling of long, sticky, breezeless summer days where time seems to slow to a crawl. I can see this one dividing readers, for sure!
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I loved how the author explored the different power dynamics between all the characters, particularly The Girls and the protagonist. Teenage girls can be so cruel, and Patrick perfectly captures their seemingly casual cruelties aimed at our butch protagonist with merciless precision. Stifled giggles, snide remarks, a look between two girls - it’s excruciating at times but an accurate portrayal of being different in an environment so rigidly controlled by antiquated feminine values and tradition.
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Erotic, brimming with tension, definitely a debut to keep your eye on!
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