From the Bookshelf of Mostly Sapphic…

The Paying Guests

Sarah Waters

Start date: December 7, 2014

Finish date: January 17, 2015

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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Buddy Reads

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What Members Thought

Mar 21, 2014 Cheri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, lgbtq, romance, historical-fiction, mystery-thriller

Another fantastic, twisted story from Sarah Waters. Wow. There's no predicting where the story will go. I found it to drag a bit in one section but I was too invested to even consider stopping. And I felt on the edge of my seat until the very last word.

There are few authors who can weave a tale like Waters and I'll certainly pick up her next book.

**7/2015 Re-reading and enjoying it just as much as the first time. Maybe a little more.** ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Sep 03, 2014 Sara rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014

This is going to be my five stars because I can see where some of the criticisms -- that it's really two books, and gets bogged down in a murder trial might, in a nearly 600 page book, be a turn off for some.
The thing is, I haven't been this absorbed in a novel in a long time, and so goddamned much of it is scrubbing floors. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 01, 2014 Beth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017-to-read, 2021-to-read

Yet again Sarah Waters delivers an utterly magnificent, totally gripping and wonderfully well written novel, filled with characters so skilfully crafted that even after reading I can still feel them with me.

The Paying Guests has all the passion, albeit in a different form, of Tipping the Velvet, but under wraps of a different, far more suspenseful mood. The love she has crafted into the novel seeps through the pores of every page, and you find yourself desperately feeling for the characters and ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 28, 2014 Alena rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, queer

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2014 Darlene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbt, not-loanable, kindle, lesbian, strong-fem, womyn, kindle-books-i-own, text-to-speech-enabled, adult, audible

I think I have found my favorite author, Sarah Waters. I was so thrilled with Fingersmith that I couldn't wait to read something else by her. The Paying Guest lived up to my expectations. Too bad Ms. Waters wasn't one of the required reading homework of my high school. She is a classical writer. I think she could rewrite ANY of the old classics and make them so much more relatable.

Juliet Stevenson narrated this story with class and character. I could listen to her reading forever. She added dep ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 30, 2014 Morgan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lesbian, recommended, historical-lesbian-fiction

I knew very little about this book prior to diving in--and I think that may have been the best approach. This is an emotional and moral roller coaster ride. It is a fully immersive story which by the time part three comes in, I felt right there with the characters, sharing in their straits, which was both thrilling and disconcerting. I highly recommend this book!!

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Aug 21, 2014 Jade rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, lgbtqia

I received access to the galley of The Paying Guests through Penguin's First to Read program.

I don't usually read historical fiction, and I struggle with longer books, but in the case of The Paying Guest I never wanted to stop reading and when I reached the end I wished there were more pages.

This novel is set in London just after World War I. The way Sarah Waters captures the time period is absolutely splendid. With all the details given I had no trouble being transported to the different place ...more

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