This was nearly a one-sitting read for me: I read 94 pages in one go, though that may be because I was trapped under the cat at the time. The first thing I noted was that the setup and dual timeframe are exactly the same as in Barbara Kingsolver’s Unsheltered: we switch between the same place in 2016 and 1871. In this case it’s Wakewater House, a residential development by the Thames that incorporates the site of a dilapidated Victorian hydrotherapy center. After her partner cheats on her, Kirst...

Unfortunately it was too repetitive and inconsistent.

A couple of cutout protagonists that act as a convenient vehicle for exposition and didactic storytelling that explores the societal pressures placed on women across two different time periods wrapped in a lazy attempt to disguise it as a gothic ghost story. At 130 pages its existence specifically feels like one of Leslie's short story ideas dragged out to novella length or a much larger exploration of an idea - and I mean Wind-Up Bird Chronicle length and style - gutted and simplified for the s...

Samuel Johnson once dismissed a book as 'both good and original' for 'the parts that are good are not original, and the parts that are original are not good.' 'Bodies of Water' fits this estimation very well. Aside from the thoroughly derivative Sarah Waters (appropriately enough) backstory, which is filled with the kind of clunky research that even BA creative writing students wouldn't flaunt so obviously, the book is poorly plotted, has desperately clichéd characters (past and present), and is...

There are two strands to the plot in Bodies of Water. In the first, newly single Kirsten moves into Wakewater Apartments, a development housed in one wing of a Victorian manor that was once a hospital. It turns out she's one of the first residents: her only neighbour is an academic named Manon who has an odd preoccupation with Wakewater's history and seems to think the place has a life of its own. In the second, set in 1871, a young woman named Evelyn is sent to Wakewater to receive hydropathic

I really wanted this book to be good. But it wasn't. Most drastically, this book somehow managed to convey the exact opposite of what it intended. It had more sexist scenes than anything else. Like Kirsten needing to deal with an oh so confusing folder of stuff now that her ex-boyfriend of ten years doesn't deal with it anymore? Or Blanche practically enjoying her doctor taking advantage of her, either that or fulfilling the "all bisexuals cheat"-trope? And in that very same scene, from Evelyn's...

This is one of those books I finished and immediately had almost no opinion on: I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. I feel decidedly lukewarm on pretty much every aspect. Which is odd, because the themes (intense female friendship, bizarre antiquated cures for madness, mythology/magical realism elements, alternating past-and-present storylines, cats!!) are things I almost always love or at least can easily get involved with.But Bodies of Water was decidedly bland. The writing was decent and had

This was quite different to what I was expecting, but it was a really eye opening and unique read. At times it was quite difficult too, but that's what I love. I'll try and have a review up soon!

This is Leslie’s debut novel, or novela perhaps. It is written as a duel perspective, flitting between Kirsten in the 21st century and Evelyn in the 19th. Kirsten is recently single after the end of what was presumably quite a series relationship and has moved into a new flat on the outskirts of London along the banks of the river Thames. Evelyn is a wealthy but unmarried young woman who’s father has sent to her to a water treatment facility in the same building that will be remodelled almost 20...

Synopsis/blurb…..After ministering to fallen women in Victorian London, Evelyn has suffered a nervous breakdown and finds herself treated by the Water Doctors in the imposing Wakewater House, a hydropathy sanatorium. Years later, Wakewater House is renovated into modern apartments and Kirsten moves in, fresh from a break up and eager for the restorative calm of the Thames. But her archivist neighbour, Manon, fills her head with the river's murky past and with those men of science and art who wer...

2.5/5 starsBodies of Water was a book I thought I was going to really love so it has been a slight disappointment. I certainly got more than I bargained for on the horror front. Many people whose reviews on GR and Youtube I trust talked about the intertwining storylines and the subtlety of the novella, but the overwhelming impression I got was of heavy-handedness. The constant use of water-related language when not talking about water or the river at all (there were many examples but the only on...

4.5/5. This was a surprisingly emotional read and I think I'll need some time to process it all. Bodies of Water is more of a novella than a full-length novel, but it packs a punch. The story focuses on two women: Evelyn, who lives in Victorian London and who's being treated for 'female hysteria' with the water cure in Wakewater House near the river Thames, and Kirsten, who lives in present day and who moves into Wakewater House which has been renovated into modern apartments. It's a tranquil, y...

I stumbled upon this book in a charity shop, and was drawn to the title, the picture on the front cover and the blurb describing it. Anything to do with Victorian ghosts, asylums or the water cure, I'm there! The book jumps backwards and forwards in time with a duel narrative. Firstly to present day, where Kirsten has moved into a newly renovated block of flats, that originally housed the hydropathy sanitorium - Wakewater house in Victorian London. Kirsten is eager for peace and quiet after a na...

Loved this, it only a short book but is a really slow burn and has a slow creepy build. Loved it would definitely recommend I will be doing a full review on my blog https://paintandbutterfliesbooks.word...

I loved the first half of this - an eerie gothic tale of women and mental health in Victorian times. Atmospheric descriptions of the river and water throughout. But the second half was not convincing and as it was a short novel / novella the characters felt under developed. A shame as it had great promise!

This short book surprised me in its richness, I loved it! It had an unexpected feminist twist, which really aided the story. Beautifully written, a real page turner. It spooked me out, but I could not put it away. If you love your books Victorian, gothic and spooky, definitely give this one a go!

If you enjoy lesbian supernatural with forced feminist lecturing, then this is the book for you. This plot had potential, but it was an underdeveloped, waterlogged Amityville horror type tale replete with soap - box style lessons on the wrongs perpetrated by men against womanhood and a few literary references thrown in for good measure.

There are some really interesting themes and historical events happening in here. Unfortunately I didn't think the characters were deeply developed, nor did the Victorian time period feel tangible in those sections of the story. The climax of the stories were disconnected from the narrative that came before. And the ending felt spontaneous in that the author hadn't planned it before she started on the book. Those big issues knocked this book down two stars, but this is worth reading. I just wish...

4.35 ☆This was weird I really liked it ,I don't usually read horror or historical fiction but I think I'm going to start reading them now .

ACTUAL RATING: 3.5 STARS