The Visitor

I found this review of The Visitor on Amazon US, and although I'm fond of five star reviews, this four star review is my favourite. Why do I like it so much? Well, it's just so painfully honest from start to finish and the conclusion is precisely the one I made myself when I'd finally finished the final draft. It's an odd book, different from most books in the genre, and it is definitely weird! I even thought it probably needed its own genre, just like the reviewer. I'm happy to say, of course, that the reviewer really liked the book very much, even if she couldn't adequately explain why. It's copied below, in all its glory.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Odd but Also Riveting Read

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2021

I can't say I began with truly "enjoying" this book. Helen's character put me off and the back and forth/drama that was seemingly endless and just. .. so odd for a random person to continue to force onto the homes occupants left me so confused. It didn't make sense why a person would come into someone else's home and act the way Helen did. However, I couldn't put it down either. The writing was so...unique..and again odd but absolutely captivating in it's style and storyline. The characters all even odder and presenting in such a bizarre way. I cannot say this is the best book I've ever read, but it is very good, however odd I found it.

I would hope this review doesn't cause anyone to not pick this one up though, as I do wholeheartedly believe it's definitely a story worth reading. The writing was originality at its finest. And I found the characters and plot a refreshing change to contemporary romance novels.

I also enjoyed that the author created older characters that were interesting enough to continue reading about and that the author was able to create tension and peak the novel without overtly graphic scenes. The trajectory of the romance seemed believable and the subtlety of their dialogue and physical touches were well done, again, still in an utterly odd way.

The author created characters with good and bad qualities in each character and the depth and way that depth was created in them was definitely interesting to say the least. The author also created a "villain" absolutely spectacularly and was very believable and well done compared to many more "mainstream" lesbian romance stories that are currently out.

Helen(the younger main) and Sophie (the older mains daughter) were difficult personalities for me for much of the beginning but after the first 3-4 chapters they and their personalities flowed extremely well despite the odd way in which they were presented.

For anyone who reads only age-gaps like myself THIS IS AN AGE-GAP romance with the younger main being, from the way I read it, in late 40s I assumed from hints around 48/49 and the older main being 63/64. The age of them put me off as it disrupted the way I was picturing them (in my head from dialogue and actions I assumed the younger was early 30s and older was early 50s.) at first but was very well done which made me come to appreciate the relationship along with the fact the age bracket definitely needs some attention in lesbian fiction.

This certainly could not be considered a contemporary romance novel at all, though it is a romance. It feels like it nearly deserves it's own niche in the genre.

I don't know, nor can I even attempt to explain, what this book made me feel, but I do know that however off put I was by the opening chapters, I couldn't put the book down and read it straight through the night. It is definitely a book that will leave you thinking of it during the day after you put it down in the early hours of the morning after a night of binge reading each chapter.

With that being said, don't read this book if you're looking for a light romance as it's not a light read that will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy, but it's not overly heavy either - it just isn't a beach read or a book that you'd read expecting erotic romance. Do read it bundled up for the day, expecting to do nothing else but read and pensively enjoy peering into an odd but captivating household's lives through the pages for the day. One of the weirder books I've read in my lifetime but one I enjoyed just the same. I could continue to try and explain/review this novel but no matter how hard I try I don't think I could ever absolutely capture what it is about this book that makes it so binge-worthy but also so absolutely...weird even if I spoiled the plot line.