I found this book an intense read and one that wasn't easy to follow but at the same time I struggled to put it down as I wanted to see how the story was going to play out for these women. I enjoyed reading about the dynamics between them and the exploration of consent. I did find that I got to the end and felt a little unsure about whether I'd understood the novel as a whole but I did find it really gripping as I was reading it.

five interconnected sections that explore the concept of consent, based over the course of one weekend. The writing is luscious and I really enjoyed that. The way she approaches sensitive subjects was really impressive, they were explored in detail and effectively, while not being triggering.

This book was definitely not what I initially expected from the title and the cover (which were quite catching). While it is not a type of book I normally would reach for, and needed to be in the right headspace for it I found myself engaged in each story, talking about consent in a way it made you think about it from another perspective.

I think this book would do well as a book club read.

couldn't finish this book sadly because the writing is a little too descriptive to my liking.

Thank you netgalley for the advanced e-copy in exchange of an honest review.

I am somewhat conflicted about this one, I read it in sections, the book itself is set in five acts, and this led to a somewhat disjointed experience reading this book.

Breastrokes carefully and thoughtfully examines the topic of consent through the experiences of four women. All the experiences are different but there are similarities between them, similarities that will be familiar to many female readers. I was drawn to this book by its title and cover, after reading I realized how aptly titled this book is.

Maybe it was my frame of mind when reading or perhaps it was because I read it in sections over a couple of weeks, this book lost some of its impact on me and yet I can appreciate what the author has achieved with this book and I very much admire her taking on this theme and examining it so carefully and authentically. I think this is a book I will return to a later stage. I will certainly buy a copy of this one for my shelves. It would make an excellent choice for a book club.

Wishing the author much success with this book. I hope its widely read,

3.5 stars

This was a thought provoking read.

It covers some really interesting and important topics.

I enjoyed following the story through the tales of the four women who had different experiences with some distinct similarities. I appreciated the attention paid. to consent which is such an important topic and I could see this being a great book for something like a book club to prompt discussion about consent.

The writing style was accessible and easy to read. I liked how the book was formatted and felt this made it easy to read.

This is well written, sensitive and an important book

When I was about 25% of the way through this book, I realised I had no idea which character was which or what was actually happening. I felt like we were still doing the establishing shots and I didn’t know anyone yet.
This didn’t really let up throughout the book, with the characters all being pretty difficult to tell apart.
The story was strong, the themes are important. But I just felt it was very slow and difficult to get into and could have been presented differently. Because I had no attachment to any of the characters and they lacked individuality, the impact of the story was lessened somewhat.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for allowing me to read Breaststrokes by Margaux Vialleron.

This novel shares the stories of four women: Cloe, Gertrude, and two sisters: Mathilde, and Sarah. Over five acts, we learn about their experiences with consent, throughout their childhoods and in the present day.

This book was sensitively and thoughtfully written. It discusses triggering topics with authentic consideration. Every part of the story is full of rich meaning, including the title, which takes on more and more meanings as the reader continues with the novel.

I would not be surprised to see this becoming an instrumental part of discourse surrounding consent and gender.

I could not get into this! It was almost impossible to tell the 4 women apart and everything moved along at the speed of a glacier. Whole sentences were taken up with the sort of information that is best saved for the humdrum of real life (like when the librarian told one of the women the rules about losing her library pass) and not for in a book.

This is a thought-provoking book that deals with a lot of serious issues addressed but it doesn't seem to go anywhere as a story and feels more like a handful of case histories leading into a lecture in the guise of a conversation. It's well-written but the form didn't work for me

Margaux Vialleron's Breaststrokes is the story of 5 diverse women and their life experiences with consent in all of its forms.
With their stories told individually the women's paths eventually cross, sisters Mathilde and Sarah, Cloe who woke up that morning in a strange bed with no memories of the night before eventually cross one Sunday in the London pub where Gertrude works. When they do find themselves drinking together the book turns into basically a polemic as the women discuss their lives and it often feels as they're all speaking with the same voice.
This is a thought-provoking book that deals with a lot of serious issues addressed but it doesn't seem to go anywhere as a story and feels more like a handful of case histories leading into a lecture in the guise of a conversation. It's well-written but the form didn't work for me,I could however see it as an ideal book for a women's reading group or as part of a school lesson for older teens to discuss afterwards.