Book Review | Bodies of Water by V.H. Leslie

I've been lusting after so many books by Salt Publishing for so long! I finally caved the other month and ordered a couple, one of them being Bodies Of Water by V.H. Leslie which I'd heard really good things about.

Bodies of Water is a gothic novella written in a dual narrative. One being from the point of view of Evelyn, a woman who is currently staying at a hydropathy treatment resort, Wakewater House in the victorian era. The doctors there claim to be able to help upper class women with their 'women's problems' by using water. The other, in present day, is Kirsten who has just moved into the newly renovated apartments in the very same building and things don't seem quite right. The narrative switches from one to the other every new chapter. I really liked this aspect, I've read dual narratives before and it hasn't quite worked for me, but with this story it was perfect. The chapters are quite short and the pacing was on point, making this a very quick read. I found the plot was really creepy with slight elements of fairytale in the mix. Leslie also uses great description, without over doing it in a way that can make some books a bit long winded and this really kept me reading on.

I ordered this book having a pretty good idea of the story. I can't write this review without being honest about the fact that I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't more about the treatments that were administered at the resort included in this. I think that would have set the tone and atmosphere much more on that side of the story, although the book would have probably had to be a little longer. 

There were also couple of character's that appeared to be a bit two dimensional and sometimes a bit convenient to keep the plot moving. There's a side character in this called Manon who I would've loved to find out a bit more about, she seemed like a very interesting woman. (I don't want to say any more in case of spoilers).

However, aside from those couple of things, I did really enjoy this little book and I'll probably read it again. I read it in one sitting on a rainy day when I wasn't feeling too great. It's a pretty slim novella, but still, I couldn't put it down until it was over. I gave Bodies of Water three out of five stars. You can purchase a copy here. If you like a creepy quick read I'd highly recommend it, but perhaps not one to read in the bath!

Bicks x