'Breaststrokes is a study of womanhood, vulnerability, and the secrecy of the inner-life. Vialleron’s writing is laced with a love for these women who can barely love themselves. A novel for anyone interested in the way the body keeps score or in the complex intimacies between women.’

– Rowan Hisayo Buchanan

‘Reading Breaststrokes felt a little like watching ribbons unfurl – or intertwine. Margaux Vialleron writes tenderly and evocatively about female friendship, fear and desire’

– Chloë Ashby, author of Wet Paint and Second Self

‘Timely, structurally inventive, with delicious prose. A deep-dive into what consent - in all its forms - actually means, in a modern young woman’s life, and into what happens when you pair ideas of pleasure and consent. A joy in its originality, Vialleron lights up the inner lives and perspectives of four women across a day. There’s a question at the heart of Breaststrokes that you feel compelled to find the answer to’

– Pip Finkemeyer, author of Sad Girl Novel