Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez

53 reviews

sandysmith's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Initially, I had an issue getting into the book as the initial chapters were written in the characters' dialect, so potentially, this might have been better if reading via audible. Once I got to Jesse's part, the reading itself became easier, although not necessarily easier in terms of the content. Jessie is a young black man brought up as a Jehovah witness. He is disowned due to being gay and an incident with another member of his church. He finds himself outcast from his church and family moving to London, being an artist and making a living by being a gay prostitute. The sex scenes are graphic. SPOILER I thought the relationship between him and Owen was beautifully developed and loved how they came back to each other. It's a challenging read, but ultimately, it makes you think about the sex industry and issues relating to acceptance, race, racism and religious bigotry. It's a thought-provoking and intensive interesting read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Cancer, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

chrishham's review against another edition

challenging reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Possibly one of my favourite books of all time I think 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia

dealneil's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, and Abandonment

whatxesaid's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

withlivjones's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This book had a really slow start, but I’m glad I stayed with it because the second half was brilliant. This is a brutal, vivid depiction of being both black and queer in Britain, spanning from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, as well as a prologue from the POV of a Windrush migrant in the 1950s (which seems irrelevant at first but does play a big part in the end of the book, I promise!) Mendez does a fantastic job of evoking the atmosphere and setting of the Black Country and London, and particularly the London chapters are very reminiscent of Zadie Smith’s NW in the way the city is depicted through the various characters who live there. While the first half felt rather disjointed, I loved how all the pieces eventually came together for the novel’s conclusion. I am honestly shocked that this was Mendez’s debut novel as they’ve already really honed their narrative voice, and I’m looking forward to whatever they put out next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Outing

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

ssinforshort's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

2.25

I wanted this to have more of a journey. So much could have been reduced to a few pages, and some much could have been expanded. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Religious bigotry

arlaubscher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Miscarriage

teddie_valetine98's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is one of those books everyone needs to read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Outing

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault

Minor: Miscarriage and Racial slurs

There are scenes that are graphic of sex work due to Jesse’s job

dominika_benmichael's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault

laurenw22's review

challenging dark hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a stunning book. I loved almost every single part of it. Jesse’s voice as narrator was perfect - someone you wanted to protect when he was young and someone who became stronger and more assured at the book progressed. Personally, I didn’t find the graphic nature of the book off putting (though i didn’t expect it!) 
A seriously good read and one that opens up topics about racism, family dynamics, religion and sexuality.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death of parent