Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Rainbow Milk

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

sandysmith's review

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

Content Warnings

chrishham's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

shanmariereads's review

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challenging dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

dealneil's review

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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

Content Warnings

withlivjones's review

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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.

Content Warnings