Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Chlorine by Jade Song

54 reviews

pixie_d's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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sidekicksam's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Ren Yu is coming of age against the sharp chemicals of chlorine in the pool water. A tale of obsession, competitive sport, adolescence, racism, misogyny and friendship/love, this was a wild ride of an audiobook to listen to. Gory and a bit grotesque, I felt the book explored the harrowing conditions of the human experience and the need to escape it beautifully. Not necessarily horrific but more harrowing, this was exactly the kind of weird story I was hoping it would be! 

Lovers of books like The Pisces, Bunny and The Vegetarian will definitely love this one!
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oywiththepoodles's review against another edition

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

2.5

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jcnfia's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.5

OH MY GOD. Thank you for your time. 
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herelieshenry's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-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

2.25

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lexiesophocli's review against another edition

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

2.5

felt a lot like ‘our wives under the sea’ in that the mystical element was very confusing, despite the rest of the story being an interesting read. I was waiting for a deeper dive (pardon the pun) into the characters and their motivations but it never came - all in all, this book felt a bit shallow (wow two for two on the wordplay) and lazy for what could’ve been an incredible read! 
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clovetra's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

fuck. that was beautiful. this is easily *the best* book i’ve ever read. not just of 2024, but i think in my life. i actually kind of want to cry now that ive finished it. i also want to cry because of how beautiful it was. i want to cry because i relate to and understand ren so well. i want to cry because jade song’s writing style is orgasmic. i want to cry because this book had all my favourite features - body horror, sapphic romance, perfectionist main character who strives to be the best, mature themes, mixing reality with fantasy and science fiction. this book was pure bliss, and i don’t think i possess the capacity to explain the perfection of this story.
even though this book came out only in 2023, i await patiently yet enthusiastically for jade song’s next book.
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thepharmdreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

If you like mermaids and unhinged girls this book is for you 
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tacochelle's review against another edition

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

4.0

I love me some weird girl coming of age stories. Taking a story about finding your identity and making it so physical and visceral. Ren is an interesting narrator, I feel for her journey, especially how her discovering her true self runs parallel to a queer awakening of sorts. Her voice is also very decidedly that of a teenager. She's dramatic in her declarations, in a way that reminds me of friends I had in high school. I've seen some criticism of it in other reviews, but it feels believable to me. But I also  was in the sort of friend group where one could claim to be half-vampire, go on about what everyone gets wrong about her kind, and no one would bat an eye. 
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_allyrose_'s review against another edition

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

4.0

a black-swanesque type of story of a young asian woman and her love (and obsession) of swimming and the lengths she would go to come out on top
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