Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

180 reviews

m4rtt4's review against another edition

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

4.5

Secret Shanghai is officially one of my favourite world's I've ever visited, and I'm glad to know the story doesn't end here. I enjoyed almost everything — the monster plotline could have been executed a little better — but I'm only taking 0.5 stars off for that. My absolute favourite thing in addition to the dynamic between Juliette and Roma was
everything about the brain-infesting insects (I'm a biology student...), though I must say the science stuff also felt a bit off and/or too modern for the time, for example the term 'viral' wasn't really used until the 1940s, and what were those machines in Lourens's lab, how did they work?
I need more specific answers, I'm curious — in all seriousness, I'm just a nitpicking nerd. Nevertheless, Gong has done an excellent job researching and creating all this, big kudos to her <3

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kylosten's review against another edition

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

3.5


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cnaccarato's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense 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

4.5


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thehannahclaire's review against another edition

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DNF @ 50%

LOVED the premise, wasn’t a fan of the execution outside of the discussion of colonialism and race. I really wanted to feel connected to the characters, but I just wasn’t. 

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snikhtha's review against another edition

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

1.75

This book took me FOREVER to finish. I'm just glad I managed to get it done this year. Good riddance.

This has such a promising plot, but sadly the execution does not live up. The pacing is the obvious culprit. The plot moves at a snail's pace and each chapter barely reveals one minuscule crumb of plot point. It takes forever to get the main plot going, and none of the side plots are interesting enough to make up for it.

The other problem is Roma, and by extension, the White Flowers. They're not nearly as fleshed out as the Cai's, and they get far less screen time. Roma has no real personality besides being the love interest, and Benedikt and Marshall are just... there. In comparison to Juliette's relationships with her cousins, the White Flowers boys just don't measure up. Roma's place within the White Flowers is also murky and the gang just does not seem as threatening in comparison.

Also, the twist villain. It was obvious from the first meeting. I would like to think I wouldn't have a problem with guessing twists, but reading 400 pages just to find out what I guessed all along was anti-climactic to say the least. 

Looks like this series might be DNFd. I can't take another 5 months for just one book.

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archiveofrasa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

A solid 4 stars. I can just about see why people disliked this, especially if they're more devout fantasy readers, but it was honestly a fun ride for me. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and I think this book proved to me that I will eat anything up if the prose sounds nice. This will probably break down if I put my literacy hat on, but it's off for now to let my brain rest lol

Admittedly, I think I would've been more invested in Juliette and Roma had there been flashbacks to them falling in love. I think they're both interesting characters in their own right and the complexities of their relationship are entertaining, so I hope they further develop in the sequel!

The fact the plot drove me more was surprising since I am ultimately a character person at heart, but the setting did a lot for me. I don't mind if there are better representations out there, I very much enjoyed it here. Can't wait to get back into it in the sequel.

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reachingforstardust's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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shelvesofivy's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25


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natesalsbury's review against another edition

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

4.0


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hellodebbies's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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

Coup de cœur de l'année 💗

De l’histoire aux personnages, j’ai tout adoré ! L'élucidation du mystère était si bien exécuté, chaque chapitre me tenait en haleine et quand le livre a finalement pris fin... j’avais besoin de plus. Sérieusement, mes amis et moi avons comparé ce livre à une du crack parce qu'on en voulez enc re plus. 
Les personnages étaient incroyables et adorables à mort, les plaisanteries de Juliet et Roma étaient impeccables, la tension était si forte et la trope ennemis des amoureux étaient parfaits. 
L’édition française a des GROS problèmes avec leur traduction, mais dans l’ensemble, c’était bien malgré qu'il y ait beaucoup de sur traduction qui empêche l'audience visée de lire ce lire. Je me demande vraiment comment le traducteur peut faire un travail de qualité et ensuite le ruiner en traduisant incorrectement les phrases les plus simples ??? 

Fav of the year ! 
From the story to characters, I loved everything ! The mystery was so good and well executed, I was on the edge every chapters and when it finally ended...I needed more. Seriously, my friends compared this book to an addiction because you want more of it. 
The characters were incredible and loveable to death, Juliet et Roma's banters were immaculate, the tension was so thick and the ennemies to lovers was perfect. 
The french edition has some BIG issues with their translation but overall it was good but I am wondering how can the translator do such a job and then ruined it by translating incorrectly the EASIEST sentences ??? 

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