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laurenmiller100's review against another edition
4.0
- Characters: 8
- Atmosphere/Setting: 9
- Writing Style: 5
- Plot: 7
- Intrigue: 7
- Logic/Relationships: 7
- Enjoyment: 9
This was awesome. I love mechs and the setting is very evocative. Brought me out of a reading slump! The prose can be a little on the nose at times, but that’s to be expected in a YA novel. I love Zetien and I love the righteous fury, willing-to-do-anything, femme fatale lead. It’s so refreshing to have a female character be so reckless and have the male characters be more submissive. Also,
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Murder
Moderate: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and War
sassyykassie's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
love morally gray characters but this was next level.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, and Classism
mossgoblins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
bibliorama's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Enjoyment - 3
Start - 4
Characters - 2.5
Atmosphere - 3
Plot - 2.5
Ending - 2.5
Style - 2.5
The first half was good. The second had way more telling to speed through the many plot points.
Overall - 3
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
It's hard for me to say how someone else would handle these triggers as books don't typically get to me with triggering content. For what Iron Widow covers, it didn't feel overly graphic to me but that is very subjective. I would say this is better suited towards older young adults (16ish and above but that’s just my opinion)dandelionsteph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
Minor: Body shaming and Pregnancy
kristenityyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Police brutality
Minor: Body shaming, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Grief
d3vilsw0lf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The hints of the ending and how well it sets up Heavenly Tyrant, I can't wait for it to release. It will definitely be a read same day as publication for book 2.
If you haven't picked this up yet or are only thinking about it, don't think anymore and just read! Both the book and Xiran J y Zhao are deserving of a HUGO award and so much more.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
moonsongsiren's review against another edition
the main character is not complex, she is unlikable, and incredibly misogynistic to the girls around her. her love interests at the point i stopped reading were.. mediocre. she is poor “representation” if you can even call her that, but i understand and appreciate that this book was written with a LOT of heart and a LOT of effort was put into it. But that does not make a good story.
What was truly the last straw for me was the main character forcing herself upon one of her love interests (does not, at any point ask him for consent, and he even tells her to stop and wait and she does not comply). To me, that sends the exact opposite message that the book was trying to send.
Over all, EXTREMELY disappointing. i would not recommend this to anyone, there is simply too much it is lacking. but for a debut novel that was clearly a loved passion project, it serves that purpose.
it is self indulgent for the author, it has a very bare bones emotion that drives the story, and it barely scratches the surface of the message it WANTS to convey.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
lyr1cal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
auntquinoa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The character development is was makes this book somewhat immature. The protagonists internal voice is repetitive and doesn’t question her own biases while holding every person around them to theirs (
I read the acknowledgements and understand this book flipped between adult and YA. The faults of the book lie entirely in that indecision by the agent/author/publisher. This is a dark, dark book. Concubine and slavery depictions require nuance which YA doesn’t typically have. The darkness, violence and downright gore do not enmesh well with the immature dispositions of the characters of all ages. It made the book very hard to read without laughing, cringing, or becoming frustrated.
Overall a very bizarre read that somehow still kept me hooked. You must read it for yourself to decide. Does that make it a complete success??
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism