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tekoppstok's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Chronic illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and War
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Death of parent
The content warnings make the story seem like a downer. It very easily could have been a very depressing book. Instead, the passionate rage and desperation of the main character buoys the narrative into something much more fierce and addictive than doom and gloom, even at the very darkest moments. It's fight or flight the whole way through, with heavy emphasis on fight.thenoboshow's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Self harm and Toxic friendship
paracosim'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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Hate crime, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Colonisation
iane_reads's review
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Genocide, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Deportation
justmys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Everything happens so fast and so easily (???) that it just felt...like watching a movie adaptation of a novel?
I didn't like the main character. I wanted to.
If there's another book set in the same world I'll read it. It's an easy read and a decent idea for a story. I just hope we get to delve further in and read a novel instead of watching the YA movie version.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Moderate: Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
ufollowbooks's review against another edition
- 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 bit of mary sue fanfic kind of vibe, but in a good way
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Colonisation
ajhling's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
This book has characters that are mostly grey at best, and down right evil at worst. Our protagonist is a ball of rage and is someone who would be seen as the villain in many works of fiction. I love it. Even her romantic partners are on the verge of being villains in other works of fiction.
My favourite part besides the plot and our protagonist and her romantic partners, and the world as a whole?
The fact that there's no explicit sex scenes which have impregnated the publishing industry these days. Meaning you have a book that treats its readers like the older teens and adults that we are without having to worry about sex scenes because it's aimed towards an older teen, recent high school graduate age range, which apparently means sex most be included un the eyes of modern publishers.
I'm so hoping that the lack of explicit sex scenes continues onto the next book/s in the series (though even if they were present I'd still buy/read them anyway).
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
devirtualized's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
fromthefoxhole'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
In Huaxia, women hope for one of two fates - marriage or to be a concubine-pilot for one of the male Chrysalis (think Pacific Rim style mech suit) pilots. After losing her Big Sister to the hands of one such pilot, Zetian has concocted a plan to avenge her sister's death by infiltrating the pilot system and killing the man responsible. Generally, women are expected to die from the mental strain of the co-piloting, but Zetian refuses to give up quite easily. Instead, she winds up utilizing their co-pilot neural link to murder him, becoming the Iron Widow.
Rather than freeing her, this feat results in her being paired with Shimin, the strongest Chrysalis pilot in Huaxia - who also murdered his father and brothers. As they begrudgingly work together, they uncover each other's past and develop a partnership. Alongside their friendship, though, they find more corruption than Zetian could have ever imagined.
I won't lie, the first chapter really didn't grab me. I didn't understand a lot of the world-specific language, but oh my god, it's so worth it to work past that. Iron Widow is a masterclass in continuous world building, slowly unfurling the history of Huaxia and Zetian like the first blossoms of spring. I've had other 5 star reads this month, and reading this makes me want to retroactively downgrade them, or petition Amazon for a higher option.
Zetian is DELIGHTFUL, so full of righteous fury and grief, and she's stunningly clever. She's brash and unrefined, and I'm obsessed with her. Her desperation to fix the misogyny and mistreatment of young girls in her society is so admirable. Honestly, even though she's ending the book kind of unhinged, I would probably trust her anyway.
The romance element is refreshing, avoiding the traditional YA love triangle in favor of a thoughtful portrayal of polyamory.
The writing is captivating, straddling the line between Chinese history and its futuristic setting. Zhao is incredibly effective at touching all of the reader's senses, so I really felt like I could see the entire book come to life around me.
TL; DR - YES, it really is that good.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Classism
Minor: Vomit
some_froggish_lad's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Injury/Injury detail