Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

382 reviews

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

For about the first half of the book I was reminded of The Hunger Games and the Red Rising series. In both, young warriors fight against their own governments. There is no middle class - there’s only the extremely rich and the oppressed poor. The odds are stacked so heavily against the downtrodden that it seems unlikely that they can survive, much less prevail. Then the more I read, the more I was reminded of The Dragon Republic series. That both stories are set in a pseudo-ancient China made that comparison even easier. 

At some point I began appreciating the book for its own merits, the skillful storytelling, character development, and world building. (Isn’t there another term for world building? It sounds so trendy.) In making gender and wealth disparities exciting, the author introduces these important issues to teens who will encounter them later as adults. 

The trio of main characters were likable, albeit cliched, and, especially in the case of Shimin, rendered sympathetic despite their insalubrious backgrounds. I’m looking forward to the sequel which should be out shortly.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kathi_90's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Body shaming and Fatphobia

sahayatee's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

findleydunn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia

elenikin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-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

5.0

I couldn't put this book down! It was different than I expected, but I really loved following Zetian's journey. Even though she had to deal with a lot of horrible things and could be considered cold-blooded, she stood up for herself and women. There were a lot of dark elements, but the world building and chrysalises were fascinating! I cannot wait for the next book! 
 

I was not expecting a threesome and was surprised that I liked it. Also, what a crazy plot twist/cliffhanger!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Rape

juan_adhd_reading's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-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

Listen, I'm not gonna pretend that this book doesn't have its flaws, particularly regarding prose, dialogue, and world-building. Yeah, it can sometimes feel a bit underdeveloped or even juvenile (I think it could've benefited greatly from being written for adult audiences instead of YA). But at the end of the day I do NOT care, because this book was insanely fun!!! It's an action-packed revenge story that blurs the line between sci-fi and fantasy with magically controlled giant mecha suits fighting against aliens. It basically feels like reading anime. The protagonist, Wu Zetian, starts as a morally grey femme fatale type of character who plots to avenge the murder of her big sister, and throughout the story, we can see her descent into a fully unhinged tyrannical villain. I LOVED IT!!!

There is a plot twist at the very end of the book that completely redefines the events of the story, and some might feel like it came out of nowhere, but I believe there are some clues scattered throughout the book that actually foreshadow it. We know that the war is not what it seems, because the army has been lying about everything from the very beginning, from the accuracy of Spirit Pressure testing, to why women are always placed in the Yin seat instead of men.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story, even if it took me a little time to get into it. I CANNOT WAIT for the sequel!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and Sexual harassment

pipe_dream's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content and Sexual harassment

wildflower_magic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book had me in a chokehold. It is a feminisism ICON. I fell hard for these characters and their mission. The world building is beautifully done and in a way that maintains the flow of the story rather than reading like a text book. I love the magic/chi power/spirit metal system. The main character is a fierce, passionate woman who doesn't just break glass ceilings, she shatters the whole building. I was enthralled with her plans the whole time. The ending is living rent free in my head and I absolutely HAVE to read the second book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Biphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

madalinka's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

This book had me scratching my head. The ending came out of nowhere. Unless there’s a sequel (which I doubt) this book ended up being just okay. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

otakatoe3's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism