Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

460 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

evan_prus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Medical content

ytzel_vr24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book is actually the wildest thing I’ve ever read in my life. It has a really interesting combination of characters who are right but also completely merciless and borderline villainous. Super fast paced, engaging, and thrilling, but occasionally the dialogue falls flat which is why it’s a 4.5 for me. Mostly a style preference. Otherwise, an excellent book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, and Sexism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Rape

hellavaral's review against another edition

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

clovetra's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

XIRAN JAY ZHAO THE GENIUS YOU ARE. 

i have no clue why i didn’t read this earlier but boy did i love this book!!!!!!

disabled rep in the form of both zetian & shimin? check. feminine rage? check. great dialogue? check. world building that makes sense? check. a love triangle that doesn’t feel forced and is resolved in an interesting way? check. loveable anti-hero as a protag? check. grungy elements that make this YA book feel like it’s pushing the boundaries of YA fantasy? check. check check checkkkkkkk

god i loved zetian. honestly she’s up there as one of my fav protags from literature. i always love a female protagonist who pushes against society’s rules and transcends beyond what is expected of her. plus she felt so rational, and i love that her character development wasn’t focused on her letting go of her rage!!!!! let women be angry and murder lots of men (in fictional books)!!!!!! i really enjoyed the plot and all its progressions and developments. the action scenes felt so real, and although i found it really hard to picture things such as the chrysalises & spirit armour…. i was having way too much fun to let the fact i didn’t have a super clear picture affect my experience reading this. 

i’m not a fan of love triangles tbh and they fucking piss me off but the way this one was handled….. chefs kiss. yet again XIRAN JAY ZHAO YOUR MIND. i wish the “resolution” of the love triangle (iykyk) was a bit more fleshed out and had time to breathe before the ending, and i hate when books are such a clear set up to a sequel. babes give me some form of resolution my god!!!!!!! but honestly with how much fun i had i can’t really complain, but i imagine those who read this when it first released would be fuming about the ending. it felt rushed. defo didn’t feel like it came out of nowhere but….. idk it felt Too Fantastical. the ending defo follows zetian’s established personality and motivations, but it feels like it.. wouldn’t be possible in universe. possible as in… yeah that could happen logistically…. but in reality would it be able to work? idk. 

but god this book literally scratches every itch i love in a book. 

in less than 400 pages, xiran jay zhao has cemented themselves as one of my favourite authors. plus they get bonus points for being a fellow nonbinary baddie. cant wait to see what chaos zetian causes in the next book 😼

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Murder, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, and Kidnapping

latsin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation