Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

643 reviews

erkiff's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved it and want more. Very interesting premise, good romantic tension.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, and War

Moderate: Sexual assault

There is a graphic description of how traditional Chinese foot-binding is done.

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

khymihr's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Murder

Minor: Sexual violence and Torture

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

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

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

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

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

simsplayer30's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism