Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

317 reviews

lulaabees's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective sad medium-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

4.5

i really did enjoy this book and its themes a lot. shelley parker-chan is an excellent writer, who essentially writes what is one big tragedy made of interwoven fates, each resolving into its own tragedy (some at the beginning act, some near the end of their own personal tragedy), with brio. but i'm still hesitant to pick up the sequel so far... for some reason, i don't feel like there was anything left hanging that was major, anything that left me hoping for more to the point of returning to this story. that is a testament to how neatly book 1 wrapped up, but... it didn't make me hungry for more. at least not yet! maybe book 2 will be added to my feed in a few months and then we can all chuckle about it together

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Violence

Minor: Sexual content and Dysphoria

mycarefulcardinal's review against another edition

3.5

i really liked ouyang's side of the story, him and esen ... ouch. the characters are all complicated and flawed and i like how all of them connect (ouyang and zhu, ouyang and lord wang, like knows like). i do unfortunately have mixed feelings about zhu's side though.. i liked her story in the beginning but by the end i didn't really believe or quite understand her motivations. i also don't know how i feel about some of the ... explorations of gender ig? it veered a bit into bioessentialist territory imo. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Misogyny, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective 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

5.0

Turns out political intrigue is interesting when it’s not white people in castles!!! should’ve known 

what can I say about this: deliciously ruthless, so many characters to love and hate and root for anyway, SAPPHICS!!!!, ~gender~… 

that “support women’s rights and women’s wrongs” meme was made with this book in mind. incredibly fun and so hard to put down, sorry to the author for waiting this long. buying the next one asap 🫡

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

starsmakenoise's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dianlyyaliz's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Misogyny and Murder

Minor: Child death

madscientistcat's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Sexual content

saltyseakitten's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-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? No

4.5

Une fille grandit dans la poussière d’une terre desséchée auprès d’un père négligent et d’un frère destiné à la grandeur. Lorsque ce dernier meurt avant d’avoir accompli son destin, elle décide que c’est elle qui touchera la grandeur. Elle vole le nom de son frère et se met en route vers la première étape de son destin : le monastère interdit aux femmes.

Il souffle un vent épique sur ce roman de fantasy historique. J’ai bien apprécié la courte introduction éclairant le contexte historique dans lequel se déroule l’intrigue. Sans noyer le lectorat dans les informations, elle donne des repères bienvenus.

A mon sens, le plus grand succès de ce livre, c’est son personnage principal et toute sa complexité. Alors qu’elle n’est même pas nommée au début de l’histoire, Zhu s’impose assez rapidement comme une figure magnétique, dont la volonté inébranlable semble pouvoir déplacer des montagnes. Pourtant, rien n’est aisé. Son parcours est fascinant à suivre et m’a fait tourner les pages à toute vitesse. J’avoue avoir été moins captivée par les autres points de vue, même si j’ai aimé la nuance qu’ils apportaient. Le fait est que la dimension géopolitique du texte et ses nombreux personnages m’ont perdue. J’ai suivi les grandes lignes de l’intrigue, mais au bout d’un tiers du livre je ne savais plus quel personnage secondaire était qui et où allait son allégeance. J’ai pourtant continué, charmée par le personnage de Zhu. La fin, un peu rapide à mon goût, est clairement écrite pour donner envie de lire la suite de cette duologie. Je ne suis pas sûre de poursuivre car les machinations ne vont que se compliquer, mais je recommande chaudement ce roman aux amateurices de fantasy ou de fiction historique qui ne reculent pas devant la multiplicité des personnages.

Rep : personnage principal non-binaire, relation sapphique.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, and War

Moderate: Blood

nusta's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, and Sexual content

chrisb913's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

This book was everything I was expecting and more.

From page one I was hooked and could not stop turning the page. I absolutely loved the darker tones in this book. I couldn't help cheering on the main characters even though I wasn't sure if they were the hero or the villain.

I also really loved the way Shelley also talked about the social construct surrounding gender not only with Zhu but also Ouyang.

I will definitely be picking up book 2 and looking into future works by this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, and War

Moderate: Child death and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death, Slavery, and Death of parent