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iszys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism
fragrant_stars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Murder, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Rape, and Murder
kirakomrade's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault
alex_salamander's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, and Grief
bkwrm1317'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? No
4.0
Mechas, Chinese history (?), and the life power of young women being leeched dry to fight aliens terrorizing the human race in the future. Our primary protag's initial goal is to avenge the death of her sister. Once she does this, her journey takes twists and turns that I didn't see coming.
Graphic: Alcoholism and Sexism
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, War, and Classism
hearkenheretic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Genocide, Homophobia, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent
sup3r_xn0va_maya'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
5.0
So in this book there are these monsters that attack the cities that the main character Zetian lives in and around, and these male celebrities with their female concubine partners get in giant animal shaped robots and they fight these monsters. The woman often die after going into battle so there's always a need for female concubine pilots. The main character has a big sister who was sacrificed in battle as a concubine pilot and she wants revenge. Her plan is to get chosen to pilot along side the man responsible for her sister's death.
Okay, so I really love how the
I liked how much action there was and I loved how the action scenes played out, it was like I could imagine the scenes in my head while I listened to the audiobook.
I really loved the twists and turns in the book and I'm so happy that I didn't get anything spoiled for me, because those surprises were worth the wait.
Does Zetian fall under the "evil cripple" trope that is apart of the "magical disabled persons" trope? I don't think so, I don't think Zetian is evil, though I think she's emotionally evolving. I think her character walks the line of the "evil cripple" trope though, so I could easily see how some people think she falls under that trope.
<blockquote>"Typically, the disabled characters are limited to four types: the “magical cripple,” the “evil cripple,” the “inspirational cripple” and the “redemptive cripple.” An Evil Cripple is a villain or generally morally perturbed character who also suffers a debilitating physical condition, often taking the form of paralysis requiring the use of a wheelchair. The Evil Cripple doubles as the Genius Cripple a lot, providing an intellectual threat to compensate for their physical frailty. Alternatively, the Evil Cripple can become a physical threat if they use futuristic enhancements to overcome their disability, such as replacing missing or defective limbs with super-strong Powered Armor or cybernetic parts."
- tvtropes.org</blockquote>
Overall, this was a really good book and I enjoyed it very much. I'm giving this
5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
libbyapp.com
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
matturay'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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
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
squinnittowinit'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? Yes
4.75
I thought this book did a very good job of immersing the reader in the very real misogyny that Wu Zetian experiences at every turn, but also not wallowing in those feelings. Instead, Zetian fights against the system at every turn and the reader can celebrate with her when she succeeds. Gao Yizhi and Li Shimin are great supporting characters as well, full of their own depth, but without taking away from Zetian's character in any way.
I especially loved how unapologetically bloodthirsty Wu Zetian was, so often the "dangerous woman" main character ends up just being misunderstood, or becomes tamed by love or something, which is just weak character development. Wu Zetian is a dangerous woman, and that never changes.
4.75 stars because some of the most dramatic dialogue moments were just a little too silly for my liking.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting