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It's hard to give a good review of the book without spoilers, since the book is extremely eventful. Essentially, the situation is that, having overthrown the government of Huaxia with the help of the ancient emperor Qin Zheng in the first book, the two of them must now begin to rule the country, despite Zetian not having any political education and Qin Zheng being a brutal warlord. Also Shimin was taken hostage by the beings calling themselves "gods" who live in a spaceship orbiting the planet so Zetian wants to get him back and take down the gods. There is a great deal of revolutionary socialist politics, feminist coalition-building, bloodthirsty scheming, and mech piloting to learn and execute in very little time.
I would be deeply surprised if this book did not end up on some banned books, if not for its communist revolution and propaganda, then for its violence, sexuality (several very steamy scenes, but all the explicit stuff is fade-to-black), or toxic relationships. To me, all these aspects are to the good and handled in a very self-aware manner, but this book won't be for everyone. As with the first book, I loved the characters, world-building, and fast-pace of the book (especially considering its length). The central themes of the book surround the questions of when violence and coercion are justified and what their consequences are, which is a great topic for the YA and New Adult age range to grapple with. I cannot wait for the third (and final?) book of the series!
Thank you to Tundra and Netgalley for providing a free Advanced Readers Copy of this book for review.
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Violence, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Genocide, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Colonisation, War, Classism
Minor: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation
Minor: Sexual assault
Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, War
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, Colonisation
Minor: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault
Graphic: Ableism, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual content, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Dysphoria
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, Abortion, Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Colonisation, War
Minor: Child death
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even if some of the themes felt ham fisted, I think people need that. I loved how consistently those themes played into our MC's decisions and that this book was a turnaround from the frenzied actions of the first book. Excited for the third book!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Trafficking