Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

86 reviews

oliviathebookwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, Murder, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Body horror, Colonisation, Cursing, Gore, Ableism, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcoholism, Genocide, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gun violence

iwephay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Murder, Grief, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Blood, Sexism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

elgrell's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, and Violence

ufollowbooks's review

adventurous dark funny 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

4.0

a bit of mary sue fanfic kind of vibe, but in a good way 

 

what a book! traditions from our world intertwined with technology you cannot fathom properly, sprinkled with female rage, political intrigues, surprisingly great romance, and, of course, brilliant writing. 

 

basically, it's "labour" by paris paloma, but in a book form. 

 

i already knew that there's a polyamory done right - it was the main reason i added this book to my tbr in all honesty - as well as disability rep, but damn! it was amazing and seeing a badass wheelchair user made my heart go "wheee" 🫶🏻 

 

it's definitely a very fast paced book, and an intense one, too. a lot of violence happening, but it never is just for the sake if violence, as it often happens with male-written fantasy. and yes, it felt much more like fantasy to me than as sci-fi, though there are element of it for sure. maybe because sci-fi to me is more about space and aliens, and there are little of that! 😅 

 

the ending felt a but rushed, and i can actually understand the motivation behind the way things end. discussing the ending in detail and with spoilers:

yes it's not very thought through and a lot of decisions are made here and now, but that's how the whole book is! Zetian is young, and emotional (in the best way possible!), and she has a lot of power for literally the first time in her life. she doesn't play the nuanced game, she never did - she comes in hot and does things the way she sees fit, without compromises. taking over control of the golden dragon and planning to overtake the country is very much in her character, so you're either ok with it or not. can't wait to read the second book to see how it all will be addressed!

 

the romance is... well. it's m/f/m triangle, but the proper one, where everyone is queer. gender identity is also mentioned, but the book did felt a bit too cis and straight to me, with only the main throuple being part of the lgbtq+ community. it didn't worsen the story, but looking back it was, indeed, a bit odd. on the other side, this also highlights once again that Zetian is different from people around her - and her partners are, too. overall, the romance is a pretty big part of the storyline.

 

❗️ beware, there will be a second book, and the story ends on a BIG cliffhanger! so if you're not ready to commit to thus - wait until 30th of april, 2024, when "Heavenly Tyrant" comes out. 

 

to summarise, a great book, which i can definitely recommend to those who like intense, fast-paced fantasy with elements of sci-fi and historical basis 

 

8/10 ⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Ableism, Alcohol, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and War

Moderate: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Torture, Classism, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Sexual violence, and Stalking

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Body shaming, Colonisation, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, and Medical content

phantasmfiend's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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: Domestic abuse, Classism, Child abuse, Torture, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gore, Alcoholism, Murder, Death, Bullying, War, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Addiction

helfire124's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Great book! Couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Alcohol, War, Violence, Alcoholism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, Misogyny, Ableism, Gore, Racism, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual harassment, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

ender24's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

DAMN.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Gaslighting, Genocide, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, War, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia

brizlee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-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

3.0

Finally, a real love triangle. 
While I liked many of this books elements the plot happens quickly with an…. Interesting third act. I’m curious to see where the sequel will go. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Murder and Bullying

miggyfool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Dysphoria, Medical trauma, Slavery, and War

ryemiart's review against another edition

4.0

 "For eighteen years, my unibrow has saved me from being sold into a painful, terrifying death."

When you start the book like this, I know I’m going to like you.

This book was solid 3 stars for me but then!…the last quarter of the story took place and I was hooked and could not put the book down. It was so emotional and action packed. AND THEN THE LAST PAGE HAPPENED! I won’t say more because I might accidentally spoiler it but what I will say: it felt like very rushed trailer for the next book but dang I want to know what happens next.

What makes the story interesting are characters. They are all so different from each other yet the want the same. Vengeance. We get to know them slowly, in their present, and then we get to know them even more and understand their current actions with snippets of their past. And oh boy are these dark and violent.

The story reads as YA [which is good because it is YA] but the main character is so Mary Sue. Badass and sometimes crazy Mary Sue with a sharp tongue.

As for the writing, it felt a bit…clumsy and convoluted at times and I have no idea what some sentences were meant to say but that might be problem on my side too. As a non-native English speaker/reader it was sometimes difficult to understand.

Overall: I liked the story and will pick up the sequel once it is out.

Note: please look up trigger warnings before starting this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence, Child abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

Minor: Body shaming and Rape