Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

68 reviews

miss__manga__'s review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.0

Not a perfect read but a great one. I think some of the repeated ideas (mcs ranting) could have been tightened and condensed to make more room for world building and the poly relationship. I feel like a lot was done off screen in that regard. 

Saw the end coming to a degree, but not the ultimatum. 

Contains some iconic and hilarious lines. Looking forward to the sequel. Li Shimin supremacy!

Do not understand the tattoos of one of the love interests. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

may_alyse's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.75

a murderous, raging, and unflinching female protagonist is all ive ever wanted to read about. i love this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

lolaslalaland's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

3.0

Mech-suits, spiritual energy, alien fights, I mean this was awesome. It reminded me of Pacific Rim, but also of the manga Darling in the Franxx, especially with the whole male and female pilots for the machines and needing to match each other's power levels. 

I really did love the whole concept of the book, but I very quickly got tired of the sexism narrative. After a while, the plot and storyline got swallowed by the main character's constant anger at the fact that she is a girl and girls don't get treated equally. Listen, there is nothing wrong with having a fantasy/sci-fi book criticize sexism and misogyny by placing it as a societal standard in the world building, but I'm a little tired of seeing it. And this book would not let up on it. Because of that I often felt like there wasn't enough character development, world building and general good story-telling. 

But that's not to say there weren't some positives about the book, I already mentioned the really cool premise of giant machines fighting aliens, and the ending was actually a very interesting twist, also I really loved the relationships in the book, the concept of love and how it can't adhere to rules and the more you have it, the better, shouldn't be limited by gender. I didn't have a bad time reading this book, but I probably won't pick up the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Torture

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Slavery, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia

alphabetmafiamember's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

caitlin033's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Rape, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Body shaming and Homophobia

fatherprozac's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

Pretty much scratched every itch for female rage and vengeance I've ever had. I felt the urge to scream my soul out along with Zetian at every turn and was always left satisfied. 

I loved the inclusion of a polyamorous triangle. I've never read a book with one before. Honestly, I also really loved that Zetian crushed her family (literally) in the end. I was so disappointed by the initial "be the bigger person" turn but it was SO perfect how it was really just used as a weapon against her. Sometimes the rotten family really does just have to pay for their behavior and/or passiveness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, and Colonisation

emilysreadingbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia

jjjreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, and Rape

zeppelinnyx's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.5

4.50

I very much enjoyed this book, even the second time through. I’m very much anticipating the sequel. The polyamorous romance almost makes me sad that I can’t get that kind of relationship dynamic in mainstream media. Zetian is such an amazing protagonist. It’s refreshing to see a justifiably unhinged female (non-binary?) lead. The pacing is a bit fast, but then the ending is even more so, which makes it feel rushed. 

Quality of Writing: 9/10
Pacing: 8/10
Plot Development: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Enjoyability: 10/10
Ease of Reading: 10/10
Ending: 7/10

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Kidnapping and Classism

Minor: Homophobia

moonchildjuli's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and War