Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

186 reviews

jonwood's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I know found the book rather hard to want to read the first 200 pages as the narrator was a very angry and venomous person. I appreciated as the narrator began to learn how complicated the world and politics can be and seems to be less venomous to everyone she meets, however at the end, the last 50-ish pages became a bunch of action with the narrator (while confident in her abilities and free of doubt) decides violence is the only way to solve society's powers by taking over the world. Also, the book doesn't really finish on a conclusion, but more of a tease that doesn't really leave me wanting more.

In general I don't care for reading action scenes, and I found these about giant robots and equally giant aliens somewhat hard to follow (ironic considering my childhood love of Power Rangers, but visuals help).

This book despite being labeled as YA, covers a lot of sensitive topics. The opening introduction/prologue begins with a rather explicit rape allegory. Sexual assault, manipulation, and shame all feature heavy, and an actual rape attempt (not just a metaphor) is very explicitly applied to almost happen at one point. Also, within the first 50 pages, child abuse happens. Due to all of this, this book may be hard for some to read.

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queenpebbles's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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emmacartlidge's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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elgrell's review against another edition

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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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justmys's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

I enjoyed the world the story took place in. The premise and intrigue but I wish there had been more of it.
Everything happens so fast and so easily (???) that it just felt...like watching a movie adaptation of a novel?
I didn't like the main character. I wanted to.

But every time she opened her mouth I cringed at her. She was not the cold genius she I thought she was. She was manipulated and easily played and only accomplished what she did because of the men around her. She never did anything herself.

If there's another book set in the same world I'll read it. It's an easy read and a decent idea for a story. I just hope we get to delve further in and read a novel instead of watching the YA movie version.

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moonchild_cos's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

mel_j's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad fast-paced

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

2.0

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blueberry0531's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.75

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vagabond_bones's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

I couldn’t put it down and read it in less than 24 hours. It is feminist, fierce, raw, choke-full of amazing quotes. Although not reflective per se, it left me deeply in thought about systems of oppression, and the twist ending (which was foreshadowed, yet jaw dropping) only adds to my hunger for more.

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ufollowbooks's review

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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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