Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

41 reviews

bold_badger's review against another edition

adventurous 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

Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism and Vomit

Minor: Gaslighting

msradiosilence's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Racism, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Alcohol, Confinement, Blood, Violence, Alcoholism, Classism, Colonisation, Gore, War, Misogyny, Cursing, Torture, Vomit, Body horror, Child abuse, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

green_amaryllis's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Rape and Murder

Minor: Vomit

tea_kettle's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

fromthefoxhole's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

5.0

oh my god, my brain is the meltiest it's been in a long time!! 

In Huaxia, women hope for one of two fates - marriage or to be a concubine-pilot for one of the male Chrysalis (think Pacific Rim style mech suit) pilots. After losing her Big Sister to the hands of one such pilot, Zetian has concocted a plan to avenge her sister's death by infiltrating the pilot system and killing the man responsible. Generally, women are expected to die from the mental strain of the co-piloting, but Zetian refuses to give up quite easily. Instead, she winds up utilizing their co-pilot neural link to murder him, becoming the Iron Widow. 
Rather than freeing her, this feat results in her being paired with Shimin, the strongest Chrysalis pilot in Huaxia - who also murdered his father and brothers. As they begrudgingly work together, they uncover each other's past and develop a partnership. Alongside their friendship, though, they find more corruption than Zetian could have ever imagined. 

I won't lie, the first chapter really didn't grab me. I didn't understand a lot of the world-specific language, but oh my god, it's so worth it to work past that. Iron Widow is a masterclass in continuous world building, slowly unfurling the history of Huaxia and Zetian like the first blossoms of spring. I've had other 5 star reads this month, and reading this makes me want to retroactively downgrade them, or petition Amazon for a higher option. 
Zetian is DELIGHTFUL, so full of righteous fury and grief, and she's stunningly clever. She's brash and unrefined, and I'm obsessed with her. Her desperation to fix the misogyny and mistreatment of young girls in her society is so admirable. Honestly, even though she's ending the book kind of unhinged, I would probably trust her anyway. 
The romance element is refreshing, avoiding the traditional YA love triangle in favor of a thoughtful portrayal of polyamory. 
The writing is captivating, straddling the line between Chinese history and its futuristic setting. Zhao is incredibly effective at touching all of the reader's senses, so I really felt like I could see the entire book come to life around me. 

TL; DR - YES, it really is that good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Cursing

Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Vomit

shelvesofivy's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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: Alcoholism, Death, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Torture, War, Alcohol, Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Vomit

Minor: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Rape

merlionne's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Had a great time reading this. I mean "inspiring" in an angry way, because Zetian's anger is quite cathartic. She's tired of being a girl in a world that treats her like shit and sometimes a ruthless revenge fantasy is exactly what you need. But don't worry, she's not always right about everything. 
I loved the mythological aspects of the world, even though I don't know a lot about the actual people and their stories they're referencing. The only thing that bothered me a bit is that all the secrets that get unveiled are kind of ....eh?  It's not a bad thing, maybe from a modern perspective they're a lot less shocking or it's a lot easier for me to expect something like that to be the case, but ultimately it works within the story and I'll read the next book because I want to see how Zetian blows up some more bastards.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Violence, Sexism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, and War

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Confinement, Death, Bullying, Colonisation, Classism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Body shaming

Minor: Body shaming, Sexual assault, Excrement, Rape, Infidelity, Biphobia, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Vomit, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Sexual violence

Even though it gets talked about etc, there are no detailed descriptions of sexual assault or other sexual violence. The book also includes a list of the biggest trigger warnings in the beginning, a lot of what I added here is in there somehow but for the most cases not overly detailed, extensive or dwelled upon.

ali_k0's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and War

Moderate: Cursing, Racism, Vomit, Colonisation, and Body shaming

prettiestwhistles's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, War, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Murder, and Confinement

Moderate: Mental illness, Gun violence, Blood, Classism, Ableism, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Death of parent, Racism, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Rape, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Domestic abuse

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

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

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