Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

38 reviews

marissasa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

Wu Zetian is the most iconic female protagonist I have ever read in a book and I adored every page of her rise to power and descent to madness. She is rage-filled and outspoken, determined and unrelenting. I never stopped rooting for her to overcome her challenges, which were all imposed on her by the patriarchal government and misogynistic society. Xiran's writing is casual but powerful and it made Zetian's characterization even more distinct as we viewed the world through her eyes. On top of all this we got not one but two bisexual love interests who end up in a polyam relationship with her, each of them supporting each other and destroying everything and anything that threatens to bring harm to one of them? Yeah, iconic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, War, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

theprocrastinatingbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Physical abuse, Torture, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, War, Addiction, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Rape

Minor: Sexual assault

12dejamoo's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

There was so much about this book that I loved and also quite a bit that I felt pretty ambivalent about. I don't read a lot of fantasy, so this is definitely different for me, but I did enjoy it a lot. I liked the concepts and the feminism. The fact that the main character's feet are bound create this very interesting character in terms of a fantasy - normally these heroines are running all about and Zeitan cannot run. I think that's super interesting and a new aspect to explore. The end was grand and exciting but it also took a darker turn. I'll defo be interested in reading the next one, just because I don't really know how it's going to all go down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexism, Misogyny, Torture, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: War, Death, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Colonisation, Body horror, Sexual harassment, and Rape

flare_ice8's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective 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: Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Sexism, Torture, Trafficking, and War

Moderate: Body shaming, Body horror, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual content

atisha27's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Death, Murder, and Misogyny

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, and Cursing

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

a_tiny_crow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War

Minor: Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

If you liked Nausicca of the Wind, A Handmaid's Tale, The Giver, Gundam Wing, or Neon Genesis Evangelion, or just love awesome new voices in science fiction, read this book!

keenanmaree's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Murder, and Police brutality

lunaruprising's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Torture