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caramia's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, and Alcoholism
justmys's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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.
Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, War, Abandonment, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, Child abuse, Death, Fatphobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Gore, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
magnan1mouse's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Rape, Police brutality, Death, Confinement, War, and Misogyny
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Murder, Grief, and Slavery
Minor: Child death, Medical trauma, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts
analenegrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It felt like too much telling and not showing, and almost all of the characters felt one-dimensional, including our narrator, whose inner dialogue was at times confusing and was expressing a type of feminism that is incredibly one-dimensional.
The "plot twist" at the end felt obvious to me as I've seen it in many other novels of this type, but I am interested in reading the sequel to see how the author ends the story they've created here.
I appreciated the polyam relationship and am also looking forward to seeing what the author does with their relationship in the second book.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Classism, Confinement, Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Body shaming, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Sexual violence, and Violence
niliii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, and Body horror
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Torture, and Alcohol
Minor: Death, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Medical trauma
blackberryjambaby's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, War, Torture, Death, Gaslighting, Violence, Classism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Child abuse, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Outing, and Grief
ender24's review against another edition
- 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
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
uwubies's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
my biggest cons with the book are that it tries to cram a huge amount of topics in under 400 words: alien fighting sci fi, feminist commentary on the history of & present day china, love triangle turned polyamoury, and like poltical drama - its a Lot and many aspects are not given the attention they really deserved (the polyamourous relationship was a big factor in why i read this and i wish we could have seen more)
also when i got to like the last 10 pages of the novel i was struck with a vague deja vu and then the shame hit me, this was playing out exactly like all of these dark!harry potter fanfictions i read when i was 12 ☹️ it does end on a cliffhanger though! so im hoping the sequal adds more nuance to zetians actions than just a blind rage to murder everyone that crosses her path
ummm this book is not for everyone it will definitely make some people feel Weird since zetian shimin & yizhi are horrible people who do horrible things for like, the entire book but i had fun
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Torture, Violence, War, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Medical trauma, Grief, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood, Colonisation, Xenophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
devirtualized's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Torture, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual content
fromthefoxhole's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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