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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reread: 12/29/24
ugh YES I reread this in preparation for heavenly tyrant and it was just as delightful as the first time. I am so so excited for the next installment!!
original review: holy SHIT !!!!! WHAT!!!! First of all, I’m devastated that their publisher is pulling some fuckery around the release date for the second book, because I need that expeditiously!!!!! But holy cow this was incredible. The world sucked me in, I fell in love with the characters, and even when plot points unfolded in a way I expected I absolutely ate it all up. I am so glad I stayed up a little late to finish this lmao it was 100% worth it
ugh YES I reread this in preparation for heavenly tyrant and it was just as delightful as the first time. I am so so excited for the next installment!!
original review: holy SHIT !!!!! WHAT!!!! First of all, I’m devastated that their publisher is pulling some fuckery around the release date for the second book, because I need that expeditiously!!!!! But holy cow this was incredible. The world sucked me in, I fell in love with the characters, and even when plot points unfolded in a way I expected I absolutely ate it all up. I am so glad I stayed up a little late to finish this lmao it was 100% worth it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racism, Rape
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐Misogynt samhälle blir varse kraften hos en arg kvinna som inte har något att förlora⭐
Wu Zetian är ung kvinna i ett samhälle där kvinnor existerar på männens villkor. (Inte helt olikt stora delar av vårt, mao). Men när det visar sig att hon har osedvanligt högt "spirit pressure" förändras hennes liv. Det gör att hon kan tas ut som den kvinnliga piloten som tillsammans med en (överordnad) manlig partner i en yin-yang-duo styr de enorma Chrysalis-mechar som är det som står mellan civilisationen och en invaderande alienras.
Sällan har jag läst en bok som förmedlat en känsla så tydligt. Och den känslan är RASERI. Det ohämmade raseriet hos någon som blivit sviken av alla hon borde ha kunnat lita på, men som inte har blivit kuvad i processen. Och som till slut får medel att själv ta makten över sig själv och sin omgivning. Omgivningens reaktion blir såklart stark. Det blir den ju, när en kvinna börjar uppföra sig enligt de regler som gäller för män. Och som vägrar foga sig ide oskrivna men stenhårda lagar om bl.a. moral och plikt som både i boken och verkligheten existerar för
att hålla kvinnor på "sin plats".
Sällan har jag heller läst en modern, skönlitterär bok som innehåller så många citat som jag bara vill skrika från hustaken.
"I swear, people cannot make up their minds about who are supposed to be the clueless infants who can't live without supervision: men or women"
Eller den riktiga kängan som kommer på bild 2. Fram med brännskadeförbandet till halva mänskligheten, bara!
Sällan har jag slutligen sett en bok där omslagsbilden känns så fantastiskt i samklang med innehållet (och detta från någon som är kass på att lägga märke till sånt).
Det här är en fantastisk bok. Den är inte riktigt en fullpoängare - men bra nära. Där är några YA-schabloner jag inte är förtjust i, även om de utförs på bästa tänkbara sätt, och en liten klumpighet mot slutet som hade kunnat utföras bättre. Men det övergripande intrycket är ändå "Whoa! LÄS DENNA!!🔥"
Wu Zetian är ung kvinna i ett samhälle där kvinnor existerar på männens villkor. (Inte helt olikt stora delar av vårt, mao). Men när det visar sig att hon har osedvanligt högt "spirit pressure" förändras hennes liv. Det gör att hon kan tas ut som den kvinnliga piloten som tillsammans med en (överordnad) manlig partner i en yin-yang-duo styr de enorma Chrysalis-mechar som är det som står mellan civilisationen och en invaderande alienras.
Sällan har jag läst en bok som förmedlat en känsla så tydligt. Och den känslan är RASERI. Det ohämmade raseriet hos någon som blivit sviken av alla hon borde ha kunnat lita på, men som inte har blivit kuvad i processen. Och som till slut får medel att själv ta makten över sig själv och sin omgivning. Omgivningens reaktion blir såklart stark. Det blir den ju, när en kvinna börjar uppföra sig enligt de regler som gäller för män. Och som vägrar foga sig ide oskrivna men stenhårda lagar om bl.a. moral och plikt som både i boken och verkligheten existerar för
att hålla kvinnor på "sin plats".
Sällan har jag heller läst en modern, skönlitterär bok som innehåller så många citat som jag bara vill skrika från hustaken.
"I swear, people cannot make up their minds about who are supposed to be the clueless infants who can't live without supervision: men or women"
Eller den riktiga kängan som kommer på bild 2. Fram med brännskadeförbandet till halva mänskligheten, bara!
Sällan har jag slutligen sett en bok där omslagsbilden känns så fantastiskt i samklang med innehållet (och detta från någon som är kass på att lägga märke till sånt).
Det här är en fantastisk bok. Den är inte riktigt en fullpoängare - men bra nära. Där är några YA-schabloner jag inte är förtjust i, även om de utförs på bästa tänkbara sätt, och en liten klumpighet mot slutet som hade kunnat utföras bättre. Men det övergripande intrycket är ändå "Whoa! LÄS DENNA!!🔥"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Torture, Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
This book is a wild, crazy ride.
Personally, I LOVED it, and was hooked from the start.
It explores so many amazing themes of sexism, family, love, guilt, war and grief, and its all done so beautifully. I really enjoyed the anger that Zetian has towards men, and her platonic adoration for women and their strength.
I LOVE her quote:
"He does not get to make me a statistic."
As I survivor of sexual assault, that really hit home with me. When I read for the first time I stopped, put down the book and immediately wrote it out and put it up on my wall. It's just so powerful.
It is a very dark book, and if you are someone with poor mental health or easily triggered by anything you see in the content warnings below, I possibly wouldn't recommend this to you.
I love how this book speaks about the stereotype that being strong means to hide emotions, be distrustful and not love, especially for women. Women who publicly show fear, love, sadness or really any strong emotion are labelled as 'weak', when really they are the strong ones, for having the courage to show that much openness publicly.
This book is definitely a must-read, and I'm really looking forward to the sequel.
The characters are loveable, the premise is exciting and interesting and the plot is so full of twists and turns that you are always on the edge of your seat.
It's a really wonderful mashup of science fiction, dystopian future, Chinese mythology and action.
Please read this
Personally, I LOVED it, and was hooked from the start.
It explores so many amazing themes of sexism, family, love, guilt, war and grief, and its all done so beautifully. I really enjoyed the anger that Zetian has towards men, and her platonic adoration for women and their strength.
I LOVE her quote:
"He does not get to make me a statistic."
As I survivor of sexual assault, that really hit home with me. When I read for the first time I stopped, put down the book and immediately wrote it out and put it up on my wall. It's just so powerful.
It is a very dark book, and if you are someone with poor mental health or easily triggered by anything you see in the content warnings below, I possibly wouldn't recommend this to you.
I love how this book speaks about the stereotype that being strong means to hide emotions, be distrustful and not love, especially for women. Women who publicly show fear, love, sadness or really any strong emotion are labelled as 'weak', when really they are the strong ones, for having the courage to show that much openness publicly.
This book is definitely a must-read, and I'm really looking forward to the sequel.
The characters are loveable, the premise is exciting and interesting and the plot is so full of twists and turns that you are always on the edge of your seat.
It's a really wonderful mashup of science fiction, dystopian future, Chinese mythology and action.
Please read this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, War, Classism
adventurous
dark
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
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-April 2024
📖
This was an excellent re-read. I loved it. This is one of the books that got me excited about reading in 2022.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-April 2022
📖
I loved this book.
📖
This was an excellent re-read. I loved it. This is one of the books that got me excited about reading in 2022.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-April 2022
📖
I loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture
Minor: Rape, Sexism, Murder
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This played out like an anime in my head—I can definitely see the credit sequence every single time there’s a giant robot battle.
I’m entirely confused about the themes suddenly interjected into the book in quite literally the very last chapter.
Zeitian is definitely a badass, but her choices don’t really make a lot of sense and aren’t really explained. She has emotional realizations and then—when asked to essentially follow up on those realizations—regresses in her character development. Some of the arguments for not being shamed with one’s own body or sexuality don’t really hold up either since she is still bending to the wills of men in order to potentially (I say potentially becausethere are certain moments that absolutely would not have ended at whatever she thought they would. See: the video Yizhi's dad forces her to take of her reading her contract naked. She says "what's he going to have? A video of me naked? I'm done being shamed about my body" and the only thing I can think of is "girl what the hell you really think this guy is going to stop at only having a video after he's already made you do that?!?!" A lot of the arguments for lack of shame feel like they're based on her actually taking men at what they say, which felt like red flag after red flag ) get a step closer to her goals. I understand it, for sure, but it’s never interrogated too deeply and it feels as though there’s a big portion of this book that requires that deeper interrogation. Why are we portraying things this particular way? Why are we achieving self-actualization through having sex with specific men? What does this particular angle of bending to others' whims to achieve self goals add to the narrative and themes? Could it have been stronger if she denied these male “desires?”
I’m not sure, but the breakneck pace of the plot didn’t leave much room for characters to sit with these questions, and much less time for the audience to. I'm not saying the vengeful post-feminism has to hinge on completely shutting down any sort of desire for the masculine, but this tension is really not interrogated to the level at which the nuance would actually jump out of the page.
Gripping plot and definitely a page turner—I got through it in under a day. Feels like it lost its footing in the last couple chapters, though, as if a sequel setup was all the rest of the story was.
I’m entirely confused about the themes suddenly interjected into the book in quite literally the very last chapter.
Zeitian is definitely a badass, but her choices don’t really make a lot of sense and aren’t really explained. She has emotional realizations and then—when asked to essentially follow up on those realizations—regresses in her character development. Some of the arguments for not being shamed with one’s own body or sexuality don’t really hold up either since she is still bending to the wills of men in order to potentially (I say potentially because
I’m not sure, but the breakneck pace of the plot didn’t leave much room for characters to sit with these questions, and much less time for the audience to. I'm not saying the vengeful post-feminism has to hinge on completely shutting down any sort of desire for the masculine, but this tension is really not interrogated to the level at which the nuance would actually jump out of the page.
Gripping plot and definitely a page turner—I got through it in under a day. Feels like it lost its footing in the last couple chapters, though, as if a sequel setup was all the rest of the story was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Torture
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5
CAWPILE = 9.07
CAWPILE = 9.07
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Murder, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Last third or so was a bit of a let down but more than worth it for the central concepts around bodily autonomy, feminism and the nature of traumatic memory under oppressive government. I was surprised this is categorizes as YA - it felt very elaborate, nuanced and mature... Until the last 70 pages or so when the character development and jerky plot just became a bit ridiculous?
Still well worth a read.
Still well worth a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Gaslighting
adventurous
dark
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Alcohol, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Murder, Injury/Injury detail