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adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
Not really historical fantasy. Think more retelling ancient chinese history via sci fi usage
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, Murder
Minor: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Grief, Medical trauma
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Greatly disappointed but I finished the book which means it wasn't so bad.
It was very well pace and the action was usually very clear.
I was really looking forward to a cool Pacific Rim story about feminism and rage. In the end, the MC over explained every single decisions, leaving nothing to be inferred. The love triangle, though good polyamory represetation, was rushed and pointless. At no point did I think that she was in love with either men. The world is filled with plot holes and doesn't always make sense. The dialogue was childish at times, the main character, inconsistent, and the plot, thought well paced, felt very predictable, up to the plot twist at the end.
The female rage aspect wasn't bad per se, but the main character was so busy being an activist and saving all women that the reason why she craves blood, her dead sister, isn't even named.
I did enjoy the decent into madness and becoming the villain though I wish more could have been done with it. I also enjoyed the culture and history woven into the story, particularly the myths.
It was very well pace and the action was usually very clear.
I was really looking forward to a cool Pacific Rim story about feminism and rage. In the end, the MC over explained every single decisions, leaving nothing to be inferred. The love triangle, though good polyamory represetation, was rushed and pointless. At no point did I think that she was in love with either men. The world is filled with plot holes and doesn't always make sense. The dialogue was childish at times, the main character, inconsistent, and the plot, thought well paced, felt very predictable, up to the plot twist at the end.
The female rage aspect wasn't bad per se, but the main character was so busy being an activist and saving all women that the reason why she craves blood, her dead sister, isn't even named.
I did enjoy the decent into madness and becoming the villain though I wish more could have been done with it. I also enjoyed the culture and history woven into the story, particularly the myths.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder
Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
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
holy fucking shit, i LOVE this book. It is absolutely beautiful, ever sentence is filled with emotion, the way Xiran describes the world of Huaxia (particularly the capital Chang'an) as an almost untouchable and otherworldly place while still maintaining a sense of reality to me as a reader (plus it ties itself to the inspiration of Zetian, the real life Empress Wu who ruled in the Tang Dynasty in a way that links itself to the historical basis, while still allowing the story to grow from the source) Wu Zetian is a brilliant narrator she does things that my mind tells me i should be morally against, but Zetian herself convinces me that it is right (i love getting mind fucked like this by the narrators morality differing from mine) reading all about Zetian and Shimin killing An Lushan was everything i wanted, and i thought that would be the 'height' of Zetian's anger, and her 'cold bloodedness" (being a ya book and all) but then the pay off of her killing Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying in the Black Tortoise, and this passage!!!!!
I lean close to the Tortoise almost touching it with the dragons extended snout and long golden whiskers, my words pour a silver white glaze over its black surface. "please you already killed my real family"
I squish a slaw through the tortoise's head, tearing it clean off its neck. I crush and grind it, streams of blood, so thin they're nearly invisible, trickle down the claw. The thought of Shimin going through the same thing flashes through my head, and i clench even tighter, gritting the dragon's teeth"
oh my god i love it so much!!
I love the build up of the relationships (both romantic and otherwise) as well as the deterioration of some of the relationships, so many books go straight from characters working well together to just saying "they are no longer good" but Iron Widow explore how they deteriorate, and I loved the focus and exploration of chosen family.
The romantic relationships, are handled beautifully, at no point did i think "why??? are THEY in a relationship??" I loved how the book handled polyamory, and how Zetian at no point compromised herself for her relationships, and how Shimin and Yizhi are "gentlemen", in the classical sense, focusing on her comfort and wants over their own desires.
The book wrapped itself up well, I felt satisfied by the ending, and yes it does set up a sequel that I am eagerly awaiting entitled Heavenly Tyrant. some people might think the 'twist' (through i woudlnt call it that) was unexpected or out of the blue "hail mary-y" but i disagree, it was set up well and makes sense
I hope Xiran can come to an agreement with their publisher that does not force them to compromise their morals (a few days ago, as I was mid-read, Xiran announced that in addition to being sketchily excluded from this years Hugo Awards [likely due to their open position against the Uygur genocide] that Heavenly Tyrant is being delayed from its original april 30th 2024 release date to an unknown date in 2025, due to internal conflict with the publisher over the Palestinian genocide.
I love the build up of the relationships (both romantic and otherwise) as well as the deterioration of some of the relationships, so many books go straight from characters working well together to just saying "they are no longer good" but Iron Widow explore how they deteriorate, and I loved the focus and exploration of chosen family.
The romantic relationships, are handled beautifully, at no point did i think "why??? are THEY in a relationship??"
The book wrapped itself up well, I felt satisfied by the ending, and yes it does set up a sequel that I am eagerly awaiting entitled Heavenly Tyrant.
I hope Xiran can come to an agreement with their publisher that does not force them to compromise their morals (a few days ago, as I was mid-read, Xiran announced that in addition to being sketchily excluded from this years Hugo Awards [likely due to their open position against the Uygur genocide] that Heavenly Tyrant is being delayed from its original april 30th 2024 release date to an unknown date in 2025, due to internal conflict with the publisher over the Palestinian genocide.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
I have no words. This book was everything I heard it was and more. Zetian has so much rage and you can really feel it throughout the story. The author doesn't just tell you, they show you and make you feel it, too. The result is a raw, gripping story with unbelievable revelations, a bleak, gritty world for a setting, and a cast of characters that will make you feel so many things. I can't wait to read Heavenly Tyrant this spring. I just have to know what's going to happen next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture
Minor: Rape
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book was good but the main character upset me in a lot of her choices, I recognized she was tied but I wanted to see her put more on the line and take more and honestly be more evil. It got better in the end, I really liked the twist, but at the same time it took all of the sting out of the book, as if her actions didn’t really have consequences. I didn’t really feel sadness or attachments to any of the characters and really wished the Iron Widow didn’t feel as if she was made out to be the one truly strong girl, I wanted to see more scary powerful women if only in little actions behind the scenes. And all the love felt rushed and awkward and the lack of chemistry I felt was excused by this idea of accepting her sexuality, it’s a nice concept but felt really weirdly executed and off in this romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War
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
This book. Wow. There are things about this book that will make you uncomfortable and our MC, Wu Zetian, is not going to take it anymore. She makes tough choices, she refuses to make herself smaller, and she doesn't play nice for the sake of keeping the peace. She is here to tear the system down from within, and you can't help but cheer her every painful step of the way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Torture
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Worldbuilding was cool, but I didn’t really care much for the characters. They weren’t bad, I just found I didn’t care enough about them to keep reading. The main narrator is very blunt with how she descibes what’s happening and it throws me off sometimes. Though I suppose that’s part of her character, so I can’t fault her there.
There was something introduced the last few pages that was a coolplot twist but I don’t care about the story or characters enough to continue the series.
There was something introduced the last few pages that was a cool
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, War
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault