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thisonecassie'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
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"
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.
Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Death, and Trafficking
kukazashi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Murder, War, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Physical abuse, Addiction, Death, and Alcoholism
Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
richy_qu33r_readzz'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
4.25
Graphic: Trafficking, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, War, Murder, and Body shaming
Moderate: Sexual violence
xx_salem's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, War, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gaslighting, Sexism, Alcohol, Classism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Addiction, Ableism, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Death of parent
mari1532'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Confinement, Grief, Gaslighting, War, Death, Addiction, Blood, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol, and Forced institutionalization
nhollie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Body horror, Sexism, and War
micah_mac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Torture, Misogyny, and Child abuse
Moderate: Xenophobia, Death, Suicidal thoughts, War, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Confinement
julbel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The quick pace of the book does leave me wishing for more moments of quiet, which are few and brief, to get a sense of the characters outside of turmoil. Zetian, Shimin and Yizhi are compelling characters, with much potential for further development of depth (and hopefully *some* down time to figure out who they are when they aren't trying to overthrow the government).
Looking forward to the continuation of this story in the next book!
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, War, Alcoholism, Torture, Child death, Classism, Death, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
clouded_chaos's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: War
amandadevoursbooks'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The only reason it wasn't a 5 star is the end felt rushed to me, but it's great!
Graphic: Xenophobia, Confinement, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Chronic illness, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and War