Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

933 reviews

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

This feminist retelling of the rise of Wu Zetian was everything. It makes you really think about misogyny, gender-based violence, and binary gender roles in such an interesting and action-packed way.

You’ll find yourself furious throughout the book with how many times women’s pain, suffering and lives are seen as necessary sacrifice zones for the “good” of society. I especially loved Wu Zeitan’s badasss spirit, thirst for justice & the poly romance 🔥

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

bexs848's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Death and Sexual violence

orchidforever's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

I loved this book till the epilogue. I think I ranted for a bit at my husband. But I also know it’s set up for the next book but man. I’m mad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Genocide and Sexual violence

It’s a war book. No explicit sexual acts in writing.

sadie_hawkins's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.75

if the writing wouldn't be so elite, this would be a 4 star read. 

my problem with this book started at the first chapter. unnecessarily long, drages, terrible first introduction. i ended up skipping lines.

after the second chapter... it only got better and better. i find the dark elements, scary enough to keep you tense but not grotesque. 

main character was interesting, i enjoyed being inside her mind and author succeded to gave her messages without making me feel like i was reading *inspiring pinterest quotes*. 

the only weak writing was the deliverance of li shimin's backstory. but i forgive that.

slowburn was very tastefully done. characters relationships to each other felt very realistic even though this book is single pov. 

my only other problem is.... the ending. in this point, problem can be me because i am not used to reading sci-fi. So the long war scene at the end... i think i ended up skipping a brunch. 

the real ending was *fine* but i really don't like ambiguous endings. the ending was probably predictable but still, deliverance was good so it didn't felt forced.

i will %100 re-read, since i finished it in less than 24 hours since it was too captivating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

kittara's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

rubyskies's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• 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

Wow. All I can say is I support women’s rights but also women’s wrongs. Excellent read, I devoured this. Lot to think about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Sexual content

astropova's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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

This was an incredible book! So gripping, the pacing was on point. The centering of female rage really resonated with me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, and Torture

Minor: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

kendal_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, and Classism

Minor: Rape

cnaccarato's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hln's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

This was definitely an interesting one. 

• I liked the relationship, I feel like it was well portrayed.
• I don’t think this should be classified as YA, I think it’s too violent for that.
• The setting was interesting, I liked how it was inspired by Chinese history.
• The fantasy part was cool, but it was not explained how exactly it worked, how it came to be that humans started fighting in robots etc. Also, it was not well explained what exactly the “hunduns” were.
• It was definitely a bold choice to make the main character achieve her goals with violence. While it is refreshing to have a badass female protagonist that is cruel and who does everything to get what she wants, I don’t think it was the right choice for a YA book.
• The end, which was supposed to be the epic finale, was kind of boring to me. Everything happened very quickly, it felt of unnatural. And it was just very confusing, which is why I did not really feel for the characters.
• The ending was interesting though, and made me want to read the second part.

All in all, this was an interesting read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual harassment