Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

251 reviews

ionarachel's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Alcohol, Violence, Addiction, Medical content, Body shaming, Torture, Sexual violence, Rape, Misogyny, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexism, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Blood

xx_salem's review against another edition

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

3.0

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.

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Content Warnings

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

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

I had first heard about the author when I stumbled upon them scrolling Instagram one day. I was immediately in love with their content and put the audiobook on hold at my library. Due to the book’s popularity, I spent several months waiting. 

It was not only the author’s online content that intrigued me about their book. The descriptions I had read online described it as a science fiction book with loose references to China’s first Empress, Wu Zetian. 

After finally reading it I can safely say, that I adored this book. It is full of political intrigue, messy relationships, and glimmers of historical references. The way that Jay Zhao writes is enthralling and by providing the reader with guide posts about the characters’ motivations/feelings and leads you along with the growth and development of the character without explicitly telling you what is going on. For instance, when Zetian has a confrontation with another female pilot in the bath, I was able to feel the character’s confusion, rage, and compassion in the scene and through the dialogue I was able to understand why various characters reacted the way that they did. Each of their characters is deliciously complex and Jay Zhao’s writing is exceptional.

I liked that there was a polyamorous relationship rather than a love triangle. It was a completely natural development and it was great that there was no focus on the development in the book. The relationships simply evolved and that was just the way it was. 

There were several plot twists throughout the book that I did find unexpected and it made me want to keep reading. Jay Zhao’s plotting of this book was just exceptional and I am so excited for the next installment of the series. 

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Content Warnings

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

jenny_d's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Addiction, Misogyny, Confinement, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Death

amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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

Fun mix of fantasy and tech. Angry new adults wielding fury like a weapon in all its shapes. I DNFED (did not finish) this one back when it came out. GLAD I CAME BACK.

The only reason it wasn't a 5 star is the end felt rushed to me, but it's great!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Confinement, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Chronic illness, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and War

sarahasperger's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, War, Death, Grief, and Misogyny

Moderate: Confinement and Torture

angelfireeast24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

 A disabled queer feminist hero who took no shit and served endless power despite deep discrimination and injustice told within a sci-fi world of robots vs aliens. 5 stars Highly recommend reading 

It is an epic story of a world shaped by discrimination and sexism. A woman dares to change the world by refusing the horrible role society has assigned her. The world seems like one thing and quickly stands out as something altogether different. Nothing is as it appears. I was rooted in the story of Wu Zetian even as I sometimes had to look away and take a break from all the angst. Wu Zetian never stops fighting patriarchy and injustice. As the story develops, so do Wu Zetian's views on feminism and the characters around her. It goes hand in hand as her worldview changes throughout the book. I was supposed to be shocked and perhaps conflicted about a few things that happened by finding I was 100% behind our heroes. Near the end, twist after twist leaves me desperate for more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Grief, Gaslighting, War, Xenophobia, Ableism, Body shaming, Sexism, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Violence, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Child abuse, and Body horror

pj99's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

Bloody spectacular, like inspecting an artwork the size of a soccer field with a magnifying glass!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, War, Classism, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, and Confinement

Minor: Death, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

To quote Anya Taylor-Joy, “I have this thing about feminine rage”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Torture, Gun violence, Death, Alcohol, Misogyny, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism

Moderate: Grief, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Body shaming

julessssss's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.25

honestly sad about this one, especially as I pre-ordered it back when it came out. I read most of it pretty quickly, but did not find myself enjoying it all that much and that got worse as I got further into the book.

I think it is fine and will I read the second book? maybe

the fantasy / sci-fi parts were great in my opinion, and I liked how complicated the world building, history, and such seemed to be.

I did not like any of the main characters that much though, and I do not think the relationship between Zetian and Shimin was developed enough for how they were acting, idk. I did not feel any compatibility for them, even when they were supposedly in a relationship. The polyam part though, I want to see more books with relationship dynamics like that.

also the "feminism" was overwhelming and a lot of what I have seen in other books before. I did not see much new or innovative in that respect and it got annoying very quickly.

I don't think it was badly written though and the plot seemed at least well thought-through.

idk overall it was fine, but not my favorite

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Murder, Death, Misogyny, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape

Minor: Domestic abuse