Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

156 reviews

house_of_hannah's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

 This was 100% a solid 4 star read until the last few chapters. I just cannot with that ending. It feels like it throws away everything the main characters had been saying and standing for throughout the entire book.

The beginning is brilliant. You will come to hate this world as much as Zetian does. This story revolves aroung rage, revenge, and injustice in a brutal way that makes me very surprised that this is YA. However, since the start is so strong it does feel like it drags in the middle, and becomes a bit repetitive.

I do wish there had been a bit more world building. I feel like I don't understand the politics of this world well enough, or who's running it. (Besides men) I think that may have been done on purpose due to the ending, but I definitely wanted a few more things explained than what we got.

The whole time I was reading this I was getting major Hunger Games vibes. (Movies, I have not read the books) The layers of betrayel upon betrayel upon betrayel got to be too much though. It left me with no one to root for in the end.

One of the major selling points of this book that is pushed a lot is the polyamory. It's there, and there's some good commentary about being able to love multiple people at once, but man, I wish there was a bit more of it !

Overall, prepare for a violent tale about standing up to the patriarchy that turns into a different book by the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape

recycled_personalities's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

It’s genuinely become one of my favourite books and I cannot wait for the sequel. It takes us into a world of torturous misogyny and gives us the one girl who will fuck shit up with no regrets. And, even though it’s not the main focus of the book, the romance in it is quite literally the best I have ever read and I fear that I will never read something as good as it again. If I could give this more stars, I would. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

wizkid_alex's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War

offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.75

Favourite quote:

“Where does jealousy come from, if not an insecurity that I’ll lose you because of him? But that’s not how it works, no matter how many people believe it so. You’re not something to be kept or taken, and love isn’t some scarce resource to battle over. Love can be infinite, as much as your heart is open.” - p. 275 (ch. 32)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Death of parent, and Classism

serena_hien's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Death, Sexual violence, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent

annir's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

mattiedancer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad fast-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

4.25

Writing: 3.75⭐️/5 

The writing felt a bit rushed, forced, and unpolished at certain times. At other times, it shone brightly and fiercely. I would love to give it a bit of a higher grade because of how phenomenal I expect their next novels to be, but I saw more potential in the writing than execution. Still solidly written and easy to digest, but there was a lot of exposition when I wanted in-the-moment narration. Oh, also I loved the sheer rage of the writing. I want more in the next novel. 

Characters: 4.75⭐️/5

Wu Zetian, Li Shimin, and Gao Yizhi absolutely light my soul. Zetian’s absolute force-of-nature passion for her goals is addicting to read about. She felt vibrant and alive at all times – though maybe a bit misplaced in her society. I would have loved a bit of development into how she became such a literal force of nature, but part of me is okay to accept it as a part of her high Qi levels. I loved the development of the women around Zetian and how unexpected (yet, in many ways, completely expected) some of their characters developed. And every character that was flat and one-dimensional felt absolutely real and stubborn in their identity. Characters were given the opportunity to change and, when they didn’t, found themselves facing the consequences of their one-sided nature

Plot: 4.5⭐️/5 

I’m gonna start with the bad because there’s so much to like. Zhao does a lot of the Only-The-Author-Can-Save-Us-Now trope. Lots of rules of this world expand as the characters find themselves in life-threatening positions. However, even though certain moments felt more contrived in this fashion, I never really minded that much. Like, I’d have a quick smile to myself and continue reading. The plot is constantly moving forward and, while it relies on common tropes, they feel inverted or quirky enough that I didn’t really care that they were present. The overall twists and turns of the greater plot kept me absolutely glued to the page. And the ending was a work of art.

Post-Reading Rating:  5⭐️/5

Wait, WHAT?? Where’s the next book? I need it, as soon as possible. I’m addicted. 

Who Should Read This? 

• Readers who want an unapologetically angry female protagonist
• Readers who enjoy a morally gray character (or two, or three)
• Readers looking for a polyamorous LGBTQIA+ story
• Readers who love trope inversions
• Fans of fantasy/sci-fi reads (it read like a mix of the two)
• Readers looking for a fast-paced, emotion-filled novel
• Fans of reimagined historical stories
• Someone looking for a vibrant story that’s constantly moving and growing (and maybe likes a plot twist or five)
• Fans who have dreamt of a blend of The Hunger Games and The Handmaid’s Tale 

Final Rating: 4.25⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

marissasa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

Wu Zetian is the most iconic female protagonist I have ever read in a book and I adored every page of her rise to power and descent to madness. She is rage-filled and outspoken, determined and unrelenting. I never stopped rooting for her to overcome her challenges, which were all imposed on her by the patriarchal government and misogynistic society. Xiran's writing is casual but powerful and it made Zetian's characterization even more distinct as we viewed the world through her eyes. On top of all this we got not one but two bisexual love interests who end up in a polyam relationship with her, each of them supporting each other and destroying everything and anything that threatens to bring harm to one of them? Yeah, iconic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ramiel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and War

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Classism

aardwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

Lived up to the hype. And that's a lot of hype. Excellent worldbuilding, tension, and character work, tight pacing, evocative prose throughout, all the while invoking a half dozen genres and histories and inverting them all. And it even remained a YA book proper throughout, which does mean, yes, the plot beats themselves were fairly predictable and the characters sketched for their audience, but a great deal of skill goes into understanding the assignment to that degree.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail