Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Iron Widow

I don't even know where to begin. This book had me on the edge of my seat from early chapters. I loved the way the characters developed and subverted a lot of the stereotypes I've seen in so many books. It had a TRUE love triangle and the way I SCREAMED and got so excited reading that and how beautiful and non-toxic it was. I couldn't put it down unless I absolutely had to. I am now sleep deprived and in need of a long nap!
10/10 would recommend because Holly shit!

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lemonwrlds's review against another edition

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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

5.0

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ionarachel's review against another edition

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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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thisonecassie's review against another edition

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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

5.0

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.

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xx_salem's review against another edition

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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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