Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

145 reviews

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

okay i confess that sometimes internet hype makes me want to read a book less (i hate being told what to do & often find “recommendations” repetitive to the point of suspicion. who is paying these booktok girlies?). in this instance, my stubbornness in that regard did me a HUGE disservice bc I could have read this gem WAY sooner. many apologies to the author, i should have trusted the internet on this one :’( im here now, that’s all that matters  

This book has it all:
1. Giant machine fights & magic
2. Pissed off main chars
3. Romance that isn’t overly drawn out (+ that [spoiler] trope i LOVE replacing a love triangle!)
4. Twist that was just the right amount of twisty 

The romance was *chefs kiss* and I LOVE that this is a duology. Authors that know themselves & their story enough to wrap it up nicely without a million sequels make my wallet & my unmotivated depression brain very happy! (no real shade to authors with longer series, they just exhaust me at this stage of life)

Overall this was an incredible read, no notes, I really can’t wait to read the next book! Would recommend to anyone who likes Pacific Rim, word of honor (iygiygi), and just general violent fun with characters who do in fact choose revenge

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Misogyny

Minor: Homophobia and Colonisation

dragonbornsandwaffles's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child death

ali_k0's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Racism, Vomit, and Colonisation

orchidd's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Blood, and Colonisation

seventhfrog's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, and Torture

Moderate: Murder, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Slavery

shector1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault

miss__manga__'s review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.0

Not a perfect read but a great one. I think some of the repeated ideas (mcs ranting) could have been tightened and condensed to make more room for world building and the poly relationship. I feel like a lot was done off screen in that regard. 

Saw the end coming to a degree, but not the ultimatum. 

Contains some iconic and hilarious lines. Looking forward to the sequel. Li Shimin supremacy!

Do not understand the tattoos of one of the love interests. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

fuguefire's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

I really liked this book! I thought the main character was very compelling. Reading the reviews, it is understandable how people could want a little more fleshing-out of her personal character, but personally, I felt like I completely understood her motives and emotions. More importantly, she did what I as the audience needed her to do--

which was kill all those a**holes

. To enjoy this book, you really have to support women's rights AND women's wrongs.
As a poly person myself, I was over the moon to finally get a poly relationship in a fantasy novel! I will say, I wish there was a little bit better communication in the relationship, but I feel like this can be forgiven because this seems to be an action-first book, and the romance aspect is not even really second in line of importance here. 
All-in-all, I am so excited to read the next book in the series. I will be recommending this book to my friends, and can't wait to hear what they think.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Rape, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

alphabetmafiamember's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

This was intense and awesome! I loved seeing historic China reimagined in a sci-fi context with epic mechs. The characters are strong, as are their motives, and the world building is vivid. I also love that everything I wanted or predicted happened, from relationship development to two major twists toward the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism