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sleeping_roses's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Violence, Physical abuse, Addiction, Murder, Misogyny, Alcoholism, War, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Sexism, and Torture
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Biphobia, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
natraf_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Violence, War, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism, Death, War, Physical abuse, Addiction, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Slavery
Foot binding, forced sex workgriminycricket's review
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
loringue's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Torture
kendal_reads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Misogyny, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, and Classism
Minor: Rape
pnorrell's review
- 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
4.25
I cannot wait to read more from Xiran Jay Zhao, and I'm looking forward to the release of the upcoming sequel, Heavenly Tyrant!
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse and Physical abuse
gaynidoking's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, War, Addiction, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, Death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexual assault
Minor: Fatphobia, Racism, Confinement, and Body shaming
cnaccarato's review
- 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
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Colonisation, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Genocide, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Addiction, Ableism, Death, Murder, War, Classism, Confinement, Homophobia, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Rape, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Violence, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Slavery
hln's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
- 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.
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Sexual harassment and Suicidal thoughts
sterlingsnail's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Torture, Domestic abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Sexism, Alcoholism, Murder, Physical abuse, and Racism