Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

13 reviews

goosegrimm's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

Really direct and engaging, I very much liked the author's voice. They are very skilled at getting you inside of the heads of the characters. Well worth the read and I am excited to see how they develop. I am impressed that this is their first work of published fiction and yet they've managed to create such an engaging world. Highly recommend for fellow readers of Tasymin Muir's work and people who appreciate a dark story.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Abandonment, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Blood, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Sexual content

Be warned, this book is serious when talking about institutionalized misogyny and all of the ways it can be taken to its extremes. There is ALOT of death in this book. It is treated as seriously as death and violence should be. If you are sensitive to violence, especially gendered violence, please review the content warnings carefully before picking up this book.

leedolee's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

BRUH. THIS BOOK. 

First of all, the premise of this book did not, at all, prepare me for what was truly about to happen. I imagined it as Pacific Rim with a stunning Chinese backdrop and a strong main character with a polyamorous relationship. 

I did not at all imagine the discussion of gender roles, sexualities, relationships, and the full on eff you to the patriarchy. I also was not prepared for the drama, the violence, the dialogue, and the plot twists. 

Needless to say, I enjoyed every second of it. A morally grey character? Villainous intentions? Or just what I needed? 

Honestly, I was tired of reading about strong characters who were scared to enter into the dark side and fearful about how the world would view them. This book's leads completely did not care about that one bit. And I was here for it. 

Read this book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and War

chamaeleontis's review

adventurous dark emotional sad 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? Yes

5.0

This book was honestly amazing. I physically stopped myself from reading it (I put it at the bottom of my backpack and piled stuff on top of it) so I could spread it out over multiple days and enjoy it for longer. It's a medium length book, but an incredibly fast read, with excellent pacing. I am blown away by the book and utterly loved it. I don't want to give away any plot here, because there are a ton of twists and turns that are fun to discover as the come, even if they wouldn't really be spoilers. 

The characters were well-developed, and have a very real sense to them. The plot is engaging and doesn't falter. Bonus points for the gorgeous cover, it did not disappoint.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, War, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Chronic illness, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Xenophobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Genocide, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, and Racism

Minor: Abandonment, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Racial slurs, and Slavery