Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

7 reviews

paracosim's review

dark tense fast-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

4.0

This book was good, but exhausting. The misery and hellish lives of the characters in this book were endless to the point of making me a little anxious, and I’m not someone who’s easily affected by dark or triggering stories. I actively seek out books like this. I kept reading because the writing is phenomenal and the plot itself is excellent, but there were times that I debated putting the book down and DNFing. What kept me reading were the characters. I really needed to know what was going to happen next, even as I dreaded it lol. Until the last few pages I had no plans to read the sequel…but geez, now I’m desperate for its release. Overall this is a fantastic book, but be aware of your emotional state when you get into it. It packs a real whopper.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, War, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Hate crime

Minor: Colonisation

squinnittowinit's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.75

A delightful book in every way. Full of drama and emotion, action and intrigue, with powerful characters who will fight tooth and nail to get what they want.

I thought this book did a very good job of immersing the reader in the very real misogyny that Wu Zetian experiences at every turn, but also not wallowing in those feelings. Instead, Zetian fights against the system at every turn and the reader can celebrate with her when she succeeds. Gao Yizhi and Li Shimin are great supporting characters as well, full of their own depth, but without taking away from Zetian's character in any way.

I especially loved how unapologetically bloodthirsty Wu Zetian was, so often the "dangerous woman" main character ends up just being misunderstood, or becomes tamed by love or something, which is just weak character development. Wu Zetian is a dangerous woman, and that never changes.

4.75 stars because some of the most dramatic dialogue moments were just a little too silly for my liking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Murder, Confinement, Violence, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Misogyny, Death, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Classism, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Racism, Rape, War, Gun violence, and Ableism

Minor: Homophobia, Gaslighting, Vomit, Transphobia, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

takarakei's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The concept and world building is the best part of this book. The world is fascinating - the way qi is used, the Chinese culture is thoroughly infused (even though this is very sci-fi futuristic).  Unfortunately I didn't feel like this lived up to my expectations. Our main character Zetian is extremely morally gray and not in like a "I'm rooting for this person" kind of way. I really thought there would be a lot more critique or eschewing of gender roles (I actually thought the MC would be nonbinary or trans). Zetian does almost constantly talk about how women are poorly treated, how there are many contradictions between how women are expected to behave, how generally patriarchal cultures are crap. However, I didn't feel as though Zetian was 'in community' with her fellow women. Instead she actually just blatantly disregards them all. 
Apparently this was openly marketed as a

polycule

book I seem to have missed that marketing, so the romance just gave me whiplash until it finally clicked what was going on.

Because I really enjoyed the world, I will continue the series because I hope that there can be some actual character development in the next book(s).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Alcohol, Confinement, Sexism, and Torture

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Acephobia/Arophobia, Colonisation, and Biphobia

walkie_check's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Murder, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: War, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Body horror, Xenophobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Torture, Sexual content, Racism, Classism, and Child death

Minor: Rape, Ableism, Pedophilia, Chronic illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, and Slavery

shelvesofivy's review

adventurous dark funny 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: Alcoholism, Death, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Torture, War, Alcohol, Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Vomit

Minor: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Rape

jjjreads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Torture, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Body shaming, Misogyny, Racism, Kidnapping, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Mental illness, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Confinement, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Biphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Death of parent, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

Minor: Cursing, Pedophilia, Rape, and Fatphobia

blissofalife's review

adventurous dark 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

4.0

Fantastic original plot and characters, presented with great descriptions for visualization!

 Would be 5 stars if the writing wasn’t juvenile with some of the dialogue, it pulled me out of the setting abruptly.

Can’t wait for the next book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism and Sexism

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Body shaming, Death, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and War

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gore, Cursing, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Rape, Murder, and Sexual assault