Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

776 reviews

kaywhiteley's review

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

4.5

Fuck. Literally insane. 

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sadie_hawkins's review

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

4.75

if the writing wouldn't be so elite, this would be a 4 star read. 

my problem with this book started at the first chapter. unnecessarily long, drages, terrible first introduction. i ended up skipping lines.

after the second chapter... it only got better and better. i find the dark elements, scary enough to keep you tense but not grotesque. 

main character was interesting, i enjoyed being inside her mind and author succeded to gave her messages without making me feel like i was reading *inspiring pinterest quotes*. 

the only weak writing was the deliverance of li shimin's backstory. but i forgive that.

slowburn was very tastefully done. characters relationships to each other felt very realistic even though this book is single pov. 

my only other problem is.... the ending. in this point, problem can be me because i am not used to reading sci-fi. So the long war scene at the end... i think i ended up skipping a brunch. 

the real ending was *fine* but i really don't like ambiguous endings. the ending was probably predictable but still, deliverance was good so it didn't felt forced.

i will %100 re-read, since i finished it in less than 24 hours since it was too captivating. 

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kittara's review

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

5.0


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astropova's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring 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 an incredible book! So gripping, the pacing was on point. The centering of female rage really resonated with me.

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kendal_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced
  • 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


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cnaccarato's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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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hln's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

This was definitely an interesting one. 

  • 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.

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chanlo1994's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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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gussurireads'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? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Uma mistura brilhante de cultura e história chinesa com sci-fi mecha, female rage e uma crítica dura ao autoritarismo e patriarcado. Aguardo ansiosamente pela sequela, cujo lançamento estava previsto para este ano e que pode potencialmente ser adiado pela editora, que considera o ativismo de autore Xiran Jay Zhao uma afronta, aparantemente.

Esta edição só peca por uma tradução pobre para o Português de Portugal.

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agoldstarforyou's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-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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