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finnsnotfinished's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Body horror, Torture, Addiction, War, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Sexism, and Alcohol
Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, and Sexual violence
ender24's review against another edition
- 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: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Gaslighting, Genocide, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, War, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
kefeshe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Alcoholism, and Murder
Minor: Xenophobia and Sexual assault
yourbookishbff'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Self harm, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, War, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Trafficking, Addiction, Violence, Child death, Misogyny, Torture, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Grief and Xenophobia
sharrikloves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, War, Misogyny, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racism, and Murder
Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
icy_queen's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, Physical abuse, War, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Racism, and Police brutality
Minor: Homophobia, Biphobia, Xenophobia, Fatphobia, and Medical content
There is a a short list of potential triggers at the beginning of the book. Other triggers that cannot be tagged and could be huge SPOILERS:uwubies's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
my biggest cons with the book are that it tries to cram a huge amount of topics in under 400 words: alien fighting sci fi, feminist commentary on the history of & present day china, love triangle turned polyamoury, and like poltical drama - its a Lot and many aspects are not given the attention they really deserved (the polyamourous relationship was a big factor in why i read this and i wish we could have seen more)
also when i got to like the last 10 pages of the novel i was struck with a vague deja vu and then the shame hit me, this was playing out exactly like all of these dark!harry potter fanfictions i read when i was 12 ☹️ it does end on a cliffhanger though! so im hoping the sequal adds more nuance to zetians actions than just a blind rage to murder everyone that crosses her path
ummm this book is not for everyone it will definitely make some people feel Weird since zetian shimin & yizhi are horrible people who do horrible things for like, the entire book but i had fun
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Torture, Violence, War, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Medical trauma, Grief, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood, Colonisation, Xenophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
walkie_check's review against another edition
- 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
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
eloise__'s review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Medical content, Misogyny, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Alcoholism, Confinement, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Blood, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Rape
minzzi's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
I liked the main cast, even thou they weren't the most well developed in the world. I love characters that are evil or assholes and following their journey into rage, cruelty and ruthlessness was so much fun. I hope with all my heart that Zetian goes full tyrant in the next book.
The polyamorous romance was also very intertaning and unique. A bold choice in a world of half baked love triangles. But, just like the characters, the relationship between then also deserved more development.
The discussion on institutionalized sexism was engaging and realistic, but not as in depth as i wanted for a book that has the topic of desmanteling the patriarchy as one of its core messages.
The biggest problem in this book by far was the world building and magic system. The premise was original and compelling, but the lack of action breaks to explain how everything worked stopped me from getting fully emersed In the scenes. The author almost always explains things imeditaly before they happen, stoping battle sequences to tell us how some kind of magical property works, rindering the smooth progress of the story.
Talking about smooth progress, the last 100 or so pages? Wow, amazing, could not put the book down! The first two thirds of the book? The passing is all over the place, it's crazy. There are many moments were we are only told that things happened when we should have seen then happening and some weird time jumps that made it difficult to grasp how much time passed between the begging and the end of the book.
In conclusion, it's a good and fun YA read with some good discussion on institutionalized sexism, but it lacks depth and development of characters and of the world.
Graphic: War, Misogyny, Torture, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcoholism, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent