Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

400 reviews

scripturient's review

dark reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

That was one hell of a ride. It is unapologetic female rage, which I really enjoyed, it is inspired by Imperial China's only female Emperor, which is also super cool, and

it has a love triangle that resolves into a throuple which was AWESOME

. I don't ever want to read that in any other way.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed, almost as if there was no real resolution at hand, so we had to go for more broad angry violence, which felt a bit empty. But overall a great read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

hannahblue1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and War

jacmuffler's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, and War

Minor: Xenophobia and Colonisation

that_brish's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Colonisation

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

enbyaddams's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

shadow_cat94's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow! I loved this book and immediately reserved my spot for Heavenly Tyrant at my library!

Wu Zetian is an angry and vengeful girl who is set out of fighting against her misogynistic society. Li Shimin is a sweet boy with a dark past who is just doing his best to survive in a world that doesn't want him to. Yihzi is a gentle boy with a restrictive father in a world of high expectations and different dreams.

Placing these three characters together in the way that they were made me so giddy, I just wanted to scream. There were so many twists including a major one in the epilogue!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Sexual violence, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

The military actively points loaded guns at the heads of the characters while threatening to shoot them for a good chunk of the book. If that is triggering for you, I can not recommend this book.

rizky's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.25

 Re-read before reading Heavenly Tyrant

I had forgotten SO MUCH, especially the final act, so this was another wild ride.

Not a lengthy review, but just the crux of my thoughts/feelings: this book has flaws - it is a debut, and noticably so. My main concern is a lack of subtely (Zhao spells the political implications out quite explicitly) and slightly convoluted worlbuilding. At same time, the story and characters are absolutely worth it (at least to me) (all the feelings I felt, damn).
I definitely recommend Iron Widow to anyone who enjoys female rage, morally dubious characters, and poly romance.

Excited to start reading Heavenly Tyrant! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence and Trafficking

grace_b_3's review

adventurous 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? No

4.0

Upon reread, I can see more of the flaws, but it’s still an enjoyable ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

aurora4847's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

Reread in audiobook form to prepare myself for reading the sequel Heavenly Tyrant. Iron Widow is just as incredible as I remember it being! I'm not a huge Scifi fan, but this blends futuristic tech and mecha battles so seamlessly with myth and magic that it's easy to forget. Zetian is the my favorite character ever for bloodthirsty female rage, and it doesn't hurt that Shimin and Yizhi are my favorite supportive male leads. The character arcs are brilliant, the stakes are just high enough, and the action sequences are so tense and fun. This book doesn't pull punches, so read with caution of course. But the ending is so satisfying and leaves you desperate for the continuation into Heavenly Tyrant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Rape, Sexual content, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

This book has very heavy topics and scenes, including misogyny, foot binding, death, war, colonisation, murder, torture, death of family members, sexual assault, ableism, racism, exploitation, and war. It is all handled well, and is worth it.

ceruleanseas's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt