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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
This was such a fun read; I was captivated by page one. The plot, characters, and imagery were fantastic. I genuinely struggled to put this down, and now I can certainly see why this book has so much hype around it. It's truly well deserved.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment, Classism
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Biphobia
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
WoW. Okay. Je m’attendais pas à ça. C’est si génial. J’ai hâte de lire la suite. Et la révélation sur les Hunduns? Je savais que quelque chose clochais mais pas ça du type d’ancienne veuve de fer ou des femmes enfermées dans des chrysalides mais WoW . Et cette fin?????
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Rape
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In a world where girls are selected as concubine-pilots to power up giant mechas — and often die in the process — Zetian is determined to murder the male pilot who killed her sister. But when she proves to be an exceptionally powerful pilot herself, she must use her new position to investigate why the pilot system destroys so many girls … before her many enemies catch up to her.
People have been telling me I’ll love this book for a while, and in practice, they were totally right! I loved the rollercoaster of a plot (the short chapters helped). I wished a few parts, like the training sequences, were a little more fleshed out, but overall I thought the structure was great.
Zetian is an unhinged powerhouse of a protagonist whose motivations are always spot-on, even if they lead to her doing terrible things. I loved how the romance between her, Shimin, and Yizhi bloomed. They brought out the best in each other, both in battle and in general!
Amid all the flashy robot battles, it’s no secret that this book is about sexism. It delves into what it means to participate in an oppressive system, how much agency people really have to change things, and who should really shoulder the blame. I especially loved how the book explored how women often contribute to misogynistic systems without blaming those women for their own oppression.
The ending of the book — especially the epilogue — absolutely shook me to my core and left me dying for the sequel. Good thing it’s coming this year!
CWs: Violence, blood, abuse, murder, suicide ideation, alcohol addiction, torture, racism, misogyny, and reference to sexual assault.
People have been telling me I’ll love this book for a while, and in practice, they were totally right! I loved the rollercoaster of a plot (the short chapters helped). I wished a few parts, like the training sequences, were a little more fleshed out, but overall I thought the structure was great.
Zetian is an unhinged powerhouse of a protagonist whose motivations are always spot-on, even if they lead to her doing terrible things. I loved how the romance between her, Shimin, and Yizhi bloomed. They brought out the best in each other, both in battle and in general!
Amid all the flashy robot battles, it’s no secret that this book is about sexism. It delves into what it means to participate in an oppressive system, how much agency people really have to change things, and who should really shoulder the blame. I especially loved how the book explored how women often contribute to misogynistic systems without blaming those women for their own oppression.
The ending of the book — especially the epilogue — absolutely shook me to my core and left me dying for the sequel. Good thing it’s coming this year!
CWs: Violence, blood, abuse, murder, suicide ideation, alcohol addiction, torture, racism, misogyny, and reference to sexual assault.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual assault
dark
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, War
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Murder, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Xenophobia, Murder, Alcohol, War, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well, I've finally read Iron Widow and I have very mixed feelings. When I first started reading this, I was sure it was going to be my next 5-star read because it gave me all the tingly and excited feelings I tend to get when I'm reading something I'll love. But the further I read, the more disappointed I became because this had so much potential and IMHO, it failed to deliver. While I'm glad that I've finally read it (and with one of my book besties too!), I'm pretty sad that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I do get why people love this though, so if you're still curious about it and own a copy, I think you should still give it a try cos I found the concept unique. Plus, if you like doggedly relentless revenge-fuelled MCs that would go to any extreme to successfully stick it to the man, with plenty of giant robot battles and spirit energy magic, then there's a chance you could enjoy this more than I did!
First, let's take a look at what I liked about it.
This ended up being very different to how I thought it was going to be written and in a good way. If you were worried that this might be too heavily scientific or full of jargon you don't understand, you don't need to worry. The writing was fun and accessible and it was pretty easy to follow along with! The story was also well-paced and moved at a steady but fast clip. There was never a lull or dull moment as the author rapidly took us from scheme to scheme through to the end. As for the world-building, I liked it for the most part although I was left with a lot more questions by the end than I had at the start (which was already a lot)! This is set in a futuristic Chinese-inspired world that was destroyed by mech aliens called hunduns hundreds of years ago. The surviving population now lives behind a Great Wall and those with strong enough qi pilot giant robots called Chrysalises—they're just like those robotic war machines in Pacific Rim and of course, Transformers. The author described the sociocultural setting and the Chrysalises really well and it was easy to picture everything playing out in my head like a movie. Side note: I do think this is going to be made into a movie and I think it'd be perfect for the big screen, so that's pretty exciting! Despite being a little heavy-handed, I also liked the broaching of social issues and commentary on the treatment of girls/women in society—it's relevant, it's relatable and it's real.
I actually really liked Zetian, our main character and sole POV, in the beginning. Her righteous fury and desire to avenge the death of Big Sister made sense and her feelings were so relatable that I was more than ready to root for her success. She was fiercely determined and she's the type of character who never gives up and quite literally never stops. I wouldn't ever want to get her on my bad side because I know that no matter what it'll cost her, she'd exact her revenge.
First, let's take a look at what I liked about it.
This ended up being very different to how I thought it was going to be written and in a good way. If you were worried that this might be too heavily scientific or full of jargon you don't understand, you don't need to worry. The writing was fun and accessible and it was pretty easy to follow along with! The story was also well-paced and moved at a steady but fast clip. There was never a lull or dull moment as the author rapidly took us from scheme to scheme through to the end. As for the world-building, I liked it for the most part although I was left with a lot more questions by the end than I had at the start (which was already a lot)! This is set in a futuristic Chinese-inspired world that was destroyed by mech aliens called hunduns hundreds of years ago. The surviving population now lives behind a Great Wall and those with strong enough qi pilot giant robots called Chrysalises—they're just like those robotic war machines in Pacific Rim and of course, Transformers. The author described the sociocultural setting and the Chrysalises really well and it was easy to picture everything playing out in my head like a movie. Side note: I do think this is going to be made into a movie and I think it'd be perfect for the big screen, so that's pretty exciting! Despite being a little heavy-handed, I also liked the broaching of social issues and commentary on the treatment of girls/women in society—it's relevant, it's relatable and it's real.
I actually really liked Zetian, our main character and sole POV, in the beginning. Her righteous fury and desire to avenge the death of Big Sister made sense and her feelings were so relatable that I was more than ready to root for her success. She was fiercely determined and she's the type of character who never gives up and quite literally never stops. I wouldn't ever want to get her on my bad side because I know that no matter what it'll cost her, she'd exact her revenge.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment
Minor: Rape