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desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This story and it's main characters are so angry and rightfully so! It's exhausting being female in a society, that devalues exactly that. Your existence alone is a burden sometimes. It's good to have it addresses here while simultaneously not devaluing men on the basis of their gender alone. The book is also pretty brutal and cold, which in turn made me a little annoyed to read it, but I know that just stems from me being a very emotional person and here, it was mostly based on thoughts and strategy and that's just not really my vibe. It's definitely a good book tho! Angry and full of strategy as it is. That probably makes it even better for certain other people ^^
One of the main points I liked it better was the very lovely display of polyamory, which I find lacking in a lot of literature, and honestly, this here was the best love triangle! I can't wait for the next book and also I want to see more healthy polyam ships in books, it's amazing! :)
"Look on the bright side, I tell myself. After this, I can die. Finally. Being alive has been painful, exhausting, and disappointing."
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
moonchildjuli'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
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and War
brittshaw_p'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: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mazomazli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Favorites quotes below:
“Shame and humiliation are self-imposed emotions, and from here on out, I choose not to feel them.”
“What I have learned through this madness is that you can absolutely solve your problems by throwing money at them. If you can't, you probably don't have enough money for that particular problem”
Good for her.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
captainhannes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Medical trauma
Minor: Fatphobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Sexual harassment
norwegianforestreader'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
thebetterstory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The story touches on the concepts of sexism, racism and homophobia, but it doesn't really have much new to add to the conversation. (A friend I talked to about it said that it felt almost like it was name-dropping social justice concepts rather than tackling any in-depth, and I agree.)
There are some cool touches, and I particularly like that its main character is allowed to be genuinely power-hungry and violent to the point of cruelty in a few places, as that really is rare in a female lead. The sheer level of vitriol she has toward societal sexism is also pretty great. (In particular, I loved the part where she
The pacing moves so fast that there really isn't much time to get attached to anyone or anything. The relationship that builds up between Wu Zetian, Li Shimin and Yizhi is definitely sweet, but we don't really get a lot of downtime or quiet moments with them to give us a chance to get attached. It felt like the novel speedran their relationship progression into a throuple, which wasn't at all necessary when there's a sequel coming out and they could have used that time to stretch the romantic tension out longer. But I am ecstatic to see poly in a YA book at all. I hope others follow suit.
Happily the plot always has enough going on to keep things interesting, and the leads are just likeable enough to keep you invested in what happens to them. There are twists and turns aplenty, some of which I guessed and some which still surprised me. The setting is also obviously incredibly cool, what with the fusion of Chinese history, mecha and sci-fi, and the prose is serviceable and easy to read. The book is also helped along by not taking itself too painfully seriously, even though it dips into dark territory sometimes.
Overall, Iron Widow's not the best YA I've read this year, by a long shot. But it is conceptually awesome, easy to read and a lot of fun. Just check your expectations before starting and you won't be disappointed.
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, and Xenophobia
The main character's had her feet bound, and it talks a bit about how they did it, the pain it gives her and how her rotting feet smell.recycled_personalities'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cakeylu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Gore, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
kimberlyb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia