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mrgattman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia
squinnittowinit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I thought this book did a very good job of immersing the reader in the very real misogyny that Wu Zetian experiences at every turn, but also not wallowing in those feelings. Instead, Zetian fights against the system at every turn and the reader can celebrate with her when she succeeds. Gao Yizhi and Li Shimin are great supporting characters as well, full of their own depth, but without taking away from Zetian's character in any way.
I especially loved how unapologetically bloodthirsty Wu Zetian was, so often the "dangerous woman" main character ends up just being misunderstood, or becomes tamed by love or something, which is just weak character development. Wu Zetian is a dangerous woman, and that never changes.
4.75 stars because some of the most dramatic dialogue moments were just a little too silly for my liking.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
vagabond_bones's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
ufollowbooks'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
4.0
a bit of mary sue fanfic kind of vibe, but in a good way
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Colonisation
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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Police brutality
Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Xenophobia, 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:ajhling's review against another edition
- 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
This book has characters that are mostly grey at best, and down right evil at worst. Our protagonist is a ball of rage and is someone who would be seen as the villain in many works of fiction. I love it. Even her romantic partners are on the verge of being villains in other works of fiction.
My favourite part besides the plot and our protagonist and her romantic partners, and the world as a whole?
The fact that there's no explicit sex scenes which have impregnated the publishing industry these days. Meaning you have a book that treats its readers like the older teens and adults that we are without having to worry about sex scenes because it's aimed towards an older teen, recent high school graduate age range, which apparently means sex most be included un the eyes of modern publishers.
I'm so hoping that the lack of explicit sex scenes continues onto the next book/s in the series (though even if they were present I'd still buy/read them anyway).
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
audiem'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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
Moderate: Xenophobia and Colonisation
Minor: Homophobia
shelvesofivy'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, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Vomit
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, and Toxic relationship
threesixti'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
merlionne'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
4.5
I loved the mythological aspects of the world, even though I don't know a lot about the actual people and their stories they're referencing. The only thing that bothered me a bit is that all the secrets that get unveiled are kind of ....eh? It's not a bad thing, maybe from a modern perspective they're a lot less shocking or it's a lot easier for me to expect something like that to be the case, but ultimately it works within the story and I'll read the next book because I want to see how Zetian blows up some more bastards.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Biphobia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, and Vomit
Even though it gets talked about etc, there are no detailed descriptions of sexual assault or other sexual violence. The book also includes a list of the biggest trigger warnings in the beginning, a lot of what I added here is in there somehow but for the most cases not overly detailed, extensive or dwelled upon.