Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Iron Widow

Just lost interest and couldn’t really keep track of everything that had happened. It probably would have been 3 or 4 stars if I had the time to sit down and read it in a short period of time.

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elvaira_ludina's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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? It's complicated

4.0

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bookishmk's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

I loved this book so much! Finally, a book that is brave enough to not back down. It both lays out the experience of and defies the horrible nature of patriarchy and the brutal treatment of women and girls. Thank you to Xiran Jay Zhao for making this book exist. Will be one of my favorite reads ever. The plot and world building is fascinating but what I enjoyed most was the perspective of the main character, their thoughts and actions. Vengeance is satisfying.

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nocturna_of_space's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

2.0

Does Iron Widow pass the Bechdel test? Pretty sure no....

A main character that wants to watch the world burn can work but it didn't work here. Zetian lacks any kind of empathy to an almost comical degree. She just kills everyone with no regard for any extenuating circumstances around their actions. I almost thought she might change but then she kills the parents of children that are being held hostage and then kills her whole family in short order. Her whole reason for wanting to kill the dude at the start of the book is because her big sister was killed by him. Fair enough, but like.... she doesn't have a name. The big sister who's so important to Zetian has no name except 'big sister.'
I honestly thought Shimin and Yizhi had a better love story than Zetian with either of them. And I think that's mostly due to the idea that they maybe had some conversations off-screen or something. I really wanted to like the love story in this book. Especially as a poly person. But my god... there was no soul in it and almost no chemistry between Zetian and either of the boys.
Zetian is really just... not like other girls I guess...
I will be looking up what happens to Shimin and Yizhi. I hope they live happily together for the rest of their lives. Also 2 stars for the inclusion of the boy you torture someone with and the boy who welcomes you home with pastries afterwards. Even I have to admit that was great.
Edit: I was just informed that the big sister does have a name. It’s mentioned off hand in the first chapter I think? And then never again.

If you liked this book, all the power to you. It just wasn't my thing. Which is sad, because I really thought it would be.

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