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sadhbh2525'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Slavery, Trafficking, Abortion, and Pregnancy
atomicbritt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
lil_rumblebee'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Slavery, Torture, Grief, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ender24'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Abortion
Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
madmantha'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
pj99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
After months of laughing at people describing this book as polical (bro did you even read the first one), I do actually see why this one gets called that (it's still silly).
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
For those concerned about the sexual tags, I shall contextualise with very minor spoilerscalamitydane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Rape and Trafficking
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Homophobia, and Alcohol
bookishmrsnelson'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Pregnancy
embee007'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? Yes
5.0
If you're unaware of #PegAmendment & you're listening, or reading a first or second edition hardcover, check out Xiran's review or socials.
"Every oppressor, through their denial of humanity, sows the seed of their own destruction."
Did this book do anything that I anticipated? Not really. Did it address the issues from the end of book 1? Yes. Was I left satisfied? Mostly? (I found out about halfway thru that its a trilogy, not a duology like I thought.)
"It’s incredible, how someone could be gone from this world, literally whisked away from the mortal earth, yet leave so many pieces behind."
Adressing the giant antlers in the room: this is an extremely toxic relationship - like an intervention should be called, but he'd kill anyone that intervened, & they'd just work it out with hate sex on the bodies. I saw at least 2 reviews about the lack of disability rep in this book - which is the opposite of the truth. Zetian spends at least half the book in a wheelchair & still has chronic pain. Spoiler
"If being on our knees was natural to us, why would they have to put so much effort into holding us down?"
Representation: Bi MCs, sapphic side character relationship off-page, disabled MC, all Asian MCs, nonbinary side character
"I mourn the people we could have been if a different world had shaped us."
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy
queer_bookwyrm'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? No
5.0
"They tell me you are vulgar, dangerous, bloodthirsty, self-absorbed, manipulative, and all-around, affront to sensibility. What do you have to say for yourself, Wu Zetian?
Yes, that's pretty much who I am. Still want to marry me, Your Majesty?"
Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao is book two in the Iron Widow series. I have been waiting so long for this book, and it did not disappoint! There is so much female rage in this, just like in book one, but this time it's much more politically focused. This was a very long book, but it kept my attention the whole time. Possible spoilers for book one ahead.
We pick up with Zetian after the events of book one, and she finds herself to have inadvertently started a revolution by waking Emperor Qin Zheng. Now Zetian has to live with the choices she has made and the people she has killed to get here. We find that despite her justifiable rage against the establishment, Zetian is quite naive about what happens after you topple a government and what it actually takes to have power and rule a country. We see her very unhealthy relationship with Qin Zheng, and the heartbreak and betrayal she endures from someone she loves.
Absolutely so much happened in this book, it's impossible to summarize it all. We get way more on the political side of things in this book as we see Zetian learning more about how government works and learns about the laborist movement. I have such complicated feelings about Qin Zheng, because one the one hand, he and Zetian's relationship is extremely toxic and he's definitely a dick, but on the other hand, he has some fairly progressive political ideas. Don't get me wrong, Zetian is also extremely toxic to Zheng as well. We learn so much more about the Hunduns and about the gods in the Heavenly Court. Some wild stuff happens at the end that leaves us on a cliffhanger about Shimin.
I'm so mad we had to wait so long for this book, and now I have to wait again for book three! 😭 I just want these characters to be happy. I loved this book, this series is definitely a favorite. Many tabs were used in the reading of this book.
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Suicide