#Yizhi is the only one who knows what's going on here

[nimblermortal]

Wu Zetian: I am not falling for Li Shimin’s ‘misunderstood boy with a tortured soul’ routine

Yizhi: I am. I spent two weeks researching him and he. is. Hot.

Zetian: You spent two weeks researching my captor?

Yizhi: Yeah, to infiltrate the system so I could be close to you. I thought I could, er, befriend Li Shimin?

Zetian, tearing up: You, my unacknowledged boyfriend, are willing to befriend the terrifying Iron Demon who I am fake dating, just to be by my side?

Yizhi: Yeah! We’ll have a fake friendship! It’ll be great! I’ll be near you, I’ll be near Shimin...

Shimin: I’M GOING TO KILL HI - ...oh, you’re saying this boy saved my work partner from murder? Um... thank you.

Yizhi: <stares up at him, chest rising and falling>

Zetian: He was mentally unprepared for how imposing Li Shimin is in person.

Yizhi: It’s - it’s no problem! I’m a fan, you know. Read a lot about you.

#Nimblermortal liveblogs #Iron Widow #Yizhi is the only one who knows what's going on here #and those last four lines are canon #though a bit paraphrased for context #bear in mind that There Is Only One Bed #oh hey I missed that Shimin is wearing a collar and chain that yesterday was long enough to throttle someone with #and today is short enough for Yizhi to grab him by and pull him down to stare panting into his face #while he demands Shimin... get sober #Zetian: hoooooooooottttt

[reioka-reads]

Title: Iron Widow

Author: Xiran Jay Zhao

Status: Keep

Series Continue: Yes

Okay. So. I’m going to preface this by saying that this has some spoilers in it. It’s only been a year so I’m aware that some people might still be on the waiting list at their library for this NYT Best Seller lol.

Anyway, sometimes I take a peep at the negative reviews on books to see if it changes my perspective and this time they absolutely did not. A lot of the negative reviews on this book have the same talking points: It feels rushed/some parts feel shoehorned in. And I agree. But you know what? Zhao does too. I remember them making a post somewhere (I follow them on both Tumblr and TikTok so it could have been either one) explaining how they had to cut back parts because it was their debut novel and in the publishing industry, the companies don’t like those novels to exceed a certain amount. Zhao, also, was not satisfied with their novel as it was published. Knowing that, I felt like I could see the parts where they cut back to fit into those guidelines. I think, if they hadn’t had to cut back, it would have been an even better book than it is.

That being said, I thought this book was great. I actually caught Zhao on TikTok and that’s what led me to reading the book (they are very funny and clever). It was an interesting premise and I enjoyed it. It felt very… refreshing, somehow? I’m not sure that’s the word I want but you know, after the inundation of vampires/werewolves/wizard schools the past few years, it was a breath of fresh air. I especially loved that the one-sidedness of the love triangle lasted maybe about a minute before all of these bi disasters decided actually no let’s be a true triangle. Good for them.

Zetian was brutality in its purest form. I love that for her. But I also loved the parts where she was vulnerable—where she allowed herself to be vulnerable in front of the men she loved. And how she refused to feel shame in front of others either. I also, for some reason, really like that she’s disabled? And it’s a focal point of the story, her constantly thinking about how she’s crippled and how it was supposed to make her desirable but all it did was make her life harder; how she’s constantly comparing her Lotus feet to the unmarred feet of her female peers and feeling envy and shame. It’s not a throwaway problem, it doesn’t get fixed, and I’m interested to see how it’s going to show up in the story in the future. I wish we could have seen Yizhi and Shimin fleshed out as much as she was, but the breadcrumbs that were dropped that I pieced together have me looking forward to maybe seeing more fleshing out in the sequel(s).

This story had so many twists and turns that I was constantly and genuinely shocked (delightfully so!) when they happened. I itched to get back to the book when I had to put it down; I wanted to know what happened next. I honestly didn’t expect the betrayal from the Black Tortoise and Shimin’s “death,” and I mourned with Zetian as soon as his qi reader hit zero. Then she actually found Qin Zheng and the yellow dragon! Piloted it herself!!! And then Shimin wasn’t dead and apparently the “gods” had saved him?! What the fuck!!!! And Yizhi simply killing his father with no remorse, no regrets. Qiu was probably the only person who figured out how Zetian truly ticked and he was so busy facing off with her that he didn’t even think his son could or would turn on him. My only beef is that Xiuying wasn’t alive to see Zetian crush her family to death, so that she could see that Zetian was stronger than her in every way.

I have more thoughts but I can’t really seem to articulate them, so I think I’ll leave this here. So bummed that the release date for Heavenly Tyrant has been pushed back, but I appreciate that Zhao is being transparent for their reasons. If pushing it back means a better story, I’m happy to wait.

#reioka reads #iron widow #xiran jay zhao #book review #books #reading

[schrodingers-hoarding-problem]

I have gotten a singular like on my iron widow post thus you are all now subjected to some of my favorite quotes!

also beware of spoilers (plus a bit of commentary on some of the later ones)

“Welcome to your nightmare” (82) 

“It’s hilarious. Men want us so badly for our bodies, yet hate us so much for our minds” (94) 

“Be their nightmare, Wu Zetian.” (95) 

“There’s no guilt, no rage, no hesitation in his eyes. Only a resolve so clear it steals my breath away.” (99) 

“I’m becoming no less of a monster, but that’s ok. It takes a monster to slay a monster.” (102) 

“Our fingers curl together, much gentler than when we were trying to take each other’s lives.” (109) 

“‘A funeral?’ I say with mock casualness. ‘Did the attendees know he died like a girl?’” (113) 

“Too bad. I am exactly the kind of ice-blooded, rotten-hearted girl he fears I am. And I am fine with that.” (114) 

“‘You think this scares me?’ I say, unbelievably calm for how rabidly I’m fraying apart on the inside. ‘You think I ever liked being alive? Go ahead. Do me a favor.’” (118) 

“Okay. So Li Shimin is absolutely fucking bonkers, I guess.” (127) 

“Oh no. I am also absolutely fucking bonkers.” (130) 

“The bloodlust in his eyes rouses something primal and deep-rooted inside me, something that finds it so… Utterly relatable.” (153) 

“Yizhi gulps. A blush reddens his ears, and a quizzical feeling stirs inside me.” (171) 

YES!! i am seeing the poly vision 

“He should be the Iron King, and I should be the Iron Queen. Yet Iron Demon and Iron Widow is all they’ll let us be.” (199) 

“How do you take the fight out of half the population and render them willing slaves? … You tell them over and over, until it’s the only truth they’re capable of living.” (210) 

“We are wholly the Vermillion Bird, commanding it in sync.” (239) 

“No one’s sure why it worked out for us.” (248) 

because of the poly vision ofc 

i’m so excited for it 

“This isn’t his victory. This is my temporary mercy. With a head full of fantasies of how I’ll flag him alive after he outlived his use, I unzip my pilot coat.” (264) 

“Despite their best efforts, I find myself worthy of happiness.“ (276) 

“I will slather him for what he did to Shimin. He has shot to the top of my ever-growing hit list. It’s the least I can do.” (283) 

“We can live for more. We can live for justice. Change. Vengeance. Power.” (298) 

“I like him a lot better than his distant cousin who I killed.” (302) 

Me too 

“Despite the endless horrors that we’ve both been through, I really am grateful that we survived to meet each other.” (311) 

“He snaps the collar off his neck and hurls it to the ground with the force of a thunderclap.” (325) 

holy shit these last two pages (324-325) are insane and giving me everything i want YES my vengeance driven queen and king i love you both so so so much 

“Before you die, let me confirm something for you: girls like me are everywhere, barely putting up the facade of wives and daughters and concubines. And I don’t think they’ll be very happy about the army’s lies.” (327) 

“Perks of refusing to play by the rules: you don’t have to choose between the boy who’d torture a man to death with you and the boy who’d welcome you back with pastries after.” (328) 

Yizhi looks at a loss for words for a few seconds, then schools his expression. ‘Don’t be, handsome.’ He winks. I have to bite my lip not to laugh at the look on Shimin’s face.” (331) 

“I roll my eyes, make a triangle out of my fingers, and nod.” (331) 

YES the poly vision has been realized 

i love it here 

Xiran Jay Zhao i owe everything to you 

“She is perfectly aware and in control of what they’re doing.” (353) 

Xiuying wtf i liked you 

Qieluo is my only friend now 

“Cure the Emperor.” (359) 

ooooo yes 

“But it doesn’t matter. Male, female, it doesn’t matter when piloting.” (367) 

“Her face is stunning, yet her eyes seethe with the deepest, blackest hatred.” (372) 

“Wu Zetian … Be their nightmare.” (373) 

“Even though everything feels impossible, even though I will never be the same, even though all I want to do is lie down and give up, I make myself keep going.” (373) 

“There will be no redemption. It is not me who is wrong. It’s everyone else.” (380) 

“I know what real mercy would be. ‘Sorry,’ I say, cold as Big Sister’s ashes. ‘You’re in my way.’” (383) 

“Yellow-green lightning bursts across the air.” (386) 

HELL YEAH YIZHI patricide win 

“Let’s rule the world.” (388) 

“The Hunduns are the natives, not—!” (390) 

wooooow 

honestly i was kinda suspecting it based on what the emperor class hunduns were saying but that’s still insane 

ahhhh i can’t wait for the heavenly tyrant 

also bring back my boy shimin i miss him 

#jae’s thoughts #iron widow #xiran jay zhao #iron triangle #wu zetian #li shimin #gao yizhi

[onawhimsicot]

I posted 2,461 times in 2022

168 posts created (7%)

2,293 posts reblogged (93%)

I tagged 882 of my posts in 2022

#pokemon - 53 posts

#critical role - 41 posts

#bry - 36 posts

#hermitcraft - 35 posts

#hades game - 20 posts

#in other lands - 20 posts

#splatoon - 20 posts

#reading log - 18 posts

#hades 2 - 18 posts

#splatoon 3 - 18 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#all these internship deadlines are coinciding with finals week and its like. i obviously should prioritize the former. everyone would agree

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

so i haven't really been plugged in to Critical Role news in a while but wasn't TLOVM going to be about pre-campaign stuff? I totally understand if things have changed with it being an Amazon show now + wanting to start with Whitestone to have a banger of an opening, but I thought that maybe we'd circle back around to the whole Uriel being possessed arc. But Uriel just stepped down and we're launching right into the Chroma Conclave arc so I'm guessing they're not doing any pre-campaign stuff and are just doing an adaptation?

14 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

#4

OHHHHH PIKE GIVING VEX A BOOST!! CLERICS!!!! I LOVE CLERICS!!!! ITS THE GIRLS!!!!!!

I MISSED PERCY'S STUPID PRETENTIOUS VOICE SO MUCH VOX MACHINA MY BELOVED

19 notes - Posted January 12, 2022

#3

[ID: A screenshot of a page from In Other Lands that reads, "Myra joined him, pulled up a chair to his table and took one of the books from his unread stack. / 'Luke and Serene told me what you were doing here,' she said. 'And I--I like Commander Woodsinger. She's kind to my cousin, who's all dwarf, and I don't want the camp to have any other commander, and I want to help."]

Even though I reread this book like every 6 months, I only just now caught on to this during my current reread given the recent news. So, for anyone else who was curious/forgot about this like me, Myra mentions her cousin shortly before Colonel Whiteleaf's attempted coup.

Very fascinating to see that the "exiled dwarven prince" mentioned in the announcement post presumably came and studied at the camp too! I can't wait to learn more about him, Myra my beloved, and the dwarves :O

77 notes - Posted December 21, 2022

#2

it is incredibly funny that Yizhi rolled up and went all in on saving the girl he's in love with but took a quick detour to google the infamous known murderer Li Shimin and immediately developed a celebrity crush on him like "oh, hes smart too? ....thats kinda hot actually"

hes literally like "okay so Li Shimin probably did bad things idk but like have you SEEN his test scores?? people said he used to STUDY" this trio has a buckwild dynamic ajdakhfs

265 notes - Posted January 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

i know not many people would want to read a 10,000 word article about the minecraft end poem and how the author, Julian Gough, was never fairly compensated for his work and has made it public domain.

But it's a very well-written and heartfelt read, and he makes it very clear that none of this is a cash-grab and despite the fact that he is essentially a starving artist in this capitalist society, he only mentions his financial struggles despite Minecraft's huge huge success at the bottom of this article and not in the tweets so as to not dilute his message.

Anyway, I just think it'd be cool if those who are able to could support him in some way whether it be subscribing to his substack or donating to his paypal (that's linked in the article, you can ctrl + F to find it easier), that's all.

11,950 notes - Posted December 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#Oohh okay i knew what the number one post would be of course (I MISS MY NOTIFICATIONS LOL) but #i didnt expect the recent iol post to get on here. makes sense though #that 2nd post has consistently shown up in my notifs like every month or so and #since ive made it my feelings on IW have grown soo much more complex

[emidioschiavone]

Unspeakable Relationship--Yi Anchu

Liao Ke stood in front of the window, quietly through the curtain gap to look out of the window, outside the community is still a dark head. From the beginning of the morning to now, the crowd is still unabated. Xi Yin, the reporter hasn't left yet. What are we going to do? Liao Ke turned and looked at Xi Yin anxiously. Xi Yin sat on the sofa and looked down at the magazine. I'm really not interested in finance, and I don't know how I can be so interested in finance. It's all right. Xi Yin closed the magazine and turned to look at Liao Ke with a Director Mia's phone! Liao Ke picked up his cell phone, looked at the caller ID, and hurried toward the kitchen. Put me on speakerphone. Xi Yin is washing rice, a pair of hands in a full grain of rice, sideways to Liao Ke said a sentence. Oh,deep draw stamping, good. Liao Ke first pressed the answer button and then turned on the speakerphone. When the phone was connected, Mia's voice came clearly from the other end of the phone. Xi Yin, have the reporters downstairs dispersed? "Not yet." "The meaning of Xingyao is to let you sell corruption." "Selling corruption?" "Yes, selling corruption.". But you have to clarify the photo on Weibo first. The meaning of the public relations department is that Zhan Dong came to your house last night to ask you how to shoot. "OK, Director Mia, I understand." "Well, I'll hang up first." "Goodbye, Director Mia." Goodbye, Xi Yin. Liao Ke heard two people say "goodbye" to each other before hanging up the phone, looking at Xi Yin surprised way, "Xi Yin, I did not hear wrong? The company actually let you sell corruption? Xi Yin tried to hide the smile at the corners of his mouth, Steel investment casting ,titanium machining parts, and it seemed that things were developing as he had expected. Well, selling corruption. Xi Yin turned his head and looked at Liao Ke for sure, pouring out the milky white rice-washing water again. Why do you do this? Liao Ke looked at Xi Yin in puzzlement. "Just deny it directly. Why do you want to make such trouble?" "Did you look at the picture?" As he spoke, Xi Yin poured the washed rice into the rice cooker and pressed the cooking button. I did. Liao Ke nodded. "What did you think when you first saw the picture of me hugging Suzhi?" Xi Yin said and went to the refrigerator and took out two eggs from the refrigerator. It looks very ambiguous. Liao Ke was a little embarrassed and whispered. Since you think so, what do you think the netizens will think? Xi Yin said that he put the chopping board and looked up at Liao Ke and asked, "And the person who came out of the closet is the one in the play, can you accept it?" A few minutes later, Xi Yin's micro-blog updated a dynamic to respond to the photo storm. Xi Yin: First of all, thank you for your concern about my life, especially the emotional aspect. The two people in the photo are really me and Zhan Yizhi. On the surface, she is my boss, but in private, we are very good friends. In Jianghu, Zhan Yizhi played a guest role. She was not very sure about the positioning of the role, so she came to my house last night to ask for advice. As for the intimate hug, we do it in private. Not only that,metal stamping parts, we have a more intimate interaction in Jianghu. Just keep me in suspense here and wait for the announcement on the day of release. As soon as this micro-blog was sent out, it immediately caused a heated discussion among the vast number of netizens, and instantly became the first hot search. autoparts-dx.com

[lilibetbombshell]

BOOK REVIEW: "IRON WIDOW" (IRON WIDOW #1)

BY: XIRAN JAY ZHAO

(ARC Edition)

COMING TOMORROW 09.21.2021!!!

RATING: 5/5 STARS

I was so excited when I read the premise for this book. I thought to myself, “Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale? I. Am. Here. For. It!”

And then I opened it up and read Xiran Jay Zhao’s author’s notes at the beginning of my ARC edition and my eyes widened in surprise at the actual premise of this wild, raw, untamed beast of a book… because I realized what this book actually is wasn’t something that could be tidied up and slotted neatly into a bookseller’s constricting summary box: it’s Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale meets Chinese gongdou dramas meets the real-life Empress Regnant Wu (the only legitimate female sovereign China ever had) reimagined as a teenage peasant-girl (with a thirst for revenge) turned into a mecha-pilot who seethes at the patriarchy and the way in which women are automatically slotted into place from birth and never given any other options in life and decides NOPE.

Throw that all into a bottle, shake it up, open it, and what you get is the best sci-fi book I think I’ve ever read. The best book shock I’ve ever had. The most blood lust I’ve ever tasted. The best war cry I’ve ever heard. The best blood bath I’ve ever read. The biggest rallying call I’ve ever seen. The sweetest apathy that made me come apart at the seams. The most vengeful hatred I’ve witnessed sharpened to a razor’s edge.

I couldn’t stop reading. I ate through my dinner. I noted passage after passage until I was so swept away by it all I started forgetting to take notes because I was sunk too deep into this futuristic, otherworldly China where one teenage girl who has nothing to lose herself but cares fiercely and violently about so many other things, one man who loves her and is open-minded and educated enough to know that the status quo is wrong and is willing to stand beside her no matter what, and another man who never stood a chance in the world they were born in but is sick of the system. Their culture, their whole world, is built on teams of two. But, between these three people who all can see outside this paradigm, they all acknowledge and accept this world and its conventions are not who they are and it is not meant for them. They were not meant to be slotted into tidy little boxes, just like this book was not meant to be summarized into a limited character count.

This book is distributed in part by Penguin Teen, but I’m telling you: if you think this is just some YA sci-fi book, you’re abso-friggin-lutely wrong. This book is one of those books you NEED to read. It’s an IMPORTANT book. I won’t lie: It’s target audience is very obviously women in their teens and twenties, but I highly encourage women of all ages and ESPECIALLY men to read this book. Listen to the testimony of this book. Listen to its voice. Its pain. Its drive. Its passion. Its motivation. Its anger. Its thirst. Really listen to it and maybe you’ll learn some things about women you never understood before; because, believe me, I felt completely in sync with Wu Zetian every step of the way through this book.

The action scenes in this book are written beautifully and brutally at the same time. The plot is gracefully and carefully mapped out. The science is explained and makes sense when mixed in with the traditional Chinese beliefs regarding qi. The writing is impassioned, driven, and as impactful as the message of the book.

Wu Zetian’s voice, as a character, is probably the best I’ve read in years. She rings clear as a bell and as blunt as a sledgehammer, which is something so refreshing I wanted to jump in the book and volunteer to be her PA because I appreciate people who tell it like it is (and if you don’t like it too bad). Yizhi is a well-educated, strategic, well-connected, rich, sweet, badass cinnamon roll… and his love and dedication for Wu Zetian really threads through this whole book and helps quilt it together. Li Shimin is… a beautiful tragedy. Born into a world that he never stood a chance in and slotted into a system that was always going to work against him, his story is heartbreaking, but the way in which Wu Zetian and he grow to care for one another and take a stand together is glorious. And their partnership with Yizhi shows that a triangle is definitely the stronger shape.

This book does end on a cliffhanger, being as it is the first in a series, but it’s not a cliffhanger without a purpose. That’s all I can say.

In the end, what I will say is this: When I finished this book, it was midnight here in California. All over America, women are fighting for their reproductive rights because men still think they have a say in what we do with our bodies. In Afghanistan, females are back to being banned from receiving an education once more because men say so. In some parts of the world, girls too young to read this book (and some that would never be allowed to anyway) are being slotted into the places they’ll be expected to stay in for the rest of their lives because men say so. When I finished this book, somewhere in the world there was likely another child bride being taken because men say so. And I was FURIOUS. This book made me want to go out and smash the patriarchy, because Wu Zetian is right: no more.

#iron widow #arc review #arc reviewer #book review #new release #new releases #new release book #new release books #scifi #scfi book #scifi novel #mecha #wu zetian #ya sci fi #ya science fiction #new adult #new adult books #new adult novel #net galley #penguin random house #penguin teen #women's rights #misogyny #smash the patriarchy

[stygianbloom]

         REFERENCED CHAPTER SIX IGNIHYDE SPOILERS

Xia has always attempted to keep a rift between himself and everyone present at NRC,  to keep them from the jaws of the fox,  and to keep them from becoming potential targets should he ever lose control.  But at the frequency of things changing during his third year,  he’s beginning to grow all too aware of his own crippling emotions,  the thin veil of control he has over himself.  This comes to a head when Inari leaves during the events of cultural festival,  prior to Vil’s spiral into overblot,  without telling Xia,  almost as if the fox knew something he didn’t.

Though Xia did ignore this,  which he shouldn’t have,  as it was,  in a way,  a marker for things to come. 

As his supply of suppressants dwindles throughout preparations for the festivities,  his hold on his more dangerous nature begins to crumble and he does begin to see his classmates as potential meals.  He also begins to consume less and less human food,  disappearing from the college at night by some means or another.  Some students begin to be reported as awakening very tired and unable to use any magic,  remaining dizzy and just showing general signs of blood loss.  However,  it is the curious case of their magic being notably completely depleted that would normally cause a ruckus if anyone noticed.  But with the focus on the festivities,  who is going to notice the downfall of a handful of students,  let alone peoples in the village outside of NRC?

At this time Yizhi no longer makes an appearance at Xia’s side,  and Xia’s pendant can be seen on his person,  though he doesn’t appear to use it.

Xia’s overblot is a slow and long drawn out event,  one which happens in the background,  and seems to happen shortly after Vil’s,  and shatters the barrier between human and monster for Xia.  He resides within his room after the events of his OB,  only allowing Jamil and Kalim to visit him,  as he is afraid that anyone he has previously deemed as prey might trigger his monstrous side.  As his vampiric nature has truly taken root,  Xia has been completely rewritten in a sense,  and can no longer hide his fangs,  nor the natural charm which allows him to draw his victims in,  making them complacent even if they already know he’s dangerous.  However,  Kalim and Jamil have always been able to skirt around this natural charm,  as it is read as being akin to poison.

When S.T.Y.X. attacks,  Xia does put up quite the fight,  even going so far as to attempt to use ARMY OF NONE,  his signature spell,  in his weakened state,  aware of how it could actually kill him in the process.  But,  of course,  he is no match for S.T.Y.X. and unlike the other OB’d students,  Xia receives a muzzle and cuffs,  along with his collar.  His magic may be dangerous,  but he is a vampire and his physical prowess is nothing to snub ones nose at.  He is not allowed to be close to the others,  and Jamil makes note of this,  though he does little to soothe him,  what with everything going down.  It is of note that Xia is carted away from the others very early to keep him in a separate and more secure containment chamber,  where he is actually given humans to consume.

And it gets ugly very fast,  as Idia observes that in acts of desperation,  Xia does go for the heart of his victims,  where he attempts to siphon off both magic and blood all at once.  It is a horrific and violent action which,  up to this point,  only Inari has witnessed.  And although the victim is left alive after the fact,  they are left in a coma which they may never wake up.  For Xia,  he uses this moment as a way to tell Idia that in no uncertain terms,  he is willing to do the same to everyone here,  starting with the Ignihyde dorm head.  So for the time being,  Idia has to keep him muzzled and cuffed,  at least until they have more control over him.

He does make it exhaustively difficult to find out any information on himself and how he came to be,  as even S.T.Y.X. could find no information concerning his true past and background.  But Idia does get to learn that the background given to Crowley and everyone else is a neatly fabricated tale as written up and tweaked by a mysterious benefactor for the vampire.  And that his vampiric blood most have originated within the Valley of Thorns.  And that Xia may actually be a full-blooded vampire,  but he views himself as being half-blooded due to his benefactor’s manipulation.

When the power goes out,  the other OB’d will find a trail of very real bodies lead them to Xia. He isn’t proud of it,  but it’s the fastest way to regain his strength and heal any wounds he had previously received in his OB state.  Even now,  more than ever,  he attempts to keep a distance the size of a graveyard between himself and the others,  because in his eyes they are all prey,  with the exception of Azul.  This is only because all he can do is siphon off Azul’s magic,  his blood is not a compatible food source.  Of course Riddle points out that Xia needs to work with them,  no matter how monstrous he may perceive himself.  Xia does point out that he has reached the point of no return,  so they should remain wary,  since he has no ties to them.

#❛ 𝕧 ›› 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 —— everybody has a chapter they don’t read out loud #❛ 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚 —— there’s some false divinity in my bones #twst spoilers /

[luminouslumity]

THOUGHTS ON: IRON WIDOW

I wasn't originally going to make this into a review, but this turned out to be longer than expected and I haven't done one of these in awhile, so here we go. And I know this is going so come off as mostly negative, so I just want to say right now that I did like the book and thought it was alot of fun, I just want to talk about some of the problems I had with it. No book is perfect and that's okay.

To list off some general positives first, loved the protagonists, loved the concept, loved the shout-outs to other works, Li Shimin is my favorite if only for this scene alone, and the "Welcome to your nightmare" line is so cringy and dramatic and I love it! Bonus that the book itself even acknowledges this! Wu Zetian would be a theater kid and nothing will change my mind!

Moving on to the negatives, when it comes to whether Iron Widow is good or not, I feel like there are two camps most fans and critics tend to fall into: those who want to see more nuance from the characters and those who just want to see someone go apeshit.

One review I saw also brought up an interesting point in that (paraphrasing here) when it comes to rebellions, usually you'll have a good portion of people striving to make a change, while in IW, it feels like Zetian is the only woman bold enough who's actually trying to make an impact in overcoming such a corrupt system. As a result, she feels like a 21st century woman living in a world based on Ancient China right off the bat. Not something I had a problem with personally, but I get where the criticism is coming from.

My opinion tends to vary, because on one hand, rebellion stories are always fun! On the other, as someone who likes nuance in her stories, I can see why some people think that there was a severe lack of it as far as this book is concerned. As for the pacing, it felt like everything was going by too quickly, but especially when it came to Zetian wanting to become empress. Because there's taking down the current establishment and then there's replacing it with yourself, so it'll be interesting to see where things go from here.

It also felt like Ruyi was less of a character and more of a tool, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just would've liked it if maybe we could've gotten to see Zetian and Ruyi's relationship through flashbacks or something instead of just telling the readers what it was like.

This is probably the one I had the most problem with and it's how Shimin and Yizhi's relationship developed. On one hand, yes! Give me that poly rep! On the other, I still feel like the build-up to them eventually getting together could've been better. It's kinda why I wish one or both of them had been given PoVs as well, if only for a few chapters, but the moments that we did get were still really cute.

Overall though, I still very much enjoyed this book, belated congrats to Xiran on getting published, and I'm really looking forward to the next one!

Overall Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗

#iron widow #wu zetian #li shimin #gao yizhi #xiran jay zhao #my posts #thoughts