When I saw Pacific Rim mentioned as a comp title for this novel, I jumped on requesting this from NetGalley. The main character sounded like she was ready to stir up some trouble, and I wanted to be around to see what would happen.

I can’t skip commenting on this beautiful cover. Besides being so striking, it does an admirable job of portraying Zetian’s strength and determination. I may be understating it when I say the girl is a force of nature and has maniacal tendencies.

Zetian has been raised her whole life to believe she’s basically a second class citizen and must make sacrifices for men. Although very few survive, she and her older sister volunteer as concubine-pilots so her family can use the death compensation to find Zetian’s brother a suitable wife. A loving family is as far from an apt description as you could get for these people. Zetian rejects these beliefs and has plans of her own to assassinate the pilot responsible for her sister’s death.

When Zetian survives the psychic link with one of the best pilots (after assassinating him), she’s soon paired with Li-Shimin, a death row inmate plucked out of incarceration and forced to be a pilot. He’s a talented pilot, but is feared by the other pilots – the guy doesn’t exactly possess a welcoming personality – but Zetian learns he has many layers to be discovered. After Gao Yizhi, the boy who loves her, comes into the picture again I was sure a dreaded love triangle loomed on the horizon. I was wrong – it’s a polyamorous relationship. It’s the first time I’ve encountered this in a YA book, but it seems a natural development for these three characters and isn’t the primary focus of the story. As partnered pilots, Zetian and Li-Shimin battle the mecha aliens but soon learn they have enemies in their own camp. The cliffhanger at the end was a doozy!

With huge piloted robots that can transform into mythical creatues (seriously, how cool is that?), mind-blowing action scenes, and immersive world-building, I was glued to the pages. The novel also deals with themes of oppression and feminism and gets very dark and brutal at times, but it’s one I highly recommend. This may be one of my favorite reads of the year, and I’ll be at the front of the line waiting impatiently when the sequel releases.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Described as a blend between Pacific Rim and The Handmaid’s Tale, Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow (Penguin Random House 21 September 2021) is a must-read blend of Chinese history and science fiction that also combines compelling writing with an original plot.
Although the plot of this YA novel is complex and has many twists and turns, this is a book worth sticking with! In Huxia, boys pair with girls (known as concubines) to pilot the giant shape-shifting robots (known as Chrysalises) that Huxia uses to defend their land and the Great Wall from the aliens who regularly attack and attempt to gain grown. Mentally connected to the robots, the boys use their spirit energy and the spirit energy of the girls to power them. However, the girls regularly die from the experience, and are often expected to.
The novel follows 18-year-old Zetian, who volunteers to be a concubine pilot in an effort to assassinate one of the top male pilots who was responsible for her sister’s death. When Zetian kills the man through unexpected means—by overpowering him in the Chrysalis and destroying him through their psychic link, she is labelled an Iron Widow, a dangerously powerful female pilot who flips the gender binary of the Chrysalises. She is able to sacrifice boys in order to pilot the robot, not girls. When Huxia’s military pairs her with Li Shimin as a way to discipline her incredible and unnerving power, Zetian struggles to maintain the power she refuses to relinquish now that she has encountered it. A story of survival, strength, and queer power, Zetian works to counter the misogyny of the pilot system to keep more girls from being unnecessarily sacrificed.
While this novel is exceedingly complicated in its premise, it is also fun, immersive, and the text represents a fascinating blend of historical fact and science fiction. Xiran Jay Zhao’s world building is excellent and happens almost without the reader noticing. The setting arrives in the text as an immediate and stunning picture of a world where women are second-class, and where one person refutes that designation through her power and iron will. The world is also presented as a place where extraordinary things are possible, and there is an undercurrent of hope in the text primarily visible in Zetian’s character.
As a non-binary author, Zhao’s representation of queer characters is crucial to the novel’s structure. At its core, beyond its important representation of Chinese characters and people of colour, the novel is an exploration of the complex systems that uphold and perpetuate gender binaries, and a celebration of the bold people who oppose them through living authentically. The novel features bisexual main characters and a polyamorous relationship. Not only is this representation important in literature, but it is especially significant in a YA novel like this one. I personally found the characters’ identities and relationships to be enjoyable, authentic, and eye-opening.
Overall, Iron Widow is one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I think it is an innovative, exhilarating, and totally original novel with authentic queer characters and an important message. I highly recommend!

i first heard about xiran jay zhao on twitter, eviscerating disney's live action remake of mulan, which i found both hilarious and insightful. when i heard she was dropping a book, i was excited! unfortunately, it's only mid for me. she shows a ton of potential and i'm glad this is a stand alone. can't wait to read what she's doing next, hasn't lost me yet!

I enjoyed this. It started off really crazy and ended really crazy too. I do wish the world building made sense but I think the author might improve that for the future books.

Wu Zetian is a poor frontier girl that has always been told that she is lesser than anyone born male. She decides to leave her small, rural village to become a concubine-pilot and avenge her older sister. Upon arriving at the training base, Zetian discovers that she has a much higher spirit pressure than what is ordinary for women. Iron Widow follows her journey as a female pilot trying to defeat aliens and gender norms.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. The representation was amazing. I like that the author took the "love triangle" trope and turned it into a poly romance story. I have never, ever seen that before, which is fascinating. While I typically don't enjoy science fiction, I didn't mind this one.

Now it's time for the less fun part of the review. [ and spoilers ]

Zetian wasn't exactly likeable, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. I've found that less likeable characters are often the most realistic. She somewhat annoyed me at times, and I feel like her personality and motivations could have been a bit more fleshed out. The only family member she ever cared about was her sister, and that is barely looked into once Zetain gets revenge. She kills the rest of her family in cold blood. Why was Big Sister better than Zetian's mother and grandmother? I want to know this.

I liked Li Shimin, but I felt like they could have offered more insight into his backstory besides some flashbacks and dreams on Zeitian's part. His death feels very abrupt, and Zeitian and Yizhi don't really seem to care. I wish the author would just let him die all the way or not kill him at all. Still, he was a good character and I did like him.

Yizhi. I wanted Yizhi to betray Zetian; I felt like this was being foreshadowed in certain parts of the book. But how could he be bad/he came all this way, etc. I didn't mind him though, but he got a little crazy at the end.

The worldbuilding was slightly confusing. I couldn't quite get a grasp of how spirit armor worked, or why they were so intent on killing the aliens. The plot twist at the end (it wasn't the humans' planet) felt vaguely familiar. It's only because I've read the Stormlight Archive, and that's a major plot twist in one of the books. It's also interesting because the humans are fighting the parshendi for gemhearts that are found inside chrysalises of giant creatures called chamsfiends. They can win special armor from these parshendi. So the plot did feel a bit predictable, but the concept of mysterious gods is interesting and hope it is explored in future books!

All in all, this is a solid read. I would mark this as a 3.5 rounded up.

Thank you to Netgalley for offering me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review :)

There are certain books that may not be perfect but keep you so highly entertained that any flaws can be glossed over. Iron Widow was one such book for me. It was an engaging and fast-paced YA Sci-fi that made it easy to get immersed in the pandemonium.

Reading Iron Widow is like watching a character-driven action flick but in novel format. It brought back memories of all the Sci-Fi shows and mecha animes shows I used to enjoy, except with a prominent feminist spin. Inspirations from Chinese history and mythology also made for a fascinating setting. There was rarely a dull moment.

The book takes place in a futuristic world that is under siege by alien invaders called the Hunduns. For centuries their only hope has been in the pilots of massive robot-like structures called ‘Chrysalis’ that’s used to combat the Hundun droves. These transforming Chrysalis are mentally controlled by pilots and powered by their vital force – better known as their ‘qi’.

Unfortunately, each one requires a male and female pair to operate, and the female pilot almost always inevitably dies from mental strain while powering these mechanical monsters. A ‘Balanced Match’ – where both the male and female pair survive their deployment in a Chrysalis – is a rarity. With the system being the way that it is, male pilots survive to rise to stardom while young girls have become an expendable resource. Peasant families looking to receive compensation for their deaths in service are more than willing to sign up their daughters for the cause.

Wu Zetian is one of these poor peasant girls who is eagerly given up by her family for the cash reward. But ruthless, vengeful Zetian doesn’t balk at her fate. She despises the pilot system that causes the death of so many girls, especially since her older sister Ruyi was one of its many causalities. The suspicious circumstances surrounding her death lead Zetian to believe Ruyi wasn’t even killed in action as a “concubine-pilot”, but instead simply murdered by the pilot to whom she was assigned. Zetian plans to be accepted as a new concubine-pilot to the very same pilot, Yang Guang – and then she intends to kill him in revenge.

But Zetian’s plan ends up a success in a way she never imagined: she ultimately manages to kill him through their mental link while powering his Chrysalis in battle. This earns her much-reviled nickname “Iron Widow” and lands her into a nonstop struggle for her life against authorities that enforce the entire piloting system.

I enjoyed being in Wu Zetian’s head – as vicious and harsh as she can be – which worked perfectly for me since the novel is told from her first-person POV. There were the occasional over-the-top moments and questionable dialogue choices, but for the most part I found the storytelling accessible and exciting.

It helps that I also liked Li Shimin and Gao Yizhi a great deal. Yizhi didn’t get quite as fleshed out as the other two did, but the importance of the three as a triad comes across so strongly that it’s hard to imagine Zetian and Shimin without him. You can’t help but root for their success in all their schemes, despite the fact that all three of them are varying degrees of morally questionable and not what people would commonly consider “heroes”.

The main characters aside, it was also fun to see each different kinds of Chrysalis and the qi traits they were powered by. Some of the other “Balanced Match” pilot pairs made for intriguing side characters because of this, as I was always looking forward to seeing Ma Xiuying with Yuanzhang and Dugu Qieluo with Yang Jian in action with their own Chrysalis. It doesn’t hurt that teased hints of their own motivations always left me wanting more.

The quick pace of the events was definitely page-turning, but it did mean that certain plotlines felt a bit rushed and poorly developed. The ending, too, seemed to have crammed in a great deal of important facts that felt slightly too sudden and missing an appropriate amount of exposition. But it was easy for me to look past because it all still kept my engagement high while leaving an implied promise that these plot points will be getting a great deal more attention in the sequel.

Needless to say I’ll be picking up the next book in the series without reservation. I can happily recommend this to anyone who enjoys stories about vengeful girls trailblazing their way against a society that’s determined to keep them down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing the eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

READ THIS BOOK!

Where do I start? I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. If you see any of my other reviews, I am not a big fan of Science Fiction and instead tend to gravitate towards Fantasy. But I love the movie Pacific Rim and I was intrigued by the premise, so I decided to dive in... And I am so glad I did because this book is truly amazing!

I love the characters. Wu Zetian is a complete bad*** and I love her bravery. She was such a strong person and definitely shocked me with some of her actions. Yizhi is such a gentle soul and I was not expecting him to behave the way he did. I feel like he was the perfect calming influence Wu Zetian needed. I feel like we have a lot more to learn about him. And Shimin... My heart breaks for poor Shimin and all the tragedy he has been through.

I think my only complaint is that I wish the romance between Yizhi and Shimin would have been built up just a little more. I liked that you could subtly tell, but I was a little caught off guard when things progressed because it seemed a teeny bit out of place. But that scene was still so tender that I can forgot that minor fact.

This book was fast paced and action filled.I thought some of the ending was a little rushed because I got a bit confused at points, but there was also a lot happening at the end with the HUGE CLIFFHANGER. This book broke me and I don't know how I will be able to wait for the next book.

You broke my heart, Xiran Jay Zhao.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to the Iron Widow cover and synopsis and I had high expectations. I applaud the debut author for addressing challenging topics like misogyny and patriarchy and inspired by anime/manga and real historical figures. But here are my thoughts:

Pros:
- A dark and decently solid fast-paced read
- Asian, LGBTQA+, and polyamory representation
- Re-imagining Chinese history
- Nice description and details about the mecha

Cons:
- A little too fast-paced. This book had so much potential for the world-building and politics, but it fell flat and not fully explained.
- The plot was difficult to follow as there were a lot of plot points that weren't given much attention. I was confused about what was happening most of the time.
- Unclear characterization and motivations
- Dialogue sounded unrealistic and unnatural
- Lack of high stakes
- Insta-love relationships with no depth.
- Simplistic writing style: More telling, not showing.

I'm undecided about picking up the second book as I was a little disappointed. I'm hoping there are further improvements in the second book. I'm sure sci-fi fans will enjoy this read and would love to go on a wild ride!

Wow. This book was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I am not a big sci-fi reader but this was sci-fi mixed with fantasy and magic and it was incredible. It was complex and futuristic while still feeling old. I can say some of the inner workings of the machines and the Qi were a bit hard to follow at times but the action was incredible and the characters flawed yet you still found yourself rooting for them.

If you’re looking for a unique, fast paced read and the ultimate in female power in an extremely male dominated world this is one you can’t miss.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eArc.

I requested this one kind of on a whim, but it didn't disappoint. At all. Iron Widow was a really blazing book that powered through the plot, and I absolutely adored it.

Wu Zetian is my favorite kind of protagonist. She's ruthless. She's cutthroat. She's absolutely unapologetic. She's such a raging mound of flame in such a patriarchal society, it's almost impossible not to love her. I absolutely loved that she never questioned her own morals but instead challenged the society she lived in because, boy, did it need challenging.

Another aspect of the book I really loved was the worldbuilding. It's the perfect mix of futuristic elements and drawn from Ancient China, and I love the East Asian myth-inspired mecha. The world Zhao built was so engaging and fun (actually I could say this about the entire book).

The plot never felt like a drag to me. I was always invested, and this was one of the quickest reads of the whole year for me simply because I was always on the edge of my seat. And of course, I adored the poly love triangle and I think that's really important representation for YA as a genre.

So, all in all, I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone and I really really enjoyed it. No one's ready for Iron Widow.

One word to describe Iron Widow: intense. What an extraordinary story with strong characters and an engaging plot. I loved every bit of it. The story took off with a running start and kept going right up until the end. Absolutely wow. There were so many scenes where I found myself holding my breath because the scenes were so intense. It was hilarious how I had to remind myself to breathe. The entire time I was reading, I imagined what the novel would look like as an anime or a movie. The writing was that vivid.

Xiran Jay Zhao did a fantastic job integrating historic Chinese customs and views on women into her story. As someone of Asian descent, I found it refreshing to read about an all Chinese cast and have a story that integrated Chinese culture. It was quite fun to see her re-imagining of Chinese Empress Wu Zetian.

Iron Widow caught my attention because of the all Asian cast, use of Chinese culture, and the take on relationships. Not to mention mechas, but I’ll leave the whole anime enthusiast aside for a moment. The novel establishes an unapologetic and empathetic take on the polygamous relationship between the three main characters. The way Xiran Jay Zhao writes how the characters view love and how they go about their relationships is mature. It hits on all the right things that people would encounter when they’re discovering polyamory. Honestly, this novel is a step in the right direction to normalize this way of life and I hope that it serves as a sense of comfort for those who are polyamorous or for those discovering what it is.

I can’t say enough good things about Iron Widow. This novel is definitely a nice refreshing drink that sets it apart from all the other novels currently out there. While the novel had some pacing issues, I think it’s a fun read, so I highly recommend people to check it out.

Iron Widow follows Zetian Wu in an alternate version of China in which girls are sold to the army to be killed in battle as Mecha pilots - the family, of course, receives a healthy amount of money for "their" sacrifice. This, you know, kind of makes Zetian mad. Even worse, her sister was given to the army, but she was killed outside of battle in unexplained circumstances that Zetian expects are related to sexual assault. Their family only cares that they lost out on reward money. Zetian is out for revenge and she's ready to take down all of China, one Mecha pilot at a time.

Ok, there's a lot going on in this book so that description does NOT do it justice, but let me just tell you that this book is amazing and you should read it. The main character is bent on revenge, and she is MAD, and rightfully so (her family also bound her feet, which is described in enough detail to be truly stomach turning). Y'all I love an oppressed character that is righteously angry and ready to burn it all down more than most things in the word so I was very much here for basically everything in this book. And Zetian is ready to burn it down, y'all. I kind of got to live out some revenge fantasies through her (I mean, I'm not going to kill anyone, but she has no such compunction). I wish I had that sort of courage to speak truth to power. Anyway, feminism aside, the Mechas and piloting system were cool. There's romance and all is not what it seems, and it ended in a place that made this reader verrrrrrrrrry happy. It's a much better take on a love triangle than what you'd normally see in YA. It's written very colloquially with some North American slang, which I think may turn off some readers, but y'all this book was practically perfect for me.

TLDR: This book is awesome and feminist and seriously entertaining and you should probably just read it. 5 stars. I'll be shoving this one into the hands of anyone who gets close enough to me.

Characters: 4.5 out of 5 stars!
Writing: 4 out of 5 stars!
Vibes: 5 out of 5 stars!
Plot: 3 out of 5 stars!
Enjoyment: 4 out of 5 stars!
OVERALL: 4.25 out of 5 stars!

Okay so where is the sign-up form to marry, I mean, all three of our main characters? You all know I am weak for complex characters and Xiran Jay Zhao just took that to a whole other level. Zetian, Shimin and Yizhi have such strong and different personalities and they are, well, not always morally correct. They are pretty ruthless even and you know what? Good for them! I am soft for them either way…

But Iron Widow is a refreshing debut in so many ways besides its characters, too. YA is so full of tropes and while I love lots of them, some are pretty annoying or even problematic. While reading this, I often felt like the book was challenging the problematic tropes and turning them into something powerful. Nothing but respect for Xiran Jay Zhao.

And yeah…the feminism was everything I wanted. The author really didn’t beat around the bush which made it all blatantly honest and — even though this takes place in a world very different from our own — so true to our (unfortunate) reality. It hurt to see all of this injustice, but I was also glad that the truths were there, no matter how shocking.

I could literally feel Zetian’s rage because, well, we shared it.

While I could mostly feel Zetian’s emotions very strongly, I do wish we’d seen and felt more of her grief. She’s doing this stuff to avenge her sisters’ death, but I can’t help but feel like we as readers didn’t even get a glimpse of what their relationship was like, and that’s a bit of a missed opportunity in my opinion.

Now, you all need to understand this very urgent need I have…The need for an Iron Widow adaptation. Like. Right now. Xiran Jay Zhao writes in a perfect tone for this book and it’s all very vivid, which caused my brain to not only make me read everything but also see it. That wasn’t always pleasant because some of the descriptions are…yeah. But I can assure you this would make a BANGER of an adaptation!

The romance though…it definitely went beyond my expectations. Iron Widow includes a polyamorous relationship that really works as a triangle. All three of them are very much in love with each other and I’m just so emotional. I was scared I would like “these two” together more than “these two, but that luckily wasn’t the case because Xiran Jay Zhao is a genius.

The thing with their romance is is that they don’t come in pairs, but as a group, and I love that.

I do have to be honest though. If you ask me anything about the world-building, my brain will just go blank. I did not understand a lot about what was happening…a lot of the times. I actually read the book twice and the last 20% thrice, even, but I still have no idea. I could just be the dumb one but…yeah.

As for the ending…Xiran Jay Zhao straight up messed with me and my poor brain. I’m honestly terrified for the sequel because what in the hell was that.

I am bowing down to Xiran Jay Zhao because they DELIVERED with their debut! It was an intricate, unique and important story that was just so well crafted. From the characters and their complexity, to the feminism that drives this book; it’s a book you absolutely can’t miss out on!

That only leaves us with one question (actually dozens of them but most importantly): sequel please??

Oh and if the author happens to be reading this: I’d give up everything for a chance to read the draft of Iron Widow that is even darker and R18-rated, thank you.

One-sentence pitch: To avenge her sisters’ murder and save other girls from getting sacrificed, Zetian challenges the patriarchy “where male pilots of giant magical mecha are worshipped, while female pilots must serve as their concubines” and offer their lives for them.

One-sentence review: Side effects of reading this book may include absolutely losing your mind, whispering “wtf” under your breath repeatedly, being in love with Zetian, Yizhi AND Shimin, and of course: no longer seeing the difference between the words “Iron Widow” and “epic”.

Definitely read it if: you want more badass female characters, you like characters who aren’t morally correct (yet NOT problematic!!!), you want to smash the patriarchy, too, or if you’re interested in reading about a polyamorous relationship.

Maybe skip it if: you don’t like complicated stories or aren’t a fan of/have never read science fiction books.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Penguin Teen for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I first heard about Iron Widow, I remember being very intrigued. From the cover to description, this book was generating tons of early hype. Usually that worries me, unrealistic expectations are set and very rarely does a debut release live up to those expectations. This, however, absolutely did.

Wu Zetian is a heroine for the ages. I loved her to pieces, and she is SUCH a breath of fresh air for all of YA/Fantasy. Ruthless and cunning, I was in awe of her and everything she did. The world building was also out of this world. I felt like I was there and not an outsider looking in. There is so much Chinese culture & history woven throughout this book as well. As brutal and dark as this could be at times, it was lush & gorgeously written. I can't wait to find out more about Huaxia's history & it's politics.

Romance is not the forefront of Iron Widow, and I'm so glad it wasn't. Usually I love smut and romance-heavy books, but the romance was done perfectly and it didn't take away from the brilliance of the story itself or the characters.

This book was not afraid to kick ass and take names, and it did exactly that. Xiran Jay Zhao, I bow down to you.

“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.”

Bring on book 2!!

To save their country from alien invaders, boys of Huaxia become pilots of huge transforming mecha called Chrysalises. But the boys do not have the power to pilot these mecha alone... they need a concubine... a woman... to siphon qi from. Unfortunately this arrangement is often fatal for the woman. But because the government pays very well for these sacrifices, poor families from all over Huaxia offer up their daughters in the hopes that their deaths will benefit their sons.

This is what happened to 18-year-old Zeitan's older sister. Except her sister died at the hands of her pilot=husband and not in battle, which meant her family got nothing. Now with vengeance in mind, Zeitan offers herself up to the very man who murdered her sister. And she succeeds... but not in the way anyone expected. During battle, she kills him through their psychic link, earning herself the title of Iron Widow.

Enraged, the powers that be pair her up with their strongest pilot, Li Shimin. Shimin is a murderer... a man who killed his own family. He's an alcoholic. And no woman has survived a battle with him.

Until Zeitan.

---

Okay who's ready for some trigger warnings? Because--Oh boy!-- does this book need them. Triggers for: Rape, domestic abuse, foot binding, sexism, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, murder, physical abuse, alcoholism, substance abuse, gaslighting, parental abuse, spousal abuse, major character death (I mean...*points to the blurb*), and more I've probably missed. Please make sure you're in a good place before reading this.

Also this review will contain some spoilers. But they're good spoilers. The kind that will likely be important to potential readers.

Now that I've gotten the warnings out of the way, I need to gush about this book. It's so freaking good, y'all. Like seriously good. Like I want all the fanfic for it now. First off, it's a novel written by a queer Author of Color. We totally need more of this, and I'm happy to see a book that is rooted in Chinese culture and mythology playing with so many tropes.

I absolutely adored how this book flipped a lot of tropes on their ears while at the same time playing a lot of them straight. This book read like a fanfic, but that is not a bad thing. It means that the book was readable and could appeal to an audience who wants something familiar while also having their alternate universes. Because that's what this is. An AU of Chinese history and mythology with sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal elements. If you like that kind of thing, you will love this. This is the kind of book that readers of the Hunger Games will love. Seriously. I got so many Hunger Games vibes from this., and I loved it.

This is also a YA fantasy novel that goes "Nope! No love triangles for you! We're going to have some healthy polyamory." and I am 100000000% here for it. Like seriously... no more love triangles... give me polyamory instead. And it's an equal triad. Squeeeeeeeeee! Like seriously. Readers do need to note that there are closed door sex scenes. What that means is that there is implied sex on the page but nothing is shown. There's some kissing and heavy petting, but that's about it. Nothing too explicit. And nothing that would take this out of YA.

So let's talk characters. Zeitan has a very Katniss feel to her. She's protective of her family to a point. But moreso she's protective of those that she's deemed as innocent and those who have been wronged by the system. She starts out as focused on only one goal -- kill the man who killed her sister. And when she succeeds, she discovers a new goal -- save the women who are sacrificed/murdered by a system that chews them up and spits them out like cherry pits. She's strong, but she's also flawed. She's powerful... but she also has bound feet so cannot fight physically. She is a disabled heroine who kicks butt and takes names. And she's also human. Her character growth is great and I am here for it.

Then there are the love interests. The first is Yizhi: a rich, scholarly boy from the capital. He's very much a beta hero. The kind of guy who is safe. Gentle. He's a good doobie who is willing to let Zeitan take the lead. Then there's Shimin. He's darker. An addict. He's your brooding YA hero. with a twist. He's closer to the alpha male archetype but also not fully there. He lets Zeitan take the lead as well and he owns his mistakes. He knows he's got blood on his hands and that he has to atone for it. He's like a mix of Gale Hawthorne meets Han Solo. I loved him. I loved them both.

There's a lot of heavy and difficult themes in this book. But I never felt that things got too heavy-handed. The story is compelling and it's definitely got reread value. It's the kind of book that makes you think while being entertaining. Honestly, I feel like this is book for everyone.

So of course I'm going to give this...

Five Stars

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley

This wasn't for me- I got lost- but then I'm not the target reader, Much praise to Zhao for taking on Chinese mythology and history as well as all the other issues. It reminded me of how I feel in Marvel movies- not really understanding what everyone is fighting over but along for the ride. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

This book was so good!

Everything about it evoked the wonder I had for story when I was a child.

There's action, anger, character agency... so much all wrapped up into one. The emotional intelligence in this book was off the charts.

Zetian, the main character really goes through it in this world and I love how her feelings throughout are described. We know why she is angry or sad. We see when she gives in to her feelings and we see why she does. There are so many instances of her standing up for herself, but also experimenting with mercy and what that looks like in her world.

The romance is 12/10 and is different than your typical YA. Not just in the sense that it is a polyamorous but in the sense that the characters own up to themselves and are weathering through things together.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. For any fan of action packed animation stories and high intensity emotion.

ARC procured from Netgalley, thank you Penguin Random House Canada

I admit, the moment I saw the pitch for this book I was sold. I'm a sucker for some fun with historical concepts and I grew up absolutely enthralled by mecha anime and there's one thing I expect with that sort of premise: the robots must be big and the emotions must be bigger. While I hadn't seen the series that in specific inspired the author (Darling in the Franxx), I absolutely expect some sort of large scale social or political commentary woven in -- it kinda comes with the territory.

While I won't say that the reading experience was flawless and there were definitely some scenes that I thought were handled a bit ham-fistedly in the dialogue, the overall experience reading was an absolute blast. It was exciting to have a protagonist that was set up to be bitter and ruthless and have the greater arc of the story not be about making her rage toothless and bring her to a kinder and brighter place. I understand that might not be to every reader's liking, but I dig it.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that, being an immigrant from China myself, certain scenes hit me like a ton of bricks. There's a fair bit here that struck very close to home -- some echoed in my direct family, others echoed in my extended. It made emotionally connecting to Zetian pretty easy -- she has a pretty limited arc herself through this book, instead we're mostly peeling the first few layers of the onions that are our three leads and gaining perspective over time, but I absolutely understand the grounding qualities of her character.

It's not going to be for everyone but the mecha weeb in me is absolutely happy having read this.

Well this book was crazy! Crazy amazing! I was cringing in parts because the description was that good. The world building is amazing, I felt like I was immersed in this world every time I was reading. I enjoyed learning about different Chinese customs throughout this story, I understand the book is based very loosely on different historical figures. Great book.





I just reviewed Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

1.5/5 rounded up to 2— This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I ended up so disappointed. A short synopsis of my feelings are that highly interesting lore does not make up for a lack of character development, inconsistencies in themes, and poor writing.

Positives:
- The lore and magic system on Chinese principles and culture is SO interesting and I enjoyed learning about it at the beginning.
- The romance aspect was interesting because polyamory representation is rare, but both men were so wholly unlikable that I wish she ended up with no one. That being said, I prefer mediocre representation over no representation, and I do feel like it was handled well despite me hating the characters involved.

Negatives:
- Everything that’s set up in the first half falls apart the second the main character faces it. There are no real challenges and the book’s own lore is constantly doubled back on. For example, it’s set up that the main character lives in a highly patriarchal society but when she gets to the palace she is frequently listened to, respected, and gets her way, even when speaking to high ranking male officials. Sometimes all she does is ask and a conflict is resolved for her??? This made absolutely no sense to me and took me out of the story.
- In fact, there are no stakes at all. Every “issue” is resolved within a few pages and it makes the conflict boring. You know after about two minor conflicts that everything will end up working in the main character's favor so you just don't care.
- The original thing the main character wants, revenge, is completely forgotten a third of the way through and replaced with a general irreverence for the patriarchy, but I honestly feel that the revenge plot line was more interesting.
- Written like a fan fiction; not much in the way of creative word use and highly repetitive. On top of that, all of the adults, even ones with high ranks and official titles, converse like children. It is so dialogue heavy, and most of the dialogue is extremely contrived.
- This book is supposed to be feminist but the main character is a “not like other girls” type and she does not have one singular interaction with another woman that doesn’t go poorly. There is no female empowerment or camaraderie message because all the interactions she has with other women are negative. There are numerous examples of this with the. other concubines in the beginning, the other queen pilots, her sister, her grandmother, etc.
- I never know wtf is happening in any fight scene. The descriptions are so convoluted and jump from over explaining to under explaining. I had to go back and re-read some sections only to realize that the piece that I’m missing wasn’t explained.

All in all, I wanted to like this book and I just couldn't. Highly disappointing and part of the reason I've stopped picking up books written by Youtubers is because they frequently end up with these sorts of results.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.