Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What the fuck. I want the next one immediately. Reading the Author's Note now, it gave me chills. Truly this work is incredible.

Iron Widow is a work of fiction that pulls historical figures from Chinese history. The main character is inspired by Empress Regnant Wu and her rise to power to become the only female Empress of China.

In Huaxia, boys dream of piloting Chrysalises, giant transforming robots, that defend against the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. Girls are bound into service as concubine-pilots, and taken on a subservient role that also has a greater chance of death. Zetian Wu decides to join the army for revenge of her Big Sister's murder. When she kills the man responsible through the psychic link in the Chrysalis, she becomes an Iron Widow--a woman feared for her power. But the army isn't ready to cooperate with her yet, they team her up with Li Shimin, the most powerful pilot ever.

This book was bloody, violent and so damn good. I loved Zetian and her craving for revenge and justice for all the concubines who were killed. Zetian would probably not ever be described as "good", but I absolutely loved her character. I am so here for powerful, unlikeable, yet determined female characters.

The plot of this was fantastic. Throughout almost the whole novel, we're convinced of the storyline and we are given hints on how it will proceed. But then the ending comes and whacks you upside the head and everything goes to shit... I'm still screaming from the ending. I probably won't stop until I have the sequel because damn that was amazing.

I loved the appreciation of Chinese history and culture that was woven into this book. The world truly came alive and I could viscerally picture it. This book also definitely asks the question what use are gender roles and why does the patriarchy continue to win? Truly, I just can't say even good things about this book!

Rep: Chinese polyamorous female MC with bound feet & uses a wheelchair, bisexual Chinese male love interest, alcoholic bisexual Chinese male love interest, supporting cast of all Chinese characters. While the world heavily relies on the gender binary, there are discussions that gender and sex are not binary.

CWs: Acephobia/Acemisia, alcohol/alcoholism--forced development of alcoholism, internalized biphobia/bimisia, blood, body horror (bound feet), body shaming/fatphobia, colonisation, confinement to chrysalis vehicles and prison cells, death/death of parents, emotional abuse, fire/fire injury, forced enlistment of women as concubines, gaslighting, mental illness (PTSD/panic attacks), misogyny, murder, racial slurs, attempted rape/mentions of past rape/sexual violence, sexism, sexual content, suicidal thoughts, torture, war, violence.

CWs from author: contains scenes of violence and abuse, suicide ideation, discussion and references to sexual assault (thought no on-page depictions), alcohol addiction, and torture.

I was told that this book was very reminiscent of Pacific Rim, and I was told that the protagonist is based on the real-life Empress Wu. I love that movie unabashedly, and I am all about learning more about historical female figures.

I just have to say: Wow. I loved this book so much, and I will absolutely be going through to read it again. Giant robots and mind linking technology presents a very advanced society, and this juxtaposed against a culture that the main character calls out repeatedly as repressive and deliberately stacked against half of its people is so enthralling. My heart broke at several of the small details, especially since as a white woman, I have never experienced some of the repressive measures taken. For example, we are shown the lifelong effects of foot binding on Wu Zetian, the main character, and there were several no-holds-barred descriptions of the initial binding and what was required to care for those feet after. Zetian is portrayed as such a fiery spirit and an indomitable personality, and being reminded that her very body held her physically back for fighting was, for me as a reader, heart-wrenching.

These did not stop her, though, and this same indomitable personality and Zetian's desire for justice for her deceased sister propels her to make allies where she did not expect. She is not a "soft" person, but her own background and desire for answers compels her to open herself to those connections and then to understand her allies. She refuses several times through the book to feel ashamed for her circumstances, the expectations of her gender, and to accept things as they are.

This book was wonderfully written, and I cannot wait for the next one.

"Iron Widow" is a book unlike any I've ever read before. It points out how horrible misogyny and the patriarchy are for everyone all while presenting an amazing storyline. AND THE PLOT TWISTS ARE THE BEST! Zetian is such a strong, independent, and intelligent character and we definitely need more characters like her in books and the media. There's action and friendship and romance and heartbreak and everything in between, and I would 10000% recommend everyone reads this book. I AM ALREADY ANXIOUSLY ANTICIPATING THE SEQUEL!!!

This book was such a great premise. As soon as I started it, I loved the whole world and it gave me major Pacific Rim vibes which is fantastic since it is one of my favorite movies. I love when books jump right into the action and introduce the story and characters with a fast pace.

Pros:
- Amazing premise with fantastic imagery and strong world-building
- Unique storytelling and perspective
- Great diversity and inclusion in the story that is completely natural and works so well
- Strong female characters that do not put up with anyone treating them as less.

Cons:
- Mediocre middle and a story that lags as you go. This book started with so much potential that just completely fizzled out by about 1/2 through

I think this book will be perfect for a lot of people who want a unique world and action-packed plot. But for me the pacing had issues and my enjoyment decreased as I read the story. It started off so well but quickly fizzled out.

I was so happy to get an ARC of this book. I have been following the author on Twitter for a while and enjoy her takes on culture and media. The setup for this book is a futuristic setting with characters and traditions from Chinese history. Described as Pacific Rim and Handmaid's Tale, I can honestly say I'm familiar with neither and went into this not really knowing what to expect.

This book is a YA title, but is certainly readable for adults as well. I had so many highlights in this book! This author speaks to my angry feminist soul! The main character, Zeitian, is a young country girl who is disappointed by the culture that allows women and girls to (literally) be sacrifices for society. Her strength and honesty are amazing representations for young girls without being inauthentic.

The heroes on this story are imperfect and lovely. There are fewer, less developed side characters, but I didn't find any of them caricatures. There is a lot of action happening so there just wasn't much time for them. I appreciate that there were other strong women in this novel who had different goals and perspectives, especially relating to Zeitian. (No spoilers)

Please let this be a series because I am not done with this world!

#NetGalley #Reviews #IronWidow

*3.5* Let’s get one thing clear: Zetian is an empress and everyone should bow down to her.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s continue on to the actual review.

Where do I begin? I have many conflicting thoughts about this book. A part of me loves this book while the other is confused and a little disappointed. Let’s start with the things I liked:

The plot. The whole idea of the Chrysalis and the idea of how they worked was interesting. Very specific details, the suits, the yin/yang seats. Zetian wanting more for women in general and fighting for what she believes in. Kicking some Evas—I mean Hunduns’ butts.

The characters. Zetian, again, is super awesome. I liked Li Shimin and Yizhi. Seeing poly being represented in YA is already giving this book high praise. I hope people who are in a polyamorous relationship can relate to these characters feelings.

I know they compare this story to Pacific Rim but honestly I compare it to Evangelion Neon Genesis. Maybe it’s because I’ve never seen Pacific Rim.

The things I didn’t like:

The world building.This is what the whole story should’ve been about. Building this fantastic SciFi world and making it make sense. It didn’t really make sense. The politics, the living situations, the locations, the science, the army. None of those things were explained enough to truly understand what’s going on. We know that the Sages are the ones in charge but we don’t know what they’re in charge of or what they do for the people. We know the pilots have special classes but they were just throwing words around that I would keep forgetting which one is better. With a little more world building, this book really could’ve hit it for me.

Y he characters. See how confusing this is for me?! I loved and hated them? What? They were all good in their own rights but they all felt one dimensional. The interactions between certain characters felt forced and a little awkward. Their relationships were sweet but also not natural. It just didn’t flow right.

The writing. I think that’s the thing that’s breaks this the most. The thing that kept taking me out of the story the most was the inspiration feminist quotes every time Zetian thought of something. Don’t get me wrong, seeing Zetian fight for women’s rights and standing up to the failed system is really awesome. But it isn’t awesome when every page is a short monologue of inspiration. And some were very generic quotes that I’ve heard before. I like them but there’s just too much of them. The way the author describes things didn’t give much to imagine. Things weren’t explained for some stuff while other things were explained but just the bare minimum. All the scientific stuff was left out! They described out it works but there should’ve been more in-depth descriptions of what it all meant. I was confused what meridians were and I didn’t know that Qi could be used for external power, I thought it had to be transferred to a machine like a Chrysalis. Maybe this is just me nit picking but idk.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was a lot of fun to read. That ending? Was definitely not expecting that and I’m heartbroken and confused even more. Hopefully when the sequel comes out I will enjoy it even more.

"'You've been living a dream for long enough!' I yell at the cameras between bursts of maniacal laughter, raising my arms. 'Welcome to your nightmare!'"

In a techno, dystopian world mirroring the cultures of ancient China and the women's equality of The Handmaid's Tale, looming alien creatures known as Hunduns terrorize the people of Huaxia. Boys and girls team up in psychically linked mecha suits known as Chrysalises in order to fight these beasts in a blaze of glory—one that almost always ends in the physical death of the female concubine-pilot. When 18 year-old Wu Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, no one expects her to be capable of killing her male co-pilot in an act of vengeance for her sister's death years earlier. More notably, no one could expect that she would be mentally strong enough to survive such an encounter at all. Her defeat of her sister's powerful killer and mecha pilot earns her the rare title of an Iron Widow, a female pilot capable of reversing the usual tale.

Fueled by a desire to crush her society's misogynistic systems and defeat the endless cycle of female sacrifices, Zetian teams up with the powerful—but hated—pilot Li Shimin to understand the true reason behind the brutalities—at any cost.

In the briefest words possible, Xiran Jay Zhao's debut novel has made me think harder than any YA novel I've read in a very long time. From its onset, Iron Widow presents a bleak but captivating open world of aliens, invaders, warrior culture, female oppression, Attack-on-Titan-style horrors of war and mystery, and a complex polyamorous love triangle—all fueled by a bitter, firecracker protagonist. In other words, there is pretty much everything going on in this fast-paced, captivating novel.

Zetian is hard to read for much of the novel. I was fascinated with her relatively gray morality. Sure, she has noble-ish purposes in mind for most of the book: she’s driven to hunt her sister's killer in the name of justice; she wants to end the system of concubine-pilots, which forces girls into enlisting for near-certain death; and she’s still motivated to attack the Hunduns in order to preserve the interests of everyone she knows. But don't be fooled—while Zetian is written to be a protagonist, she is never a hero.


"I am exactly the kind of ice-blooded, rotten-hearted girl he fears I am.
And I am fine with that."

Zetian seems to think of herself in clouded, ash-colored words. Though she grows to love at least two characters, she does not believe in the existence of completely good or unselfish people. Early on, we see that she has complicated relationships with her family, and that she understandably resents them for their abusive and misogynistic treatment of her. This coldness towards her family manifests into a lack of caring about her own life as she pursues vengeance in a way that was very difficult to read. Zetian is a cynical character, but I think that her bitterness makes her softer moments more tender to read.

My one issue with the core of Zetian's fierce character is that we don't see how she is able to break free from the illusions of the patriarchy. Her mother and grandmother have reinforced patriarchal ideals onto her for the entirety of her life. Zetian also does not have many outside resources, like group education or female friends. She learned to read and write from her upper-class, secret-friend-turned-secret-lover, Yizhi, who showed her an unusual amount of kindness and respect. But besides that, it is difficult to understand how Zetian could so strongly reject the idea that she was born to be subservient to men in such an isolated existence. She is driven towards being so hardcore and ruthless—understandably so, because of the pointless death of her sister—but avenging her sister is just the beginning of Zetian's path towards destructuring the very fabric of the world she was forced into.


"The pain can't surprise me because it has never left.
A lightning strike of it shoots up my legs with every step I take."

Bodily autonomy is a heavy and crucial part of the feminist overtones in Xiran Jay Zhao's Iron Widow. We repeatedly see how having bound feet weighs on Zetian physically and emotionally. With a constant reminder of how she is meant to be reliant on men, Zetian shies away heavily from having to rely on anyone. Even when she has strong feelings for Yizhi, she is still suspicious and embittered: "As long as I do not give in to my emotions, I cannot lose any game that might be being played."

Sexual autonomy is also an important theme in this society filled with concubines, forced marriage, and several allusions to sexual assault. Feeling ashamed for having sexual desires as a woman has been reinforced in Zetian since she was a child. She deals with that shame alongside her relationships heavily in the novel.

The polyamorous relationship and bi representation among the three main protagonists is a particularly unique dynamic. It’s different, but honestly a nice change to see. Yizhi explains it best when saying that: "Love can be infinite, as much as your heart can open." In a book centered around liberation, Zetian freeing herself from having to pick one or the other just makes sense.

I could write thousands of words about the intricacies of this devastating piece, but my most significant thought is that any and all YA fantasy fans should read it. Iron Widow is one of the darkest YA stories I've read since earlier books like Marie Lu's The Young Elites or Kendare Blake's Three Dark Crowns, so keep that in mind before diving in. But make no mistake: Xiran Jay Zhao's shockingly bold debut is a fiercely feminist dystopian read that's not to be missed.

Iron Widow releases September 21, 2021.

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

This book was phenomenal. I don't think I have a single complaint aside from it ending too soon.

The story is upbeat and immediately addicting, the characters are strong and The motivations are stronger.

Each character has a bright and distinguishable personality that makes them who they are and the way the author connects them all is gorgeous.

The whole novel is insanely poetic and when I was taking reading breaks I found my mind wandering back to the story and wondering what comes next.

I strongly recommend this book to literally everyone.

This post-apocalyptic mecha fantasy from author Xiran Jay Zhao is a magnificent roller coaster of feminism and self-acceptance.

Zetian is the fierce, angry, bloodthirsty feminist icon we all deserve. Her rage is inspiring and guttural; a collective scream of female oppression over the years. This science fiction book pulls from the author's Chinese heritage, making it that much richer of a story. The world building is set up well, and makes you eagerly await the next book in the series, especially after the shocking cliff-hanger.

I love all the relationships in the book- if you are expecting a love triangle, think again! Zetian will not play by anyone's rules, and will enjoy her life on her terms. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Holy. Crap. This book was so good. The world building was unique and inspired. I loved how they used the martial arts style of Bagua (the one that the Air Benders use in ATLA and LOK) The chrysalis system was so cool, I loved the way it worked and how everything came together. The ending will leave you reeling begging for more. I need the second book ASAP. This book can be described as Gundam + Handmaids Tale with a dash of Star Wars and ATLA. This book absolutely blew my mind. I devoured it. I cannot wait for more from this author. This is going to be one of my favourite series.

I've never been a particular fan of the inexperienced-yet-all-powerful-teen-hero trope. Zetian was unbelievable as a character and seemed to exist to give the reader speeches. There's no character development or explanation for how she developed her beliefs. I couldn't finish.

Thank you to the publisher for the early copy via netgalley!

I'm obsessed with this book. This is the absolute best book I've read in a LONG time. I am absolutely obsessed. Pacific Rim meets THE Handmaid's Tale? Yes. 1000000% YES! There is so much great going for this book. There's great action scenes, there is a girl trying to take down the patriarchy, there's polyamory instead of a love triangle. There's history mixed with futuristic sci-fi. Seriously, you need to read this book if it isn't already on your radar ADD IT.

This book is an action packed look at what makes a person worthy or able to change the world. In between sweeping battles and clever dialouge you'll find a timely commentary on gender, race, and how our society deems some people more important than others.

It took a moment to figure out the world building and really settle into the story. But once I did I enjoyed where this book and these characters took me.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Immediately I'm going to say this. If you're an adult reader who can't accept that a teenager is going to act like a teenager, this book may not be for you. If you can accept that a teenager is going to act like a teenager PLUS at least empathize that a traumatized teenager is going to act a certain way, then okay you can read this.

I will admit that I had to repeatedly remind myself that Zetian is a teenager with a single-minded focus to get revenge on the whole system. It's a dash of "I'm not like other things" idea that gets narratively knocked down when it hits a pitch.

I know the romance isn't supposed to be everything but it felt slightly underdeveloped. I wish there was more to develop everything.

I got to the end of the book thinking, "Okay, I can dig this. I'll read the next one." Within the last few pages that feeling became "I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!?! OH MY GOD." I hope you get the same feeling, too.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC.

In this, we follow Zetian on a quest of revenge, though that is only the beginning of her story. Her sister was previously sent off to be a concubine pilot. The robots, or Chrysalises, in this story are kind of like giant robots that are usually an animal in form, think turtles, dragons, etc.
They must be powered by a male and a female pair of similiar qi power levels, and usually the female dies if the male is the more powerful of the pair. The way that society is set up, this as seen as negligible consequence.

Zetian leaves her home and offers herself up as a pilot so that she can avenge the male pilot who killed her sister.
That's all I want to say on plot because I went into it mostly blind and think it's even better that way.

Zetian is absolutely RUTHLESS. She takes what she wants and doesn't take any shit.
I really enjoyed her character, though sometimes she could feel just a bit overbearing, there were also more tender moments where she realized that not everyone's situation is the same, and she needs to empathize with others. I also really enjoyed seeing the feminism in this, which was only aided by Zetian being a badass throughout the entire book.

I adored Yizhi and Shimin, and this book does seem to touch briefly on the concept of a polyamorous relationship. The plot was good and I was invested mainly in the characters, and less in the politics of the world, though the author did a great job of making it all make sense at the end. They're someone I would like to keep up with as they publish more books!

I'm excited for the sequel of this to come out as well. I would recommend it as a upper YA/new adult title, as there are quite a handful of trigger warnings, dark themes, and graphic scenes.

I was a huge fan of the characters in this book. I like my characters with personality and Zetian, Shimin and Yizhi had plenty of that. As I was reading, I could feel Zetian coming to life on the page and I thought she was fantastic. She had personality, she had opinions and she had goals she was determined to accomplish. From the first chapter, that was obvious. She was pretty much uncompromising when it came to trying to achieve what she was aiming to achieve. At the same time, she was written in such a way that she didn't feel hard to relate to. It was very easy for me to empathize with the situation she found herself in and the struggles she faced. Shimin and Yizhi are slightly different stories. While they each had distinct and great personalities, it wasn't until a little further into the book that the reader gets to see that for themselves. The story is told from Zetian's POV, so it makes sense that, as she gets to know them better, the reader does as well. All in all, this novel had a fantastic main cast of complex and nuanced characters.

The society, setting and overall world is inspired by Chinese culture and some of the characters' names are taken from Chinese history. I loved the representation and the way the author used those elements to create her own world for the story. The story captures the somewhat terrifying world you'd imagine when you hear the elevator pitch for this book. Most importantly, this story is exciting. The battle scenes between the Chrysalises and the aliens are epic and action-packed. Past a point, I was unable to put this book down because I needed to know what happened next. The maneuvering and political intrigue happening as Zetian and Shimin gain more recognition was also very compelling and I was invested in seeing how they used it to further their goals. The climax of the story was thrilling, heart-breaking and exciting all at once. And the last scene of the book, meant to get the reader excited for the sequel, blew me away.

Overall, I liked the writing for this story. Xiran Jay Zhao's writing style felt very unique and she did an excellent job of crafting this wonderful, exciting, intense story. It's possible that not every reader will like her style, she has a very clear voice as an author that some might not connect with. The descriptions were great, the pacing of the story was good and I liked almost everything about the writing. There were a few passages that read like a debut novel, but I was impressed by the book as a whole.

Iron Widow (Iron Widow, #1)
by Xiran Jay Zhao
This is a great story of self growth, and over coming odds. The book looks at how a young girl can not only find resolution to the old hurts, and inspiration into the future. The battle between an invasive alien species and humanity has many changes on society. The reestablishment is not always fair in times of war. This book looks not only on ideas of the future, but resolving some of the wrongs of the past. Its a great conversation starter on understanding past practices that have found disfavor, and understanding the next step into the future.

I really enjoyed this! I wasn't sure what to expect, but I'd been hearing a ton about it, so I was very excited to get a copy to review!

I really loved the MC, I loved the world, I love the way everything unfolded. I loved how feminist it was, and how there wasn't really a typical love triangle that you see in YA books,, but a consensual love triangle where... everyone was into each other.

I can't wait for the next book!

I went into this book with high expectations and it definitely did not disappoint at all. Normally with fantasy books the first 20% seem to drag on forever for me but this surprised me it was a pretty easy read from the start the world building was amazing and I loved the characters and the plot so much

Thank you so much for an early copy in exchange for an honest review. Going in I was pretty nervous since I didn't realize it was more of a sci-fi type fantasy but oh my god did this book exceed my expectations and much more.

After getting through the initial world building, I could not put this book down. There was always something going on, the pacing was incredible, it knew when to slow the pacing for world building and speed it up for thise amazing action packed sequences. Also, I loved the social commentary in this book. Normally most fantasy books take a very linear perspective on oppression and misogyny, but not in this novel.

Absolutely fantastic, perfect for fans of the poppy war if they are looking for a young adult fantasy.