This is the queer historical fantasy "retelling" that we all needed. I loved each and everyone of the characters with all my heart, and I cannot wait until it gets to meet the world.

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, robots that can battle the creatures that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, its not to become another nameless death, it's to kill the male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected, when she kills him through the mental link that forms between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unharmed. She's called Iron Widow, a feared and silenced female pilot who can sacrifice boys instead.​

To tame her invaluable mental strength, she is paired up the Iron Demon, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower as easily as they had hoped. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed, even if it means she must be the one who stops it.

Overall this book was amazing, and one of the best that I've read this year. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. The pacing was uneven; the narrator showed some scenes and told us what happened in between those scenes, though I believed the in-between events were worth showing and were important to the story. Some events were told to us as if to connect scenes together.

One of the major game-changing revelations in the end (in the prologue), for instance, was revealed in a couple lines of dialogue. We didn't see how the character discovered a major truth about the characters' world. We didn't get to see the setting where and how he uncovered this revelation. We didn't see his reaction.

We also didn't see a lot of what the world looked like. I didn't get a full picture of how the different chrysalis powers worked. What made them different and what were their special powers that made them different from the others? As far as I could tell, the powers, earth, fire, metal, water, wood, had corresponding colors. Some worked better on certain terrains and enemies than others, but the narrator rushed through the explanation and didn't explain the logic behind it.

I liked how the narrator described the pilots' telepathic connection, how Zetian and her male pilot counterpart battled in their minds to control their vehicles. Those scenes were well-crafted, emotional, and drew me in. The romance did not feel to me as revolutionary as the narrator told me it was. The romance felt extraordinary and larger than life during the action scenes, when their lives and their relationship were on the line.

I get that this is supposed to be a feminist narrative. But I couldn't get behind the narrator's choices. She felt very much like a rebellious teenager who solved obstacles by basically killing or subduing everyone who got in her way. She also felt that torturing a person by simulating waterboarding, then killing that person and hiding his body was a good way to resolve a situation. She also didn't seem to mind if civilians or innocent people were killed when she destroyed some facilities.

In the end, she resembled a tyrant like Season 8 Dany in Game of Thrones, dragon and all. Both believed they were saving the world, changing the world, breaking chains, in this case the enslavement and subjugation of women. Both believed they were revolutionaries and the best way to change things was to seize total power and control of the world. The only explanation I can think of for Zetian's actions in this novel is her long history of trauma and abuse and ongoing PTSD. Maybe, there's only so much she could take as a human being, so she snapped, the way Dany did in the GoT series finale.

I also found the scene problematic where an older man coerced Zetian into doing something she initially found abhorrent. Yet, she rationalized that by doing what he wanted, by changing her perception of the act, she was taking control of her sexuality and owning it. This kind of thinking in my opinion is one step to saying it's not that bad. I think that if she was really using her sexuality to have power over this man, she would have seduced him instead.

If this book was supposed to be a cross between Pacific Rim and Handmaid's Tale, I felt it was more like the action movie than the dystopia fiction. Many of the characters were one-dimensional, and the world and magic system weren't well-developed. The love triangle not being a love triangle was one of the biggest selling points of this book, but we didn't see how the boys fell in love, we just knew they did.

I wish I could have better things to say about this book. I finished reading it because I wanted to know what happened in the end, but I'm sorry to say the ending was dissatisfying and didn't leave me wanting to find out what happens next in the series.

*ARC received from NetGalley

This has strong Pacific Rim vibes in a post apocalyptic world. I loved the idea behind this book and was drawn to read this by the synopsis. It unfortunately didn't live up to my expectations. It was an enjoyable read but I didn't love how it was written.

An adrenaline-packed, fierce, angry and blistering sci-fi adventure, reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Pacific Rim.

Iron widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is one crazy ride. I’d describe it as gundam/pacific rim meets hunger games meets Ender Games or Nausicaa.
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The premise is that our main character, a girl being subjected to a society that reeks of patriarchy and classism.

Basically she #angry and #burnthepatriarchy. She is a act first reflect later kind of person. So it took me a bit to get used to how harsh she is. It makes sense why but it is a rough character to get main perspective from.
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The plot was good that it kept me going and the author did some interesting things in terms of relationships. I do think that some plot parts could have been stretched out more and others condensed. Feels like they could have done two books out of this, but it is part of a sequel so we shall see.
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That ending. I need people to read and tell me what they think. I was torn on the ending.
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Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC. I’m definitely intrigued on where this goes. This book comes out Sept 21. Find it where books are sold.

What a refreshing read! I have been in a reading slump and this book knocked me right out of it. Action. Adventure. A love triangle to die for! Can’t wait to read more from this author.

I need more YA books like this, more books that critique the patriarchy, more books that embrace polyamory because the amount of YA novels with love triangles and the heroine having to pick between them is astronomical. It’s futuristic but also has historical vibes if that makes sense and I personally adore that kind of sci fi. Zetian is an amazing heroine and one of the best, most dynamic characters I’ve read in a while and one I think people will either love or hate. The writing is stellar and I can’t wait to see what else this author comes up with because her writing is just so impressive! I know I’m rambling but trust me when I says read this book it is a banger!

This was a thrilling read but not for the faint of heart. It was raw, traumatic, emotional and abrasive but oh so good. 4.5 stars.

I had a hard time trying to sum up this book in just a sentence and in the end I think the tag line form Zhao’s website really does it best: “A Pacific Rim x The Handmaid’s Tale reimagining of China’s only female emperor”

Okay let’s do this by way of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Good:
Yes, burn down the Patriarchy!!

Yes, let’s have a polly relationship in a YA book -which really felt like a NA book (what’s an NA? it’s “New Adult” and it’s just the BEST genre title that seems to have gotten lost along the way and replaced with “Crossover” – but frankly that’s just confusing, sorry I’m getting sidetracked).

Yes, let’s remind everyone, not just women, but anyone who’s been marginalized and beat down, emotionally and/or physically that they matter, no matter who they are.

Yes, let’s fight monsters with larger than life robots!

The writing style was brash and jerky, and a few times it feels like you’ve been slapped in the face but I think it really set the tone for Zetian’s character. Also, once the ball get’s rolling in this story it doesn’t really stop till the final paragraph. Yes, it ends on a cliffhanger as it’s the first book in a duology.

The Bad:
I wanted to give this book 5 brightly qi light stars but there were a few things that stopped me.

I wish the romance was developed a bit more and that there was more depth, more description and more attention. Zhao goes into painful detail about so many other parts of their lives. Mostly the horrible and soul crushing aspects but spends very little time on the love and tenderness that blossoms between the three of them. I don’t know if this was reined in because this is one of the few books that has punched through that glass ceiling on YA romance tropes to break free from the classic love triangle to include polyamory but I really needed more. I needed it just as much as the characters did.

Also, there were a few plot holes that I wish Zhao had explained a bit more, for example at the end where did she get all this energy, when did she re-charge?

The Ugly:
There are some dark, dark elements in both Zetian and Shimin’s story. They include, abuse, torture, alcoholism, mutilation, death and excessive violence.

Zhao didn’t pull any punches when describing Zetian’s feet binding, it was graphic and unsettling. Her bound feet served as a lens upon how she saw the world, herself and everyone around her. They deeply affected her psyche and were a constant reminder of how society viewed women and the way they mutilated each other into servitude.

Then we come to the “Iron Demon” Shimin’s story and I just want to weep thinking about the injustice he faced over and over again. I loved this character so much and I wished we got more from him and how he opened up to both Zetian and Yizhi.

I would have loved to get a few chapters in Shimin and Yizhi’s perspective and I hope the next book will give is more insight to Yizhi.

Like I said before this was a wonderfully emotionally heavy ride that I can’t wait to do again in the finale book. Also quick shout out to the “true north” super happy to be supporting an up and coming Canadian author. I will defiantly be buying this in hardcopy and recommending it.

Tigger Warning: abuse, torture, alcoholism, mutilation, death, excessive violence

Special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for sharing this digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
#netgalley #ironwidow #canadianauthor #canadianYA

An exciting sci-fi that blends history with over-the-top mecha anime inspiration. The true-love-triangle throuple was refreshing polyamorous representation, and the heroine's outlook highlighted strong parallels between archaic sexism and modern day. Fun and fast-paced, with compelling and thought-provoking themes.

This book is so different then others- it has features of an old world kingdom but set in a technologically advanced society (compared to others) with a fierce modern protagonist. It keeps me reading to figure out what comes next

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me this ARC!

I ran hot and cold on "Iron Widow" the entire time I was reading it. On paper, it was everything I could possibly want: Pacific Rim-type mech action that examined misogyny in a reimagined fantasy China? Yes please! We'll start with:

The Not Good:

Unfortunately, I didn't mesh well with the style of writing; it felt very underbaked and on the young side of YA - the first-person POV featured an overload of rhetorical questions (Why was this happening? Who is he? What is he going to do to me? What's happening?) etc that weighed down the action rather than raise tension. Zetian also uttered many stray exclamations of "ugh", "wow" and "duh" etc that seemed like placeholders for more clever dialogue that never got changed. Zetian was sometimes amazing - I was cheering her on, excited to see what ballsy thing she'd do next - and then sometimes too Hot Topic edgy "I'm not like the other girls; I murder people". Yeah, we get it. The book got a little info dumpy halfway in, and could have benefited from pulling in the lore earlier; the reader was in the dark a while as to how the mechs were supposed to function and how the system was set up.

The Good

There were a lot of undertones of "The Hunger Games" in this, particularly in "Iron Widow"'s examination of the fickle qualities of an audience, and the media's ability to grant temporary power to otherwise victimized pilots. Honestly, I felt "Iron Widow" did this BETTER than The Hunger Games, having a protagonist willing to temporarily sell out in order to plot something diabolical later.

I was FULLY INVESTED in the poly throuple - I wanted so much more of them and what I got was amazing! I thought Zetian was at her best when she was balanced by these two other strong personalities, and I enjoyed seeing the dynamic set up over the course of the novel. I feel like plot with the three personalities has been set up pretty well for future installments as well.

The action sequences with the mechs were exactly what I was hoping for - exciting, surprising, and genuinely fun. I'm very much looking forward to more mech battles as the series progresses!

The ending was a slam dunk - I did a lot of gasping and going "oh no!"

So all in all, while I have some reservations about this book, I'm really excited to see where this is going plotwise - the world is such an interesting, unique one, and I got a kick out of several "twists' that took place in the final few chapters. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, quick read that's got lots of action.

But can I give this more than five stars?

WOW. This is by far one of my favourite books read this year. It makes Top Three, and that's knowing the year still has five more months left in it. *Strong* female lead. Total badass, HBIC, and someone who isn't quite the hero, nor the villain. I adore (yes, adore) what the author did with the second and third main characters, and the relationships/chemistry said three have.

The theme and messages coursing havoc through the novel are legit and worth supporting. The description of "This is Pacific Rim meets Handmaid's Tale" plus historical fiction is pretty dang accurate; the concept and the world are just cool as hell, and the way in which Zhao choreographs language is utterly stunning. I highlighted so many passages, because they just left me drunk. And I didn't even realize who the author was until I went on a pronouns search, at which point, I literally yelled at my husband "OH. MY. GODS. Do know who wrote that book I just read??" We saw their YouTube videos and instantly took a liking, so knowing they're behind this g-dang gem only propels my exultation of it. I further trust the material, given the depth and detail put into their previous work.

You can guarantee that I'll be buying this series and screaming its praises. As if that gorgeous cover art by Ashley Mackenzie isn't reason alone.

First off, I actually finished this book a couple of weeks ago; I had to take this much time to process everything it made me feel and figure out how to turn all my internal screeching and screaming into actual words.

I loved EVERYTHING about this book! What I love most, however, is how Zhao turns nearly every trope and expected unfolding of events/characterization on its head. The lead female character: not apologetic in the slightest about the horrible things she does and says (because why should she be in a world that doesn't even really see her as anything but a commodity?). The lead male characters: one is presented as little more than a mindless beast but is actually the soft boi, and the previous soft boi is actually a badass. All of them face their own weaknesses and demons, and they do it all while holding the literal weight of the world on their shoulders.

From the get-go, Zhao said that this story would indeed involve a love triangle, but it wouldn't be the typical "girl must choose between two, usually equally awful, boys", and I ADORED that! I never did quite understand the whole big deal in YA (and other genres, too, tbf) of the girl having to choose. Why should she pick one? Why not both? And why can't the boys pick each other, too? Let them all be happy together, dammit! And what really makes this "triangle" work is that it's not where "the power of love softens their edges and makes them better people". No, they're still awful people. And that's GREAT! Because while Zetian and her boys aren't nice people, they're great characters who are fit in perfectly with the world around them, and rather than trying to make slow changes, they decide "yep, we'll just burn it all down and start again".

Zetian is especially wonderful as a character. She'd been put through hell by her own family (look up "footbinding" and be horrified at what parents did to their own daughters) and decided she wasn't going to go out like that. She was going to fight and kill and manipulate and *force* the world to be better, and she'd do it all with a great big smile on her face.

Now, as epic as the book was, you're almost certainly not prepared for that twist at the end! I can't even say what I compare it to because it might ruin the surprise. GO PRE-ORDER THIS NOW!!!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.*

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!! 4.5/5

Oh. My. God. Look, I'll admit I mostly requested it because of the cover. And then I read the synopsis...it's basically Handmaid's Tale meets Pacific Rim meets sci-fi meets dystopian and ALL the things. This book is a beautiful look at gender roles and norms in a patriarchal culture (ancient China) while touching on feet binding, yin and yang, colonialism, capitalism, and SO much more. Like, there is SO much within this book, and the ending opens the door to SO much more.

The qi elements and the fighting? Beautiful. The depictions of the Chrysalis and the world building? Amazing. Zetian is a strong, female character who is an ANTIHERO. Yes, do not expect heroics from her. She is an antihero dismantling a patriarchic system, and the antiheroism really comes out in the last 1/4 of the book. There's a POLY relationship in a YA book - outstanding. This book also looks at actions and consequences while building redemption within a flawed system. There are so many good things about this book. Like...wow.

.5 star deduction just because the ending caught me off guard and felt a bit out of character/world building, but makes sense in terms of the plot and building a series.

Wow, what a ride. So many thoughts on this that I'm not even really sure where to begin.

Fire and foremost, I want to preface: I walked into this book already a fan of Xiran Jay Zhao (having watched and loved their youtube videos for quite some time now). I am also a massive fan of Pacific Rim, The Handmaid's Tale, and Attack on Titan, and have a strong interest in Chinese culture (being mixed myself). This book was pitched as hitting all of those interests- I was, in no uncertain terms, stoked as fuck to read this. It almost seemed too good to be true.

In hindsight, I think walking in with such high hopes did more harm than good, and can safely say that after a few chapters my expectations had been adjusted, which made the rest of the book a much more pleasant read.

I'll start with things I liked, because there were actually a lot of them!

- Overall concept: This book's premise is a banger from the get-go, and it genuinely does deliver on its promise in the synopsis. This is definitely a mix between pacrim, chinese history, and the handmaid's tale. It's fresh and ambitious, and not something I've seen before.

- Pacing: There was never a point where I felt like I had to drag myself through a chapter or put it down for a break. I honestly could have finished this in one sitting; It's fairly short and easy to breeze through.

- The handling of the love triangle: <spoiler> Massive fan of seeing an actual poly relationship on page- this is the first time I've read one from a major publisher and I appreciate it a ton. While it felt a little rushed, there was at least decent set up and follow through. </spoiler>

- Overall branding and art direction: The author really does have impeccable taste when it comes to the visual accompaniments for this book. The cover is absolutely stunning and all of the official art is beautiful.

- For lack of a better word, Vibes: This book is cool! Truly and undeniably cool! I actually stopped multiple times throughout the story and audibly said "woah, that's so cool!" because it is! There's a lot of stuff in here that really satisfies my inner 10 year old boy who is obsessed with transformers. Definitely the same vibe as Pacific Rim (aka "don't think about anything too hard, just enjoy the coolness")

- Zingers. Zetian had some baller retorts in this book that definitely made me crack a smile.

Onto the issues I had with this book. Some are objective and some are just personal preference.

- Infodumping: The "show, don't tell" rule is thrown out the window here. The exposition is so heavy and shamelessly infodumps. This is the worst at the start, and evens out somewhat later on, with smaller infodumps throughout the rest of the book.

- Prose: The writing is objectively bad. I think there's often confusion between what's 'accessible YA writing' and what's genuinely bad writing, but I am certain this is the latter. This might not bother some readers (I know several people who don't care about the quality of prose at all and are character or story driven only) but it was a major issue for me. The dialogue felt especially stilted and there were parts that I had to stop and laugh out loud at because they sounded so corny.

- Unreliable morality of protagonist: I honestly have no idea what Zetian's morals are. One moment she was alright with <spoiler> condemning her entire family (including grandparents, aunts, and young children) to execution and the next, she's moving them to the capital city to protect them from harassment. She agonizes over every concubine death, only to kill another female pilot at the end of the book. I don't mind a morally gray protagonist- in fact, I think it's one of my favorite tropes, but the thing about Zetian is that she is maddeningly inconsistent and it makes it hard to understand her as a character. </spoiler>

- Lack of character building in general: Zetian's relentless feminism feels a little strange because we don't learn how she came to this belief system or why she believes in it so strongly. I would have loved more backstory on her breaking free from societal indoctrination. With regard to the male love interests, both were developed enough that I cared somewhat about them, but still fit pretty neatly into fanfiction character tropes (bad boy w/ a heart of gold and sensitive softboy).

- General weak worldbuilding.

- Just... general plot holes? This is one of those books that you can't think about too hard. Honestly just unplug your brain and enjoy the vibes and it becomes 300% better.

Overall, I can tell that a lot of love was put into this book and had a lot of fun reading it. I always do my best to be as honest as possibly in my reviews, and it may be that I simply wasn't the right reader for this book. There is no doubt in my mind that there is an audience out there that will adore this book, and I truly hope it will be very successful in that market.

Do I think it's an objectively great book? No. Did I enjoy reading it? Hell yeah I did. Is it a feminist revelation? No. But would I recommend it to a friend who needed a fast, fun read? Absolutely.

I have never read anything like this book before. Yes there are hints of other dystopian books in here (the whole description of outfits and media coverage of the pilots had some Hunger Games vibes), but this is still a completely unique novel where the author takes on the patriarchy, smashes gender norms, and obliterates the love triangle by turning it into a polyamorous relationship.

Zetian is a very complex character who doesn't always follow the hero agenda. She is flawed, but recognizes that the way she is treated is completely unacceptable and is willing to make sacrifices to set things right. I actually liked that she turned her back on her abusive family, because we shouldn't give in to toxic people and they don't always deserve our forgiveness. The relationship between Zetian, Shimin, and Yizhi is healthy and consenting, and I'm just so glad that the auther did not go with another love triangle (I hate those).

The plot and action are fast past and filled with Chinese culture, both good and bad. There's a whole storyline about bound feet and how that affects Zetian in her everyday life. I just really loved so much about this book and the ending throws a huge curveball that made me sad that I have to wait for the sequel! I can only hope that NetGalley will have that available when the time comes!

This cover, y’all. Absolutely gorgeous. It sets my cover-loving heart on fire. There was so much buzz about this book on Twitter that I couldn’t help but go looking for a blurb. So when I saw it described as “Pacific Rim meets Handmaid’s Tale” I knew I just had to read.

I would say the description is right on the money. Iron Widow introduces Wu Zetian, an 18-year-old woman who is angry and determined to become a concubine pilot in order to take revenge on the pilot who killed her sister. Zetian lives in a male-dominated society where women are sacrificed to the government in order to help males pilot Chrysalis in their war against the enemy. She is sick and tired of living by society’s rules and is merciless in her quest to bring change.

Along the way she is paired with Li Shimin, the Iron Demon, who is a fascinating character. Both a berserker like strong and ruthless warrior, but also a studious, academic young man who righted a wrong with violence and ended up tortured and used by the government machine. They are joined by the gentle, empathetic son of a business tycoon who fell in love with Zetain when she was still just a poor girl living in a small fishing village. But don’t worry, there is no love triangle here, this is the perfect polyam romance with all of these characters coming together to form a formidable triad.

Iron Widow is 100% a feminist battle cry fantasy with amazing world-building and well-drawn, interesting characters. I was riveted from beginning to end. This author left off the first book in this new series in such a way that I am aching to get back into this world to find out what comes next.

CW: death, gore, torture, addiction

4 or 4.5 stars

This book is really entertaining and gripping! It's a great story about the ugliness of misogyny at its worse, taking your place into the world and fighting for what you want and deserve. There are also hints at a bigger picture with the whole aliens have invaded the land, and there is more information about that particular part of the plot in the epilogue that promises a kickass sequel.

What's remaining of the Asian population has been at war against Hunduns for hundreds of years. Pilots are men with very high spirit pressure resistance that can control Chrysalis with their mind and their qi. However, a pilot cannot control the Chrysalis alone, he needs a concubine only so he can use her qi and drain her. A concubine is not expected to survive her pilot and when she does, it means that she is a "true match" for the pilot, and the pair becomes an icon of hope and strength (and also a media's dream way to make money really fast).

Wu Zetian, 18 years old, has lived her whole life under the thumbs and rules of men. Her only value is the money her family can get if they sell her as a bride, of the monetary compensation they will get if she enrolls in the army as a pilot's concubine and dies in battle. She is not happy to be treated as a mere possession and wants to be free to do what she wants. When her family sells her to the army to become a concubine for pilot Yang Guang, Zetian plans to kill him while he sleeps as retribution for him killing her older sister. What she was not expecting was to be forced into a battle on her very first night as his concubine, and to not only survive the battle but to kill him during the battle and take control of his Chrysalis, making her what is called an "Iron Widow". Having an unbelievably high spirit pressure, Zetian is then forced to work with Shimin, the Iron Demon that everyone fears.

I enjoyed the writing a lot, there is a lot of metaphors, but it was well done. The plot is intriguing and you get sucked in quite easily in this book. The pace is also constant throughout the book. It is a good mix of politics, fighting, and romance. The unfair way women are treated is the main theme of this book, and it's what drives Zetian. Every decision she makes is to bring her closer to her goal: showing the world that the women are being exploited and treated as objects in an unfair way, and showing women that it can be different, that they don't have to smile and accept every unfair treatment.

The world-building is also well done, but I would have like to have a little more details about the history or the status of the rest of the world. I was left with a few unanswered questions, but it did not prevent me from understanding or enjoying this book.

Wu Zetian is a great main character. She is strong, resilient, very determined, and
very feminist, but considering her life it's 100% understandable, (I'm telling you, I felt like -almost- all men deserved to suffer and rot in hell while reading this book). She has been treated like shit by her family because she has no value except the money they can get for her, and as a result, she does not really give a shit about them once she leaves her house. She is hell-bent on saving the concubines and destroying the toxic system the army is using to promote women as an accessory meant only to serve men and sacrifice themselves. she's hot-blooded, yet cold and calculating and I LOVED IT.

The other important characters in this book are Li Shimin, the Iron Demon, and Gao Yizhi, Zetian's only friend (who she also has a crush on). Shimin was sent to jail for the murder of his brothers and father until he showed unparalleled spirit pressure. The army removed him from prison, only to put a collar on him and to force him to fight even though he didn't want to and as the story progresses, we can see that he is actually grieving for all the concubines he's killed.

Yizhi is the sweet and empathetic friend that decided to follow Zetian anywhere she went because he believed in her and knew that what she was trying to do was the right thing. He is a great character, and even though he does not seem as important as Zetian and Shimin at first, he holds a key role in the story and in the Iron Widow and Iron Demon dynamic.

The romance was surprising, I was expecting some romantic feelings to develop, but I was not sure where this was all going until the last part of the book. I was kind of dreading a typical love-triangle between Zetian, Shimin, and Yizhi, simply because I really liked Shimin and I didn't want him to be cast aside. I don't want to give too many details, but I'll just say that I was pleasantly surprised with the way the relationships between those three developed. (view spoiler). Keep in mind though that the romance is not the focus of this book at all, it is present, but it is also very mild.

The ending was unexpected, and a great overture for the next book, and I will definitely read it when it comes out.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao absolutely blew all of my expectations out of the water! This book was phenomenal!

Iron Widow is a sci-fi reimagining of China’s only female emperor, Wu Zetian. In this world, humans pilot robots and battle with invading alien mechas. The pilot system is misogynistic and cruel. A man and a woman pilot each robot, but most of the time, the woman dies. When Wu Zetian’s sister dies at the hands of a pilot, she vows revenge.

Wu Zetian is quite possibly the strongest-willed character I have ever encountered in books or movies. Her resolve and determination make her exceedingly compelling, and despite her ruthlessness, she still retains enough humanity that she can fall in love. She defies gender roles and stereotypes and absolutely smashes the patriarchy. She is an incredibly well-written character and makes the book excellent. Yizhi and Li Shimin are also interesting characters who constantly surprised me with their depth.

While the pacing sometimes felt too fast, it was still a fantastic book. The plot twists were delightful and very well done! If you like a fast-paced, sci-fi story about a young woman risking everything for vengeance and power, Iron Widow is the book for you! It comes out September 21, 2021, so go preorder it now, request it from your library, or buy it when it comes out!

I have incredibly mixed feelings about this novel, hence the three star rating. I do seem to be in the minority, with this book averaging 5-stars so far, so this might just be the picky in me coming out.

What I Loved:
- Iron Widow has an incredibly cool and pretty unique world building and magic system, though its more technology than magic. Kinda both, kinda neither. Basically there are pilots of gigantic transforming robots, inspired by classical mythology. Most of these "Chrysalis" robots have a male and a female pilot, but the female typically dies. This isn't a rule, as there are "balanced pairs" where both survive.
- Our MC, Zetian, is determined and a hard worker, both basic components needed for a sci-fi/fantasy bad ass.

What I Didn't Care For:
- This book touts itself as a feminist novel and my god is that an accurate description. I like books with political and social messages, but I find the best of these weave their ideas through the text in a way that feels immersive but subtle. This book smacks you in the face with them. It definitely decreased my enjoyment of the piece to get bludgeoned with this message, even if its a message I agree with.
- The info dumps. Good lord, the info dumps. The world of this book is expansive, so I understand the need for exposition to let the reader know what's up. Unfortunately, those clarifying details are provided in large explainer passages that completely pulled me out of the story multiple times.