A brutal, fast-paced revenge story created on the framework of the life of China's sole woman emperor. In a dystopian world that is always at war, the fight is conducted by teens in mechas, each powered by a boy--the pilot--and a girl--his concubine--who must merge their spirit forces together. But Zetian, a volunteer concubine, kills her pilot and upends the entire system, discovering long-hidden truths and conspiracies, and, though guile and torture and violence rises to the status of Emperor. The premise is interesting, and the author has created a clear cut-away showing how sleeping to the top and killing your rivals and enemies can be a viable solution, if your goal is to take over the world. But I personally didn't enjoy it. The torture was a step too far for me, even if it has historical precedence in the model the author uses, and the constant belief in violence as a solution wears very thin. I'm sure other readers, though, will devour this and want more, and that's kind of a shame.

This book had an interesting premise, although the majority of it was gleaned from Pacific Rim and Handmaid's Tale. I felt like this book lacked a lot of originality and the author was piggy backing off of two successful story premises already. It was a bit disappointing for me as a reader to have the story set with a Chinese background and the main character represent pretty American ideals and to laugh at the collectivist culture being projected in the book. While the culture was portrayed negatively the female protagonist did nothing to correct it into the collectivist society of community and support that is the infrastructure of many Asian countries' communities. Although I did appreciate the incorporation of Chinese tradition, the binding of the feet and the nine tail fox, this book was still felt very much an American portrayal of Chinese culture. It would've been different if not every character was Chinese and it was a conglomeration of societies with a dominate Asian presences, but that was not the case (although it would make more sense with the ending).

The main female character was very difficult to pin down. As the reader, I felt the author could not decide what she wanted to do with her. I would get Katniss Everdeen vibes or Danerys Targarian, but a lot of it was ranting, anger, and venting. She often placed men into the same box of one minded thinking she complained that society did to women, even when the two dominating male characters and her lovers were the complete opposite of her ideals. By the end she takes on the mad queen (empress) character, but it was in the last 5% of the book mirroring Danerys dissent into madness triggered by losing the last of her family/love. She is even on a dragon destroying the King's Landing of Huaxia.

The redeeming factor of this book is the two male protagonist, the futuristic/progressive premise, and the last two pages that offered an original twist to the story that will actually have me return for a second book in hopes of seeing the authors fresh ideas. The author has the writing style, narration, and beautiful descriptions, but I expect more originality and character development from the next book, especially for the female character, or I won't return for the third. Women can be powerful without being angry.

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

CWs: (may contain out of context spoilers) child abuse, sexual abuse/violence, misogyny, medical trauma, body horror, gore/death, mental health

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

4 stars

Iron Widow is a fast-paced, young adult science fiction novel which expertly combines fun and complex, important discussions.

In terms of genre, one standout feature of Iron Widow for me was how the author incorporated aspects of science fiction into the book. While the genre remained evident, the - very interesting! - technology introduced never detracted from the plot, characters, or themes of the story. This would be a great entry point to the genre for someone interested in getting into science fiction, particularly for an avid YA reader. As well, I appreciated that while the author introduced a lot of exciting sci-fi elements in this first book, there is still room to expand and build on the world for the remainder of the series, which I think is extremely important in the interest of preserving the quality of a series overall and in future books. I am especially interested in the world's history ​and I look forward to uncovering more of the mysteries behind its founding and background in future entries.

The main characters were also superb. Our protagonist, Wu Zetian, was definitely the standout for me. I loved that she is unapologetically complex and morally grey - she is fighting to survive in a world that seems determined to destroy her, and determined to protect herself and her interests, no matter what. The author did an amazing job in crafting such a driven, ambitious, unapologetic character. I also appreciated that she was disabled, and how the author portrayed her disability. While Zetian is clearly impacted by her disability (and it does not magically go away when it is inconvenient), she also is determined for her life to be more than her disability. I don't have a physical disability, like Zetian, but I am chronically ill, and I immensely appreciate such nuanced portrayals of disabled characters. Li Shimin and Gao Yizhi are also both incredible characters, and Shimin especially was so, so unexpectedly funny. As well, the two boys subverted the classic YA love interest tropes they initially seemed to convey - I'm going to say how or why, in the interest of avoiding spoilers! The author hit a home run with their three central characters. That being said, the book centres around Wu Zetian and her story, resulting in a thought-provoking character examination with a focus on morality and (warranted) rage over oppression, and as a consequence, she was by far the most nuanced character in the book. As well, Zetian's narrative voice was ridiculously entertaining to read - I'm not always the biggest fan of first person, particularly when it is also in present tense, but I didn't have any issues with this book, and I credit that to the author's craft in constructing Zetian's internal voice.

I also would be remiss if I didn't commend this book for its excellent discussions around misogyny and gender. While the author was clearly not afraid to delve into these deep and difficult discussions, I felt they did so in a way which was very nuanced and approachable for YA readers. I think the author also did a very good job at setting up these themes to be examined further in the next book(s) of the series. While their exploration of gender relations and expectations in this book was thorough and strong, there is (naturally) a lot of different discussions to be had surrounding those themes, and the author set themself up in a way where they could absolutely expand on what they covered in book one, as well as introducing new branches of these themes, in later books very successfully, in my opinion.

As well, I really enjoyed the book's world-building and the author's choice to use the historical Chinese Empress Wu Zetian as an inspiration for the main character and her plot arc (note: this is not a historical retelling), but I would encourage potential readers to refer to the reviews of readers of East Asian and particularly Chinese ethnicity for their perspective on this aspect of the book.

I have a few small critiques, which is why this book is four stars for me, and not the full five stars. At times I wish the pace was slightly slower, so we got to explore more of the characters and relationships between characters in greater depth. The characters presented were instantly likeable (or despicable), and the author did a really good job of creating and conveying distinct personalities for them, despite some of them not having much page time. However, with a little bit of a slower pace, I think the author may have been able to go even deeper, which, in my opinion, would also have resulted in the book's climax having greater emotional stakes for the readers. I especially wish Zetian had spent more time interacting with the other female characters, especially as some of the themes of this book are so centered around misogyny. Some additional perspectives from the other women in the book about the oppression they faced would have made the thematic content even stronger. I also would have liked a bit more time to develop the romances in the book.

Spoiler alert: I’m not going to spoil this book any more than the author has on social media, but if you’d prefer not to know what happens at all, please come back when you’ve finished Iron Widow!

Here is everything I knew about Iron Widow when I requested it from NetGalley: It’s a reimagining of the rise of the only female Chinese emperor written by the person who made those Mulan videos. I expected historical fiction, political intrigue, and maybe some family drama.

Iron Widow is nothing like I expected. If I had to write an elevator pitch, I’d say it’s a dark mecha anime with an MFM throuple that makes only minor concessions to YA conventions. There’s a makeover, a love triangle, and a homecoming, but there’s also so much violence The Hunger Games looks like a game of touch football.

It also isn’t a retelling in the sense I imagined. It isn’t set in ancient China, but rather a non-earth sci-fi world inspired by the culture and geography of ancient China. In this world, all girls are raised as sacrifices. They’re sold to wealthy husbands or to the army. Either way, their lives are cruel and rigidly confined by both their patriarchal society and their own internalized misogyny.

Wu Zetian’s older sister was sold to the army, where male pilots use girls as fuel sources to power their giant mechs in battle against the mechanical aliens beyond the Great Wall. Girls often die in battle, but Zetian’s sister didn’t even make it that far. Her pilot strangled her to death.

To her parents’ relief, Zetian finally agrees to join the army, but she doesn’t intend to die in battle either. She plans to kill her sister’s murderer. She knows she and her entire family will be executed as a result, and she believes she’s prepared to die for her vengeance.

However, before she can act, the pilot takes Zetian into battle with him, and two unexpected things happen. First, the pilot dies in her place. Second, Zetian discovers she wants to live.

It reads like a wildly creative AU for some mecha anime I’ve never seen. (Confession: I have never seen any mecha anime.) Partially because of, you know, all the mechs, but mostly because there is so much here that I’ve only really seen in places where writers don’t have to contend with publishing gatekeepers. In a YA novel!

The MFM throuple is a fun subversion of the love triangle trope. While I’m more invested in the enemies-to-lovers pairing than the others, I was impressed by how clearly Zhao handled them all. They felt inevitable. All four of the relationships (each character with each of the others, and then all three characters together) had ample on-screen development time, including the relationship between the non-POV characters.

I had no choice but to love Zetian, who is angry, bisexual, and traumatized. That’s everything I want in a protagonist. She even gets some shit from other characters about her weight, though the cover model is thin and it’s hard to tell if Zetian is intended to be read as fat or if this is just another example of the patriarchal scrutiny she lives under.

I also loved the plot structure, which reminded me a bit of Six of Crows. Pop writing advice says that protagonists have to fail and fail and fail again until they succeed. Each challenge they fail raises the stakes, until they’re in an impossible position with the entire universe depending on them, and only then can they succeed.

Only, it’s actually much more fun to read about protagonists succeeding occasionally. In both Iron Widow and Six of Crows, we have characters who are smart and clever and good at what they do. They encounter obstacles, strategize, and then overcome those obstacles in ways that both raise the stakes and move the plot forward. Often, Zetian succeeds in ways that only end up getting her into more trouble, but at least we get to see that she truly is remarkable, instead of just being told how Special she is.

This is also my only real complaint: Zetian is Special in a way that I feel somewhat undermines Iron Widow’s feminist themes. I have no problem with Zetian spontaneously deciding to resist her patriarchal upbringing, which seems like a matter of self-preservation more than anything. I also don’t mind how much internalized misogyny influences Zetian’s perception of other women. My problem is how the narrative reinforces Zetian’s perception.

Without venturing too far into spoiler territory, other women in Iron Widow essentially fall into 3 categories: tragic victims, catty bitches, and the tragic-victim-catty-bitch Venn diagram overlap of victims who eagerly sacrifice other women.

Zetian does occasionally think about how there have to be other girls who are as remarkable as she is, and sometimes she’ll mentally challenge her internalized misogyny. I interpret that to mean later books in will contain more nuanced female characters. I’m still disappointed by their absence in Iron Widow, but I think Zhao has done enough to merit optimism for the rest of the series.

There are too many ways to adequately describe how Iron Widow turned out to be the best science fiction novel to enter the literary world. Zhao was able to blend a patriarchal dystopia with giant creatures and even more giant egos. With characters unafraid to make a stand and embrace their darkness, Iron Widow is timeless and magnificent.

Thank you, Penguin Teen and NetGalley, for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Okay . . . so I tried to read this book a few weeks ago, and I just couldn't dive into it and relate to the characters as much as I wanted. But for my endless love for dystopian books, I thought to give it another try, and I'm so glad I did. I actually found myself enjoying the story more than I thought I would.

The primary issue I had previously with this book was with the prologue. It threw me to a battlefield without me knowing anything about the characters, and that was why I couldn't relate emotionally to the story to keep on reading. But once the scene was over and Zetian came along, it was another thing. The action scene in the prologue was vivid, and it was written brilliantly, but I think that starting with chapter one might help get the reader's attention much better.

I liked that Zetian was a strong female who wants revenge and justice for her sister. Even when she was a gray character and always angry. I found myself rooting for her since she talked about her lotus feet. Aside from the plot, I found it eye-opening when the author talked about that particular subject. I knew, of course, that in China, girls tend to have smaller feet, but I never thought to learn about how and why they were like this, so I went to search for answers, and what I read was heartbreaking.

Back to the story, the plot was fascinating, action-packed, and well-paced. I was glad that there was no "love triangle" as most of the YA books are. I laughed and cried with the characters; my favorite was Zetian, of course. The story ended with a cliffhanger, and I can't wait to read the next book!

Overall, this book was enjoyable. I recommend it to everyone who likes action-packed sci-fi/fantasy stories.

4.5 stars

Xiran Jay Zhao. My oh my what an amazing book you have written that I don't even know where to begin the review!
Iron Widow was a rollercoaster of a book that I didn't want to end. Wu Zetian was such an entertaining character to read because very rarely do you read a book with the female character on violence and I loved it! Li Shimin truly warms my heart and I didn’t trust Yuxhi in the beginning but he grew on me (triangles are the strongest shape after all!) I love that I got the romantic journey I wanted in this book and I think it could not have been done any better.

The descriptive nature of the book made it so easily to visualise what things looked like from the qi to the ying yang realm to the Vermillion Bird. Some of the fight scenes did a get a little bit confusing but when you have big mecha structures fighting, I guess that’s pretty accurate.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and majority of the characters in it. The epilogue though????? Xiran you did not have to do us like that!!!

I can’t wait to see what happens next

I wasn’t completely sure if I was going to read this book but I am so happy that I did. Zetians character is amazing and her adventures seems so cool. The world building in this novel was magnificent and allowed me to get an insight into the word a lot quicker, I understood what was going on at all times and was never behind. I loved how Zetian wasn’t a damsel in distress and could solve her own problems but when she needed help she would ask for it. I’m not usually a fan of dystopian sci-if novels but Xiran has changed my perspective on them completely . If your looking for a book with a strong female protagonist and a little romance then this is your book!

What a wild ride. Definitely recommend this one for reading. If you're looking for a redemption arc, this isn't it. But if you're looking for badass vengence with a side of mecha-fighting, this is totally your jam!! If you want a job done right, you've got to do it yourself.

As a girl trapped in a hyper-traditional, patriarchal society, Wu Zetian has few hopes and dreams. The best she's got is to avenge her sister's murder by killing the man responsible - after which she entirely expects to die. Instead, she finds herself villified but surviving up the ranks of the "army's" mecha-fighting force. But as she rises, she continues to uncover more and more secret and profane injustices, adding to her vengence hit list.

Within all this violence, there's a bit romance with a very sweet poly f/m/m love triangle. As Zetian says, sometimes you're lucky enough to find a boy who will help you torture someone to death and a boy who will make you pastries when you're done.

#ironwidow #netgalley

This book was unlike any other book that I've ever read, the storyline was intriguing and suspenseful. Definitely a thrill ride!

Things to Know:

-Strong Female Lead
-Action-Packed

Huaxia has been infiltrated by mecha aliens called Hunduns. This has been the story of life for as long as 18 year old Zetian can remember. The way that humans have dealt with this threat is developing Chrysalises. The Chrysalises are giant robots which are piloted by a man and a woman, a pilot and the pilot's concubine. The concubine has a very low survival rate. The concubine typically loses control of their minds and once the Chrysalis is powered down she is no longer able to breathe on her own. Zetian joins the military to be a concubine to get revenge after her sister was killed as a concubine. Zetian swears revenge on the pilot that killed her sister. Her revenge comes in a way that she was not expecting. She ends up battling the pilot in their minds and winning, successfully killing the pilot and taking control of the Chrysalis. This feat earns her the title of Iron Widow. Once Zetian tastes this power that she possesses she vows to do everything that she can to ensure that another woman is not sacrificed for a man’s victory in a Chrysalis.

The fact that Zetian is polyamorous is very refreshing. The love triangle trope is overdone, and other sexual orientations aren’t represented enough in literature in my opinion. I am happy that Zhao chose this route rather than a stereotype.

I got major Pacific Rim, Attack on Titan, and Ruby/Sapphire/Diamond Weapon (Final Fantasy 14) vibes from the book. The way the Chrysalis is piloted reminded me of the titans from AoT and the weapons from FFXIV. I am a big fan of all three of those things so I really enjoyed this book!

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the female heroine aspect of the book. Even if society demands certain things of you doesn’t mean that you need to conform to their standards. Be yourself and don’t apologize for it.

You should read this book because there is a strong inspiring female lead! The plot is just amazing and I can’t wait to read more from Xiran Jay Zhao. I was really excited to read this one just from the description and it did not disappoint! If you are a fan of sci-fi, Pacific Rim, anime, or just enjoy a wonderful heroine I suggest you read Iron Widow ASAP!

“I hate the way I’ve contorted myself into what people thing a girl should be, ready to please, ready to serve. Yet I love the power it’s given me, a power that lies in being underestimated, in wearing assumptions as a disguise.”

I loved this book far more than I expected to! I gave up my carefully scheduled eight hours of sleep to read way past my bedtime. I love Zetian, Yizhi, Shimin, and this world, and technology. The characters feel real and complicated, the Worldbuilding is rich and interesting, and the plot was perfectly paced. I cannot wait for book two!

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me a digital galley of this book to read in exchange for an honest review!

Wow. Iron Widow was a FANTASTIC read. Described as Pacific Rim meets the Handmaid's Tale, our heroine Zetian aims to take revenge on the misogynistic society that enabled the death of her older sister. However, this goes leaps and bounds over what we know Zetian's goal to be.

It has been a while since I have read a book with the best definition of a morally gray main character but, oooh boy, does Zetian fit the bill. But the situation is, you're rooting along with her the whole way. As least I was, as a fellow woman. Young girls are basically sent off to die in the war against the Hunduns, but their male counterparts are lauded for strength of mind and will. Until Zetian becomes more powerful than them all, and they don't know what to do with her.

And on top of all of this, there is a poly relationship situation happening? Something I did not see coming? I was torn between what I thought was going to be a simple love triangle with more angst than usual but it led to something entirely different all together. Freaking fantastic, I could not get enough.

This book knocked my socks off. It's all of my favorite things packed into a single OMG story and WHEW. Definitely my fav 2021 book release to date. We have a disabled heroine whose first instinct is just to murder everyone up. A murderer hero who's actually really soft. A sweet hero who's super cunning and ambitious. Yep, you read that right. This is a POLY ROMANCE. Be still, my heart! Add in the mech battles and the really excellent worldbuilding, and this is a winner across the board. I loved it.

This is my favorite kind of YA book, one that I can't put down and wanting to read instead of doing whatever else I'm supposed to be doing. It flew by and I wish I could read the next book now! I loved watching the Zetian's rage and the interactions between the main characters. Only minor criticism I have is that the flow of some of the action scenes could be improved but it didn't get in the way of enjoying the scenes. Overall, a great reading experience!

The love the writing style and the entire story. I love stories that have strong female leaders who oppose the patriarchy, especially in fantasy worlds. This was very well done and definitely worth the read.

The Handmaid's Tale meets Pacif Rim and gives rise to a sci-fi fantasy about a woman that does not accept to be considered less than any other man.
It is a very well-written and original story, one of the best books that I read in 2021. I love that the writer decides against the love triangle, but instead pursuits the idea of polyamorous love.
If you liked the destructive path of Rin in The poppy war, you will most definitely love Zetian and her revenge path.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc!!

WOW. This is realistically a 4 star, but I am rounding up to a 5 solely based on vibes. So there's that. I'm such a professional reviewer.

This book grabbed me by the throat and did NOT let go - it was angry, fast, and fiercely feminist. There's a V cool polyamorous 'love triangle' (ie the two guys are also in a relationship), the world is hella cool and the ending BLEW ME AWAY.

My only complaint is that I was.....very confused. I knew what was going on, but I could not picture the world in my mind to save my life. I could have benefited from some more description, but this was clearly a plot-driven book so that's ok.

I loved how the historical elements like foot-binding were woven into a 'futuristic' sci-fi story, the world was very unique and I will be thinking about this book!!

This book is hard to review without just gushing, that's why it took me a while to write this review after finishing it to write this review.

Zetian is one of those protagonists that I can see people either hating or loving. She is very unapologetic about her goals. She really is willing to do whatever it takes to reach them. She still changes her mind about people after he learns more information. Yet she still doesn't make excuses for those people and doesn't buy into all the bullshit.

Shimin, he was surprisingly complex. When his character was introduced I wasn't sure what to really expect of his character. I thought he was going to be a bit of a stereotype of 'brooding buff guy' as a foil to the 'gentle soft boy' for the other male love interest, Yizhi. But he's not. He's really a big softie who has a lot of his own past trauma.

Yizhi, he wasn't in this book as much as the other two characters, it's clear that his father is trash and treated him pretty poorly and he had a rough time growing up despite being from a "good family". I hope he plays a larger role in the sequel. I like his character and while he is more gentle than both Zetain and Shimin, he's not weak in any way.

I found the antagonists in the government more compelling than the invading force. But I kind of like that. Sure, I would have liked the invaders to be more than a background threat. But I think that might be something reserved for future books in the series considering that epilogue.

I will say this, the writing is fairly simplistic and straightforward, but that's not to say it's poorly written. I am very excited to read the sequel when it comes out.

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

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is a fantastic debut novel and I am so glad I got the opportunity to read it early. This book pulled out all the stops: mechs, a healthy polyamorous relationship, killing the patriarchy, MECHS! I loved how fast paced the action sequences were, and the refusal to let the romance fall into the typical love triangle trope was a much appreciated change. However I was disappointed with the somewhat simplistic writing style and lack of depth to the world building.

The story follows Zetian’s gradual rise to power after she emerges as an Iron Widow, the name given to girls who kill their male pilots in battle. As someone who loves all things science fiction, the plot was what really drew me in. Psychically linked pilots who fight in a spin of Yin/Yang makes for some great battle scenes. The author wrote fast paced action scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat, and this is where I felt like their way of writing really helped the story.

Unfortunately, I felt like the blunt way of writing that the author uses did a disservice to the rest of the book. Scenes that felt like they should have been emotionally important fell flat because I felt like I couldn’t get “into” the moment. The last thing that brought this book rating down for me was the world building. Now don’t get me wrong, the world itself that the author created was fascinating. I just felt that there was no depth to the information. We are presented with a relatively large info drop at the beginning of the book, then the middle introduces small details, and the end is another huge info drop. I would have preferred if the author had spaced out the world building a bit more, and Included more showing, less telling.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishing house for sending me an advanced copy. This book was a solid four star read and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Chinese history, mechanical renditions of Chinese mythological creatures, and angry girls with power in their hearts.