Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is such a cool story! It's such an innovative idea and it was done so well.

"Despite their best efforts, I find myself worthy of happiness. Everything they’ve used to bind me, I will turn against them. My looks are an illusion to snag their attention. My decadence is a bait to stir their outrage. My perfect partnership is a lie to keep them obsessing. The very force of their judgment and hatred will make me unstoppable."

tw // blood, gore, murder, foot binding, forced marriage, rape (mentioned), toxic masculinity, misogyny

rep // East Asian rep, Poly Rep, MLM

The boys of Huaxia dream of the celebrity status that comes with piloting Chrysalises – giant transforming robots that battle the aliens beyond the Great Wall. Their female co-pilots are expected to serve as concubines and sacrifice their lives.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, her plan is to assassinate the male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But on miraculously emerging from the cockpit unscathed after and him deaa, the Iron Widow sets her sights on bigger things. The time has come to take on the entire patriarchal military system.

This book is literally EVERYTHING I wanted. I was initially put off because it was "Pacific Rim meets Handmaidens Tale" and I'm not a fan of either, BUT this is the feminist take on that combo that I didn't know I needed until I read it. Zetian has the most incredible journey I've ever seen in a long time, from willing to die after avenging her sister to wanting to take the world for herself and all the other girls like her. Her rise to power is full of ambition, self love and righteous anger. It's incredible in every SINGLE way. Forget any other morally grey MC you’ve read in a book before--Zetian is the definition of morally grey to the END. She doesn't let ANYTHING get in the way of her end goal of crushing the patriarchy, no matter the methods.

And the romance? I've never seen a better way of poly rep in my life. Zetian, Yizhi, and Shimin are the best throuple I've ever seen before. Yizhi was her rich lover from back home that she initially says no to due to her route of vengeance making her believe that they couldn't work, and Shimin is the Iron Demon, the new pilot that Zetian is paired with after she overpowers the first. While Shimin comes off a drunkard, with a history of being a prisoner pilot (after he murdered his family), he has his own secrets that with time make him the IDEAL damaged bad boy to root for. And when I say poly rep I mean ALL the way poly rep- yes that's right, the boys are involved with each other as well.

The action itself is NON STOP. Chapter after chapter is filled with wild events, not allowing me to even breath as I sped through the book, and I truly was clinging onto each word at the edge of my seat. The best were the scenes with the Chrysalis battle scenes, where I really felt like I was on the battlefield myself along with them. By the end of it my heart was beating into overtime, from my sheer excitement. And the ending had me gasping out loud, I cannot wait for book 2 and I (nicely) demand that everyone reads this book!

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The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This year I have loved some books and I have hated some books. I have given glowing recommendations and scathing reviews. However, of everything I’ve read, I think Iron Widow is the first book this year to have me really and truly excited. Shouting on Twitter about this book excited. Thinking about this story constantly excited. Already trying to find fan art even though the book isn’t released yet (as of this writing) excited.

Ya’ll, this story is phenomenal.

Zetian is one of my favorite female protagonists that I have ever had the privilege of reading. This young woman is a roller coaster of emotions and determination. The strength of her character is simply astounding. She is in turns angry and scared and wanting to exact retribution and is not letting anyone stand in her way. What I love most about Zetian is that even when she is afraid or nervous, especially when she is afraid and nervous, she never backs down. She acknowledges those feelings of fear and finds it in herself to set them aside in order to accomplish whatever task it is set before her. The confidence and bravery she finds within herself throughout this story is magnificent. I love when a character is just so completely unapologetic about their goals despite others attempting to make her feel shame.

Then we have the general basis of this story. Zetian’s world was attacked by other worldly beings who are trying to wipe out the human race and absorb all of their resources. Humans, being the stubborn creatures that we are, instead find a way to use those resources to create these enormous monsters of metal that can be imbued with power from their operators to take on the threat. The thing is, these powerful weapons need two people to use them. The pilot, who is this culture is always a male, and the concubine, the female. Being a male lead society that looks down upon females, the concubine is almost always killed during these battles. Zetian’s beloved sister is believed to have been killed this way which is the jumping off point for her journey toward retribution.

This book is simply amazing. It never slows down, never stops, and around every turn is Zetian with her two partners at her side, taking on the world. There is emotion, action, questionable choices with consequences, violence, love…I could go on. Within these 400 pages you will find a little bit of everything woven together to make one spectacular story. And, folks, the twist at the end will leave your head spinning! I cannot recommend this book enough.

Incredible storytelling with a uniquely strong and interesting female protagonist who we get to see progress and grow into her power. I’m especially impressed by the shattering of stereotypes within the romance. How? You’ll have to read to find out.

SOOOOO SOOOO GOOODDD!! I loved Zeitan and her boyfriends. The worldbuilding was super cool and totally gave me Darling in the Franxx vibes. That ENDING blew my mind and I can definitely tell that Xiran took inspirations from Franxx and Attack on Titan. I loved the feminist themes, and especially how feminism isn't a monolithic view but rather a very compelling argument of the women experience. Xiran did a fantastic job with this book, and I desperately need book two already.

The Iron Widow ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

**spoilers **

Wow , where to even start . I received this E-Arc and am ever so grateful that I did , because I devoured this in 2 days .

Let’s talk about taking a hold of your own destiny !!!!

The story follows 18 year old Zetian , a concubine pilot , who seeks revenge for the death of her sister . Zetian is a powerful force , who grows more and more each chapter . She is no nonsense and gets her revenge on all who have done her wrong & we are here for it .

I loved the relationships / friendships she has with Li Shimin and Yizhi . The love triangle , that’s not so much a triangle , but a beautiful agreement among three consenting adults . The subtle hints of romance leave much to the imagination and I’m hoping for a little more in the future .

Iron widow pulled all the emotions out of me from laughter , joy , sadness and even made me cry . I can not wait to see what the future holds for my favorite Trio from Huaxia !!

10/10 would recommend. I would also recommend Iron Widow while crying. This book was a wild ride and had me experiencing a wide range of emotions. I cycled through crying, laughing, and raging. While reading, it gets you in the mood to crush the patriarchy. I loved the characters and the fact they were morally gray. Iron Widow is one of the best books I've read so far in 2021.

First thing to know about this book: check the content warnings. I personally don't really have major triggers, but I am eternally grateful for the warnings given in the Author's Note at the beginning. It really provided the bracing I needed because wow, what a ride!

While I can't imagine necessarily reading this given who I was as a teen, I without a doubt know there is absolutely a ravenous market for this exact book. A combining of Chinese history with futuristic sci-fi mecha, this is a brutal, vicious book that is so absolutely unapologetic and ready to not just smash the patriarchy, but devour and destroy it body and soul.

Zetian is a young woman who knows exactly who she is, and that person is angry, driven, powerful in her own right, and vengeful. You have no trouble understanding the devastation society wrought on its women because author Xiran Jay Zhao does not shy from it, and main character Zetian never forgets it—and is ready to hold the oppressors responsible. She is a force to be reckoned with and she brings her reckoning straight to the door of those who deserve to pay.

This book is a rollercoaster of anger, a conquering of shame and forced submission. Personally, I don't find the YA rating accurate; I think it would stand perfectly on its own in general Science Fiction with it's late teen central cast. However, I knew many teens who read above their age genre in high school because they wanted the exactly brutality and focused edge this story brings. As long as content warnings remain available, this is absolutely what has been clamored for.

A few pieces, particularly the prologue, felt a little clunky to me in terms of info dumping, but I hope to see that these have been smoothed for better flow by actual publication. A story like this also balances the edge where prose conveys the internal struggles best, but the highly visual nature of battle and mecha would be better conveyed as a graphic novel.

Overall, very engaging and interesting, and should you choose to read, brace yourselves for a wild ride of female rage, revenge, broken systems, and taking back your due agency, with a side of polyamorous relationships!

Content Warnings: Torture, abuse, suicide ideation, alcohol addiction, sexual assault (not on page, but discussed and referred to), sexual coercion, foot binding practices

I grew up a huge fan of Gundam and any other sci-fis with giant battling mech suits, so when I first heard about the plot for Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao, I was so excited to read about massive epic mech suits literally smashing the patriarchy. So when I got approved on Netgalley for an e-ARC, you can imagine how excited I was to read it! Unfortunately it wound up being added to the list of highly anticipated books that ended up being a let down.

Iron Widow is set in Huaxia, a country inspired by historial China which faces constant attacks from hostile aliens. To fight these aliens, boys are paired with girls in massive mechs that can transform based on the pilots’ mental strength. The only problem is – the girls are often killed in battle due to the mental strain of piloting the mechs. When her sister is killed by a celebrity male pilot, Zetian decides to become a concubine pilot herself in order to avenge her sister’s death, becoming a much feared Iron Widow. To try and control her, she is paired with Li Shimin, the country’s strongest male pilot and convicted murderer. Together, they decide to combine their strength to try and end the deaths of female pilots.

The good: I really enjoyed the first half of the book and started off really liking Zetian’s character. I also loved the polyamourous rep! This is the first book I’ve read that has polyamourous rep and I felt that it was really well done. I do wish there was more tome put into fleshing out the relationship(s) more, though I do think that the book’s main focus wasn’t the romance.

I also couldn’t help but imagine the aliens (called Hunduns) as looking like the Ohmu in Nausicaa. I’m likely wrong in how I imagined them, but there are a lot of similarities between the Hundun and the Ohmu….and I adored them in Nausicaa, so I wound up really liking them in Iron Widow.

The bad: Reading this book felt like a fever dream. Some parts made sense, but other parts I would have no idea what was going on and really made me wonder what the heck I was reading. After the first half I really had to push myself to finish the book, but did wind up putting it down to read something else.

While I did initially like Zetian, she did get repetitive pretty fast. The pacing also felt really off. I felt that it switched between dragging in some parts while jumping around in others in the second half which made it confusing and a little discombobulating. The biggest let down for me was the ending. It felt really rushed and like it was stumbling around from one place to another just to wrap things up quickly.

Overall, I do see this being very popular with sci-fi-loving feminists, it just wasn’t the book for me. If you liked Pacific Rim, you might really enjoy this book. Thank you again Penguin Books Canada for letting me read this!

Okay, I got this ARC literal ages ago—and, unfortunately, it made me realize, "Wow, I really dislike reading books on my phone." So, apologies to everyone who's seen this loitering in my 'Currently Reading' for months, as well as to the publishers, who were generous enough to provide me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review that I'm only now delivering on.

Unfortunately aversion to reading books on my phone aside, I loved 'Iron Widow.' I mean, I have criticisms, of course—my review, though certain platforms don't show quarter or half stars, is hovering between a 4.25 and a 4.5. The plot was kind of disjointed—definitely one of those fast-paced books where it almost seems like every scene or plot twist has been underdeveloped, just enough to make events seem unrealistically convenient, or just confusing—but none of these things felt, to me, like they took away from the experience, if that makes sense? I was just having so much fun.

Maybe "fun" is the wrong word, because 'Iron Widow' deals with a lot of heavy, important topics. This is definitely one you'll want to check trigger warnings for. But the thing about Xiran Jay Zhao's handling of these topics is what makes 'Iron Widow so refreshing' (bordering, maybe, on fun)—'Iron Widow' is entirely, unapologetically, unpitying and unsympathetic. Not a single one of the antagonists in this novel get redemption, no matter how "minor" their actions could be argued to be. And there's no moral crisis, or relationship drama, of crisis-of-self coming along with these endings—no, 'Iron Widow''s main character, Wu Zetain, dishes out exactly what each of these men deserve, with absolutely no regret or pity. It's just refreshing, and really, really empowering, I guess, to finally read a book that doesn't push the whole "forgive and forget," or "be the better person" message that I find a lot of books do, especially when it comes to abusers or family.

Also, of course I have to mention that while 'Iron Widow' does briefly entertain the classic love triangle trope, it's resolved in what is, in my opinion, the only acceptable way—polyamory. Just—yeah. Thank you.

So, yes. Are there some portions of 'Iron Widow' that I thought could've been done better? Yes. But did I overall not care a bit? Also yes.

This book is being marketed as Pacific Rim meets Handmaid's Tale but based on the author note at the end it's more like Darling in the Franxx (a Japanese anime/manga that involves a male & female piloting system) than PacRim. Fret not, a more relevant historical figure, the real Wu Zetian is in the author's notes, and had a more significant influence on this book. The protagonist is unapologetically angry about the patriarchy based on her own personal agenda, so it was nice that her motivations weren't sparked by a Svengali figure. The author note at the end also mentions there was an R-18 draft, which I'd like to read, and makes me wonder why this had to be classified under Teen/YA, but I digress. If reading certain parts of this book makes people uncomfortable, then I think the author did a great job. I have a special soft spot for how this book also subverted the predictable YA love triangle and wish we had more of it, but that would have distracted from the main story. I liked this book a lot and if I didn't have a day job I would've stayed up all night reading it in one go. The book's ending also succeeded in giving us a twist that definitely has me looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a copy of this book from Penguin Teen and Netgalley.

Excuse me, but I must scream after THAT ending.

Okay, I'm back and the writing is crisp and stellar and the story being told is brutal and beautiful.
Wu Zetian is out for revenge against the man that killed her sister and sure, it's a story that's been told before but here there's such creativity that the newness leaps off the page.

Zetian is possessing a fury that's terrifying and makes her absolutely compelling.

I really loved this book!

Iron Widow is a female centric action thriller of a time far in the future involving humongous spirit metal animals at war for survival, driven by men and women with strong Qi. Yet it also harkens to the messages of the past with lotus feet, subservience, beauty and sacrifice deemed the compelling duty of women and girls. The Iron Widow rejects these messages as she sets out to avenge the murder of her sister by the ruling patriarchy. Packed with action and thrills from start to finish, the heroine sets out to upend the system and take it over. Riveting.

This was wild. I haven't read anything in YA quite like Iron Widow. It's completely unapologetic in it's brutality and Zhao is fully willing to push boundaries with Zetian. I don't want to give too much away, so I am keeping this short, but Zhao's characters make decisions that other authors shy away from. There is no redemption arc here, only revenge.

Four stars because the writing could be stronger. This is a debut through so I expect Zhao to only get better as she goes. Definitely recommend!

*ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Very sad to say as this was a highly anticipated release, but unfortunately this ended up being a DNF for me. I got about 100 pages in but was not feeling it whatsoever. The premise sounds absolutely incredible, it is exactly the kind of book that would be right up my alley, but I just couldn't seem to get into it. I can't really pinpoint what it was that I didn't like about it, it just didn't draw me in the way I was hoping it would. I don't think this is a bad book by any means, and I absolutely think others will adore it, it just wasn't for me!

I am giving Iron Widow a 3 star rating on Netgalley because, although I did not personally enjoy it and was unable to finish, I would not tell someone that it isn't worth the read. Since leaving no star rating is not an option on Netgalley, I thought 3 stars would be a neutral/fair way to express my personal feelings towards the book.

*contains mild spoilers for Iron Widow*

On the surface, mixing concepts like Pacific Rim and The Handmaid’s Tale shouldn’t work as a novel. Or as anything. But in their debut novel Iron Widow, author Xiran Jay Zhao shows that a story with enough conviction and truth behind it can not only manage to work, but can also flourish.

Based very loosely on the story of China’s only female Emperor Wu Zeitan, Iron Widow tells the story of Zeitan, a teenage peasant girl living on the frontier of Huaxia, a country that has spent centuries at war with the monstrous Hunduns on the other side of the Great Wall.

The war, however, is not fought by soldiers in the traditional sense, but by pilots. Mecha pilots to be precise. Channeling their qi and an inner strength called “spirit pressure” these pilots - always male - command, control and in essence become their vehicles, known as Chrysalises. But they do not pilot alone. Each is paired with a woman known as a concubine-pilot, whose purpose is to act as a soothing support while the men fight.

Zeitan’s sister Ruyi was one such concubine-pilot, having enlisted for the good of her family, and for the money it would provide them, even though concubine-pilots hardly ever survive. But when she is killed outside of battle, Zeitan makes it her mission to enlist as well, find the pilot responsible and kill him in revenge.

Knowing very little about the book beyond the basic premise, I expected this to occupy the vast majority of the plot, especially considering the weight given to both Zeitan’s desire for revenge and to Yang Guang, the pilot responsible for killing her sister. However in an interesting twist, this murder plot of hers is not the climax of the story, but its catalyst instead.

Within the first few chapters, Yang Guang is dead and the army realizes that Zeitan is far more powerful than any of them had given her credit for. She is dubbed “The Iron Widow” owing to her immense spirit pressure and for surviving where her male pilot did not, and paired off with a new pilot, Li Shimin, “The Iron Demon”, who is among their most powerful pilots but is also volatile and dangerous. A murderer with a past.

I love him already.

A Chrysalis of the type that Zeitan and Shimin must operate will only function well if the two pilots are in sync, something that the two of them most certainly are not. It is only when they begin to get to know each other, and to delve into the damage and pain that the other has suffered that they truly begin to come to an understanding. Adding tension and a truly unexpected twist to their burgeoning dynamic is Gao Yizhi, the boy from back home that Zeitan is in love with.

The setting of this book is fantastic, both familiar and unfamiliar. It occupies that kind of atemporal place in time that is neither clearly in the past, nor is it the sort of future commonly seen in science fiction. Rather, it feels organic and rooted in a near-past Earth history, while also possessing technological advances and concepts about on par or slightly beyond what exists now. Except for the Chrysalises of course. Those are pure sci-fi.

In their author’s note, Zhao notes that the book is a celebration of Chinese culture and a critique of what they call “its worst beliefs”. While the celebration is evident in things like the setting, the fashion, the friendships and love, anything that makes the world feel lived in, it is the critique - namely the treatment of women - that stands out most prominently in the text.

(Note: I, like Zhao, acknowledge that misogyny is not restricted to any one location or culture, and in no way do I mean to imply that in engaging with this text.)

Much of the story hinges on the perception by the men in power that the function of women is to live in service to the men around them. That they are by nature weaker, less powerful, and not in possession of the same wants and needs as the men are. Second class citizens in every sense of the word. Iron Widow is the story, then, of one girl openly defying such restrictions and seizing for herself the kind of life she wants, while trying to change the whole system at the same time.

The delivery of this central thesis hit some of the stumbling blocks expected in a debut novel. Zeitan challenges men’s assumptions about women either out loud or in her narration. When done as dialogue, it worked just fine and was perfectly in keeping with her character. As narration however, the delivery at times felt a little too meta-textual, as if these weren’t thoughts Zeitan was having, but something the author was explicitly telling me, the reader. Many such realizations for Zeitan - regarding gender roles, or same sex relationships for instance - have the appearance of being long-held beliefs, while also seeming to just occur to her in the heat of the moment, which was a little confusing at times, and contributed to the feeling that this was more for the audience than for any character in the book.

What I found most interesting in this examination of the pervasiveness of misogyny within a culture was the dynamic between Zeitan and the other women in the book. Too often, in real life, women facing this kind of oppression are expected to present a united front, to all tackle the injustice they face in the same direct way, and to dismantle the patriarchal structure until it crumbles. And while the book does not suggest a passive approach in the slightest, it does do an excellent job of showing the different ways women choose to make a stand, while underlining the tragedy of those who feel they have no choice nor power to change their circumstances.

But in and among the giant robots, the war, and the dismantling of the patriarchy, there is my favourite part of any story: the romance.

By the basic setup alone - Zeitan being partnered to Shimin while Yizhi hangs around - the romance looks like a fairly standard YA love triangle. But Zhao manages to avoid this pitfall in both an emotionally resonant and organic way. As Zeitan points out, the triangle is the strongest shape. The romance seems almost secondary to the sort of love and understanding that unites the three characters to each other. Each of them has suffered at the hands of the society they live in, and each is as invested in the healing of their friends as they are in their own healing.

Overall, Iron Widow is a lush, compelling read where the action starts early and moves at a breakneck pace throughout. Because of that, I found myself wishing it was about a hundred pages longer, purely because of how full it is. There are so many concepts, and plots and moving parts that I wish each had been given just a little more time to really breathe and expand. But then, I think it’s a sign we have a winner on our hands when the reader comes away just wanting more.

Iron Widow is out September 21, 2021, and is available for preorder now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an advance copy for review purposes.

<i>”There’s no such thing as karma,” I say, enunciating every syllable like I want to crush them with my teeth. “Or, if it does exist, it sure doesn’t give a shit about people like me. Some of us were born to be used and discarded. We can’t afford to simply go along with the flow of life, because nothing in this world has been created, built, or set up in our favor. If we want something, we have to push back against everything around us and take it by force.”</i>

Arc provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

Oh my god…you know those books that once you’re only a few chapters in that they will be one of your favourite reads? Yeah this was one of those for me. “<i>Pacific Rim</i> meets <i>The Handmaid’s Tale</i>” already had me intrigued but add in a Wu Zetian retelling, femme fatale, poly ship, and female rage? Immediately hooked. <i>The Iron Widow</i> is a beautiful mix of historical inspiration and futuristic dystopian science fiction that I could not put down despite trying to pace myself.

In Huaxia, the boys pilot Chrysalises ( these big robots that are used to fight the aliens outside the Great Wall ) but they cannot pilot them alone and instead need to partner up with female concubines. And more often than not, these concubines die but we see that this considered to be of little importance. This is something that strongly motivates Wu Zetian to outdo any expectations people have for her as a woman and I think it’s safe to say that she’s rather successful. In the beginning of the story, she is dealing with the death of her Big Sister who was killed while copiloting. In order to exact revenge, Zetian enlists as a concubine pilot so she can kill her sister’s murderer. She does this without telling Gao Yizhi, her friend and love interest, who also happens to come from a very powerful and wealthy family. But even when he finds out her plans, he knows he cannot stop her.

Despite her plan on how to kill her Big Sister’s murderer doesn’t go as she had planned out, she overpowers his mind when they have to copilot and she gets labelled an <i>Iron Widow</i>, a female pilot who kills her male copilot ( instead of the usual male copilot killing his female copilot ). No one knows what to do with her and they pair her up with Li Shimin, the most powerful pilot of the past two years and a coldblooded murderer— he killed his father and brothers. But she soon learns out after having access to some of his memories that all she has been told by the army about him may in fact not be true.

I loved how female rage was incorporated into this book, we can feel Zetian’s anger all throughout the book and how she doesn’t stop to exact her revenge on just her sister but all who have been unjustly treated by the system. While from the beginning we get an idea of who Zetian is as a person and that doesn’t drastically change, we find out that Shimin and Yizhi are not at all how they appear on the surface. Yizhi seems like an open hearted wealthy man and Shimin a ruthless warrior but perhaps that’s not what they are at all. I don’t typically have an issue with love triangles but how they are executed but after reading <i>Iron Widow</i>, I strongly suggest that authors drop the love triangle trope and switch to poly ships. How their relationships not just together as a poly but also in their three duos was written connected really well with the story and it is definitely something you can see building up from the beginning.

Truly enjoyed <i>Iron Widow</i>, definitely one of my favourite reads and it was such a fun experience. I cannot wait to read more of Xiran Jay Zhao’s writing, they just have this way of writing that it just pushes you on to keep on reading and figure out what the next plot will be.

Trigger Warnings: contains scenes of violence and abuse, suicide ideation, discussion and references to sexual assault ( though no on-page depictions), alcohol addiction, alcohol withdrawal, foot binding, and torture.

QUE EMPIEZA EL MATRIACARDO‼️‼️‼️
THE MATRIARCHY BEGINGS.

This books it’s every dream of feminist girl and boys. This book it’s chef kiss completely. The way that it question a lot of things and the quotes are breathtaking. This book it’s amazing , the writing, the characters, the world building exquisitely. I’m so in love with this book isn't healthy. The way that it show that something just because something it’s the norm doesn’t make it okay, it was so powerful. It makes you feel powerful because me ( as a girl) saw that I’m not alone in the way that I feel when girls are not taking seriously or when we give our opinions and men/boys laugh at us. Wu Zetian it’s the strongest women that I have ever read in a book. And I feel so connected to her, the way she thought, the way she felt, and in everything. And I love this book so much.

She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she is the moment. And the baddest bitch in the whole universe, Wu Zetian I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
I love love love love her so much. It’s not healthy how much I love her and her 2 boyfriends. She’s the best protagonist ever for me, she makes her choices and doesn't change her mind even when the consequences could be horrifying for her or other people because she wants a better future for everyone but specially for girls out here.


I NEED THE SECOND BOOK ASAP AND I WILL BE BUYING EVERYTHING BY XIRAN JAY ZHAO no question asks. She has my whole heart and mind.

This was such a fun, fast-paced read! I loved all the mentions of Chinese history woven throughout, and thought the commentary on gender and sexism was very well handled. The twist at the ending was shocking and very cleverly executed! I do wish the book had taken a little more time to flesh out the romance and the characters' motivations, but overall I flew through this book and had a wonderful time.

Holy smokes. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is a beast of a book. Part futuristic dystopian sci-fi, part historical commentary I was entranced from start to finish. I wasn’t planning on finishing this in one sitting, but I simply could not stop.

At the start of the story, Wu Zetian is recovering from the recent death of her Big Sister. Determined to avenge her sister’s murder, she enlists as a concubine pilot so she can get close to the one who killed her. In general, most female pilots are killed when they go into battle with a male pilot in control of a Chrysalis (giant robots modeled after various figures, like Nine Taled Foxes or White Tigers). However, when she rides into battle, her mind overpowers that of her male co-pilot earning her the title of “Iron Widow”. After the battle, the advisors decide to pair her up with the only other pilot who has a stronger spirit force than her. Li Shimin, the “Iron Demon”, was convicted of patricide and is only alive because of his usefulness on the battlefield. Things get complicated when she experiences some of Shimin’s memories and has to question everything the media and the army have said about him. Things get even more complicated when her previous love, Yizhei, comes to the base as a strategist determined to do anything he can to help Zetian.

There are so many things to talk about in this book. I loved the polyamory. They genuinely care about each other, and the growth of their relationship was heartwarming to see. Who needs things like separate teams in fandom (*cough* Twilight), when you can root for everyone being together? A triangle is the strongest shape, after all. For those who might be wondering, this is NOT some reverse harem type relationship. It is a polygamous trio where all three members are in consenting relationships with each other. The magic system and the premise are also amazing. The synopsis compares the book to the Pacific Rim movie, but this is SO much better. For one, all of the robots in Iron Widow are unique and have personalities (compared to the cookie-cutter Jaegers in Pacific Rim). Secondly, it actually explored more of how pilots are matched (and where problems might arise). Both have absolutely epic action scenes, and there were definitely times when I felt like I was in the cockpit of the Vermillion Bird right alongside Zetian and the others.

The ending was mind-blowing, and I was completely shocked by the cliffhanger (definitely did not see that coming). Please tell me the next book comes soon? I need to know what the Iron Widow is going to do next, and the wait till 2022 for the next installment will be agonizing.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada (Penguin Teen) and NetGalley for providing me an eARC of Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao in exchange for an honest review.

TW: scenes of violence and abuse, suicide ideation, discussion and references to sexual assault (no on-page depictions), alcohol addiction