The premise of the book is what really drew me to it. The idea of a young woman taking on the patriarchy, sign me up lol. But, it was not executed as well as I hoped.

Things included in the Book:

POV: the story is told from Zetian's point of view.

Romance: there is romance included, but I wouldn't say that it is the main driver of the plot. Especially when there is little time actually developing the romance. Also there is sex included but it is not explicit.

Main Character ratings:
Zetian: 3/5. I liked her but she was very contradictory. And even though I could understand her viewpoints, I didn't agree with her methods most of the time.

Yizhi: 4/5. I liked him; he was cute and nice. I could see why Zetian likes him but not sure why he loved her... We are introduced to these characters in the middle of their friendship and it always felt like 2 friends who love each other instead of a friends to lover trope.

Li Shimin: 5/5. Love him. Even though we don't get to see his point of view, (we do get to see some glimpses though) he is such a strong character. After everything he goes through he is still able to keep his morals and have hope. His story reminds me of the 2005 movie Unleashed.

Pros:
The world building. The concept is really cool, and even though it took me awhile to picture what everything looked like, once I did, it all started coming together.

The theme. I liked the idea of someone going against what everyone else does especially if it is "wrong." It's a theme that is used in many books and films, but Xiran does a great job!

Cons:
The romance. Aka there really is none. I thought the idea of a MFM romance could be good if it is done well. But... I don't think it was. As I mentioned earlier the romance between Zetian and Yizhi was very underdeveloped. And the romance between Zetian and Li Shimin was more of an instalove (kind of). I could see why she liked them. But don't know how they could like her. The boys' connection seemed way more believable.

Overall, it was an interesting story and it is still worth a read. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Oh. My. Gosh.
HOW DO YOU GIVE A BOOK MORE THAN FIVE STARS???
First of all, unlikeable female protagonist alert. I’ve never really understood that term though: Zetian is extremely murderous and I LOVE her for it. This entire book is taking down the patriarchy, but, like, literally, she murders a bunch of people. Like. That’s how it’s done. Also, Iron Widow has got to be the coolest title ever, for the book and for Zetian.
Obviously there was a lot of sexism in this book since it’s kind of half of the point, but Zetian is never portrayed as weak, even when she relies on other people. Shoutout to the author for “resolving” the love triangle how she did, I was not prepared to make a choice (the characters are poly, you can read more about the author’s decisions about that in her Goodreads review).
This book is inspired by Chinese history, which I’m not qualified to talk about, but it’s also a sci-fi/fantasy, which I’m quite familiar with. There was really complex, consistent world-building, and this might be the first sci-fi I haven’t been confused by in,,, too long.
I truly don’t know if this’ll be my favorite book of 2021, but it’s worth reading and all of you should!!!

Following Wu Zetian, we enter a distant world where these giant robots called the Chrysalises are the only ones that can defeat the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. Inspired by Ancient China, Chinese culture and history and China's only female emperor, Zhao creates a masterful sci-fi story with amazing world-building, an amazing set of characters, an equally stunning romance and of course masterfully weaving East Asia myth creatures. Zetian is a strong female character who, despite all the obstacles years of history and the society has put up against her, gets what she wants in the end and wins, despite it all. Following the premise of The Handmaid's Tale, the treatment of the girls in society will definitely open your eyes. Zetian is aided by two male characters who then are entangled at first, in a sort of love triangle typical in YA: both boys are in love with the girl and the girl has to choose. Zhao, on the other hand, puts an even better perspective on it: she makes it a polyamorous relationship, something rarely seen in YA but she weaves it into the story so incredibly well that you don't even need to blink twice.
**Thank you the publisher for sending an ARC in exchange of an honest review**

WOWWW, this was the wildest, most original story I have read in a LONGGG time. The blend of sci-fi + fantasy + historical chinese elements was A+. The world building and magic system was incredible and I was VERY INVESTED in the story.
I did want to note that there are some trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, which isn't surprising given the reference to The Handmaid's Tale in the synopsis.

To start, you have 3 main characters:

Zetian the Iron Widow, the logical + lethal MC with a need for justice/vengeance.

Li Shimin the Iron Demon, the strongest and most controversial male pilot with a ~mysterious~ past.

Gao Yizhi, the calm and intelligent son of the most successful media mogul in Huaxia. Has a heart of gold and is a sweet, supportive cinnamon roll.

Zetian was a great MC, she was hot-blooded AND calculating -she knew exactly what her goals were and what she stood for. She did not back down or make herself small, nor did she allow herself to be manipulated. It was FANTASTIC to read her scheming, every time she learned new information or was forced into a new role she paid attention to the long term loss and gains, and readjusted her plans. The love interests Li Shimin and Gao Yizhi were also very interesting and I enjoyed both their relationships with the MC Zetian. This story is very high stakes, and that ending blew my mind. I cannot WAITTT to get my hands on the sequel. This was an extremely impressive first installment for a debut author.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First off, when I read the description, I knew that I had to read this book, and added it to my to-be-read list immediately. Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale sounds like an amazing combination. In addition, the author is a first-generation Chinese immigrant, which is so similar to my own background. I think it's so important to support #ownvoices authors, especially those of Asian descent during this time. When I got the notification that I had been approved to read this ARC, I was so excited that I was jumping up and down. Thank you again to the publisher for this opportunity to review this book ahead of its release date!

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is an absolutely amazing, genre-defying book of feminist YA science fiction. In the author's note at the beginning of the book, the author notes that they were inspired by the story of the first and only female emperor in Chinese history. The plot revolves around 18 year-old Wu Zetian, who is a female pilot for giant transforming robots called Chrysalises. When I read about the robots in this book, I immediately imagined the robots in Gundam anime or the Transformer series. Although female pilots typically die from the strain of piloting these robots, in what is an incredibly misogynist system, Zetian is unusual in that her male co-pilot dies instead of her. She becomes known as an Iron Widow and then is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest male pilot in the corps. If this doesn't sound like an original, insanely creative plot, I don't know what is.

Here is an excerpt from the first chapter when we're introduced to Chrysalises for the first time:

"A lesser pilot would have had to fight off nerves to go meet them in battle, but Yang Guang wasn't fazed. At the foot of his watchtower just beyond the Great Wall, he compelled his Chrysalis, the Nine-Tailed Fox, to launch into action. It was as tall as a seven- or eight-story building and bristly green. Its metallic claws pounded across the earth, shaking it.
A Chrysalis was no ordinary war machine. Yang Guang didn't maneuver it with steering wheels or levers, like he would an electric carriage or a hovercraft. No, he became it. While his mortal body sat dormant in the cockpit, its arms around the concubine-pilot he'd taken to battle tonight, his mind psychically commanded every part of the Nine-Tailed Fox, making it pounce toward the incoming herd on the horizon." Far out on either side of him, the silhouettes of other active-duty Chrysalises raced forth as well."

Overall, Iron Widow is an amazing, stunning debut in YA science fiction. I highly recommend it for all fans of mecha anime series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, or readers of YA science fiction in general. I am so happy to give this book by an #ownvoices author 5 stars! Even if I weren't actively supporting authors of Asian descent right now, I was completely swayed by the original plot of this book, and I enjoyed reading it so much. I literally couldn't put it down and finished it within a day. If the synopsis sounds intriguing to you, you won't regret checking out Iron Widow when it comes out in September!

This book is very angry at the patriarchy and full of twists. I love the moodboard and the polyamory. I already can't wait for the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen House for providing the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Um, to simply put it: just wow.

I can honestly say I never read anything like this before and love how the book totally deliver what the premise promised. The world building is phenomenal I love how Zhao mixed in the history she grew up with alongside sci-fi and blended them the way she did.

The relationship of the characters and their dynamic was so enjoyable but I think what I love most of all was just how angry this book was. It was just so unapologetically angry and furious, and it was just so nice to experience it all on the page like that.

I simply can’t wait to pick up the physical to read it all over again and to fully process everything that went down as well as looking forward to the second book. I’ll be impatiently waiting to see where Zhao decide to take the story next and how she choose to wrap everything up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC!

First off, WOW! What a book! I can honestly say I have never read nothing quite like this before and I mean that in the best way. This book was amazing and so so unique! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!
Described as Pacific Rim meets The Handmaids Tale, this novel is truly in its own league and the main character Zetian is a complete and total badass that sucked me in immediately with her devil may care attitude and witty comebacks. She doesn’t give a crap about social conventions and taboo subjects because she’s just her rocking self and if anyone has a problem they can pound sand. What a character!
The world building is phenomenal with a mix of futuristic and ancient China vibes that blend together surprisingly well. I was amazed and hooked by this debut novel and will be anxiously awaiting book 2 as well as anything else this author writes!

Well done!! 5 Stars!

3.5/5 stars, rated up because f*ck the patriarchy. In short, Iron Widow is a fantastic debut, and I’m excited to see where the series goes.

What I liked/loved:
-a natural and healthy polyamorous relationship: I absolutely hate love triangles with every fiber of my being, and I greatly appreciate that Xiran Jay Zhao essentially said “No :)” and gave us the poly relationship we deserve. I also like that it’s not insta-lovey or toxic or selfish, as many YA romances tend to be.
-badass characters: I love Zetian as a character. She (and basically all the main characters) is ruthless and even a bit brutal. Maybe I’m a sadist, but I love that Zetian was willing to get down and dirty to get what she wanted. The book never tries to sell her as being misguided or misunderstood; she simply does what she wants, and what she wants is violence. Love me a morally-grey/anti-heroic/basically-a-villain protagonist.
-engaging world/plot: I wasn’t sure how mecha battles would play out through written word, but the battles and ‘magic’ (magic being used very loosely here) system were unique and creative and well-described. It doesn’t seem like it should work, but it does, and it’s great. I flew through this book so fast, and the pace never becomes dull. Everything about the world and its characters and its mysteries is simply entertaining .
-Asian diversity: not much to say here. As an Asian, I’m always down to have more representation.

What I disliked:
-the writing: the language/phrasing/dialogue was at times either extremely colloquial, just straight exposition, or (occasionally) cringey or cheesy. This book isn’t advertised as being historical fiction or anything of that nature, but using words and phrases like ‘basically’ or ‘yup’ really threw me off. This was only a major problem for me in the first, say, fifth of the book, and largely becomes unnoticeable afterwards, but it still happened often enough to bother me.
-motivations: I feel like most of the main character’s motivations were either not explored deeply enough, or were simply nonexistent. Zetian wants to avenge her big sister, yet this is merely told to the reader, and we are never offered anything from their relationship that would make me think, “Oh yeah, I can see why Zetian would want revenge so bad.” It’s just a very shallow excuse to move the plot forward, instead of offering real characterization. The two male leads, as far as I can tell, don’t really have any strong goals aside from just helping Zetian, which is a shame, since they’re such interesting people and can be great contrasts to each other/Zetian.
-the ending: I found the execution of the last 5-10% of the book was rushed and a bit too clunky. It feels like most of the story’s plot lines were simply abandoned to make room for the big plot twist - and ended up leaving a lot of questions unanswered in a very unsatisfying way.

All in all, this is a solid debut that adds a lot of diversity to the YA genre. If you think you may be interested, give it a shot, you’ll probably enjoy it!

Okay, this is technically a 4.5/5 star review but I'm still feeling the high off of this glorious badboy so rounding up to 5 we go!

How do I begin to describe this one? Well, the basic premise is simple enough: in the ruins of a Chinese-inspired civilization, the last dregs of humanity use boy-girl couples piloting giant mechabots to fight off monsters. Unfortunately, female pilots die off at alarming rates, and Wu Zetian's sister becomes one of those statistics. Determined to avenge her sister's death, Zetian enlists as a female pilot to hunt down her sister's partner, setting off on a path that will rattle the very foundations of her society.

This is a revenge story, a tale of one woman's rise to the top of a system that would see her destroyed. Zetian is not a good person, and I am just delighted by her every move. She's determined, ruthless, and cunning. She is vengeance itself, but she still walks the fine line between antiheroine and villain. I just love watching her go berserk on people. If you like characters like Rin from R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War, then Zetian is right up your alley. She's a flawed character prone to making mistakes, but not only does she apologize for them when she needs to, she learns.

Also, I don't know why exactly all these books about angry antiheroine Asian ladies are getting so popular, but I'm not mad. Gimme another 100 of 'em.

What bolsters this is her relationships with other characters. For an action-packed story about mechabots and kaiju, there's a lot of humanity at the core of the story. Amidst her fury, she is tethered by her co-pilot Shimin and her childhood best friend Yizhi. And indeed, the triangle is the strongest shape. I'm so grateful that Zhao managed to hold onto the polyamory aspect of this story, because the three of them balance out so well. And it's a nice middle-finger to a society that props up a deeply misogynistic form of polygamy. I just think they're neat. Shout-outs to Dugu Qieluo, as well! She's my favorite side character.

Aside from that, Zhao does a fantastic job of fleshing out the world, fusing a ton of Chinese mythology with sci-fi elements. She builds a world that celebrates Chinese culture while also criticizing its historic (and modern) issues of classism, racism, sexism, and censorship. Admittedly, the barrier to entry for me was very low because I myself am Chinese-American and therefore familiar with a lot of the mythology that she drew inspiration from. I definitely think that the "magic" system of the five elements + yin-yang of traditional Chinese philosophy that she uses will take time to get used to for Western audiences, but she explains it well enough. If you've watched any mecha anime, this will be pretty easy to get into. It was, after all, inspired by Zhao's own grievances with Darling in the Franxx.

My only caveats would have to do with some of the "twists" that happen later on as being a little abrupt (could use a little more foreshadowing) and the way the themes were often told rather than shown. The bigotry in this book is very overt, and I personally prefer stories where things are more subtly horrifying and constricting e.g. Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy. But all of that aside, I'm really really really excited for everyone else to read this sucker, and I can't WAIT for the sequel!

Penguin Teen (Penguin Random House) and NetGalley?? you sure you meant to accept me for this? it's too late i have already read this and loved this, thank you for your choice or mistake, (if it was an accidental click, understood, thank you.)

CWs: mentions of rape, torture, gore, physical abuse, emotional abuse,

Like many people, I heard about Xiran Jay Zhao through their educational tweets and later, their YouTube videos. From hearing them talk, Iron Widow was quickly placed high on my *to-read* list, and I'm very happy I was able to listen to their videos as they explained how they used concepts in their book, including elemental systems. I knew a little about Wu Zetian before, so I was really interested to see how Mx. Zhao would reinterpret her, as they've spoken about how much they think Wu Zetian is a badass.

Which, of course, she is. And incredibly so. Though the style might be more at home in mid-10s YA books (I felt as if I had to adjust my brain for it), Iron Widow is absolutely pushed to limits that the mainstream books refused to go-- or perhaps, *could* not go. Zhao seemed to revel in pushing those past boundaries and have *fun* while doing that, something that absolutely came across. It almost felt as if the *least* of them was the love triangled-turned-polyam-relationship!

There is anger, pushed to limits, raw and real and unapologetic. Nowhere do we feel as if the anger is undeserved, nowhere is it felt there is a reason to apologize for the anger. Wu Zetian is angry-- and she is *gloriously* allowed to be so. Her anger, her ambition, her hurt-- they all allow her to push from Iron Princess to Iron Widow, and her development followed easily.

The Chrysalises were fantastic too, and my brain was scrambling to keep everything in, to hold and to imagine. Xiran Jay Zhao did a fantastic job of letting reader try to hold images and descriptions in their heads. Mx Zhao did an incredible job as well, with developing characters-- they weren't one-dimensional, nor did it seem as if the the plot was shaped only by their needs at the moment. I thought the discussions of morality, of power, of hate and justice and breaking systems too, was incredibly done. You don't wait around, Wu Zetian says, waiting for things to happen, you do them yourself.
And this she carries through to the fullest amount. Completely recommended. An extremely fun read that sticks with you!

I can't wait for my next reread.

I've been looking forward to this book since the deal announcement! It looked very, very interesting. Giant magical robots, a girl fighting against a patriarchal society to avenge her sister's murder, and it's queer. I was extremely intrigued and eager to see what I would think of it. Trigger warnings: mentions of rape, physical and emotional abuse, torture, gore

Holy shit. Holy shit, this book is GOOD. It is absolutely nothing like I expected it was going to be, and I absolutely adored. Seriously, I am writing this with a love for it burning in my stomach, and I want to scream it from the rooftops. It is GOOD.

I went into this book expecting it to be dark, and serious. Oh boy, is it the exact opposite. Yes, it deals with serious topics, and yes, it faces the harsh realities of this world head on. But at the same time, it's WILD, and it reveals in that. It's a fire devouring everything it's path, and laughing manically as it watches. Just holy heck, it come smashing in with a smirk and wink, tearing everything to pieces in the meantime.

I will admit, I had a bit of a hard time getting into. I was not expecting the drastic tone shift after the prologue, and I did not think I was going to like writing style or the direction that it was taking. I AM SO GLAD I KEPT READING. There was something about that hooked me, that kept me reading, that made me want to know more. That made me want to see exactly where this book would go. So even when I was unsure about it, there was something about it that already had it it's hooks in me.

Let's talk about Zetian, because I love her so, so much. She's angry. She's vengeful and determined and vicious and bloodthirsty and downright pissed off at the society she has been forced to participate in. You want a character who doesn't shy away from being the vengeful? Who will look a nightmare in the face and laugh, because she is a worse one? Oh, you've found one. You've found the main character who is ready to tear down the world to suit her needs. She lives in a world where girls are used as sacrifices for the men to power the giant, magical mechas to fight aliens (yes, this is as wild as it seems, and yes, it is as awesome as it seems), and are demeaned every chance they get. It's a world full of pain and suffering for girls, while boys get the status and celebrity of being heros. And Zetian is sick and tired of the system fighting against her. Of having no choice in the matter. And damn, if she's going to go down, she's going to take everybody down with her.

And then there's a tortured dork of a boy, who wears GLASSES. And another boy who is adorable and supportive and sweet. Plus, there's the other side characters who are just as vicious as the world crafted them to be. And it's a love triangle that ends in polyamorous relationship!

Speaking of this world, oh my gosh, wow. I feel like it was developed in the background, as the characters progressed through their plot. But, it became something incredibly fleshed out, incredibly intriguing, and just downright awesome. There isn't a ton of worldbuilding that feels like it's just dropped into the story, it feels like it develops through the characters actions; more is revealed as more situations arise and more information is brought to light with what the characters have to deal with. All this to say, I think it was wonderfully done.

And the world itself is just downright brutal. There is a war going on between the humans and aliens, and the humans. Boys pilot the giant mechas, and girls are used as power sources of sorts. Though, most of the girls die. It is a brutal system, one that relies on pain and suffering.

And this book threw some wild plot twists in there too!!! I AM STILL SCREAMING ABOUT THEM!!!

Also, while this book takes a balls to the walls, absolutely wild, tone to a lot of the story, there are a lot of dark, serious topics and moments included. It's painful, and bloody, and cruel, and horrifying. I want to give the characters a hug.

I fell completely in love with this book. It's the kind of book that has teeth, and rips into the skin. And dang, it's simply brilliant and I love it so, so much.

Man, where do I begin?

I had the utmost pleasure of getting Iron Widow in my hands early. When Xiran described her novel as "Pacific Rim meets Chinese history/culture", I was sold and very excited. I'm a big fan of Wuxia and Xianxia novels, so I was ready to gobble this up. I am glad to report that the book has not disappointed me at all.

I think the summary on the preorder site does a great job already explaining the plot without spoilers, so I'll just talk about what I like.

In Iron Widow, mankind is plagued with giant robotic monsters called Hunduns and nearly destroy life as they know it. In the invasion's wake, there is a futuristic world (Huaxia) with archaic morals. Only the rich and the government have access to alien technology while the poor live in villages and sacrificed for that technology.

I really love how the details of this world and its rules are fleshed out organically throughout the book. Between present events and memories explored through the pilots' dream/mind state, every location, mecha mechanics, and culture bits are revealed in a matter that pushes the plot or a character forward. I am all about exposition (I am a fantasy/sci-fi lover after all), but it feels SO good when it does right. I repeat myself a lot on this, but I will give credit for the good use and flow of world-building every chance I can get.

The next thing I love about this book is how it handles the idea of mortality. The book starts hard on family traditions, classism, and misogyny. It also ends that way. What I find most interesting about it is that faults are acknowledged and understood, but never forgiven or explained away. You meet characters who have done awful things and, even when you are given reasons for their behavior, it is never an excuse for those characters to get away with it.

This rule even works for the Zetian (main character) and her crew. Every choice Zetian makes, even if it can be argued for or warranted, has real consequences that the character has to live with and muse on. This makes the main characters twice as strong and just really relatable as people. There is no white, black, or even grey really. It more about characters having the courage to stand by their principles, mean it, and acknowledge their rights and wrongs. What is right is right, but it doesn't really matter in less you act on it and be right with it. The perfect example is Zetian's view on Karma: you can't just wait for events to turn around and give someone their just desserts. You have to make the karma, which sometimes means you have to BE the karma.

Alongside that, the romance is pretty dang good too! I honestly feel like the relationships in this novel grow and mature better than most actual romance novels. Once again, there is a really organic flow to this whole novel and the relationship between Zetian and the two main leads is no exception.

Iron Widow is an emotional ride with an amazing world to explore and engaging characters. I will be very, VERY stoked for the next novel in the series.

I literally want a mini version of this book to put in my pocket and carry it around everywhere... this has been my most anticipated read of 2021 and all I can say is IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

Nor only was this well written, but the characters were so intriguing and strong, I literally love all three of them so much... I also LOVED how they threw away the generic YA love triangle trope and had a polyamorous relationship instead because I honestly have never seen this in a YA book before ! It’s so REFRESHING to see and read not only something new like this in YA, but also the sci-fi and robot aspects in this universe as well! I didn’t think I’d enjoy the whole idea of the robots, but it was written really well and I enjoyed every second of it.

I’m also usually a romance motivated reader but the fact that just the plot by itself had me HOOKED since the beginning, everything about Iron Widow was so compelling. This was seriously such a unique and powerful story I can’t wait to get my copy when September comes!

Thank you netgalley for the ARC!

Wow.
Just finished and all I can say is: wow.
I’ve been really looking forward to this book, and it surpassed all my expectations. All the characters were engaging in some form or another, and I adored the protagonist. It’s definitely sci-fi, but character driven instead of scientifically driven, which I love so much.
The writing wasn’t superfluous or flowery, yet engaging all the same. Another thing is the PLOT TWISTS??
The only negative is having to wait for the next book because how am I supposed to wait that long?
Please buy this book when it releases! I’m definitely getting a physical copy for my shelf come September.

I was so excited for this book, and very excited when I got approved for the eARC, but unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. I found myself annoyed at the main character. I didn't get why she wanted to kill Yang so much—I understand that she was angry about her sister's death, but it seems like that anger should have been directed towards the larger system at play rather than one individual person who's also a victim of the system. I couldn't connect to the story for this reason. I usually really enjoy female protagonists like Zetian, but her anger towards Yang seemed a little unjustified and it made me dislike her (and not in a good way). I did enjoy the worldbuilding and the idea of the Chrysalises, though it made the beginning of the story kind of a slog to get through. I'm really sad I didn't enjoy this, because this story is so promising.

In the world of Iron Widow, Huaxian boys pair up with girls to pilot their Chrysalises, massive & transforming robots that they use to battle the aliens (Hunduns) lurking outside the Great Wall. We start off with the main character Zetian offering herself as the concubine pilot to her sister's murderer, Yang Guang. Miraculously she is able to achieve her vengeance, and does so through the psychological link between pilots. She's labeled as an Iron Window, and paired up with Li Shimin, the murderer and much hated pilot of the Vermilion Bird. And throughout the story we follow their journey, fighting evil, teaming up with others, and uncovering the impossible.

The depth of this story is of a much higher level than other Sci-Fi novels I've experienced. I was so immersed in the operating of the Chrysalises, both physically and mentally. This story could have easily been focused more of the physical aspects of these robots, but the psychological level the author took it to is what really made this story stand out from others to me. As a reader it truly brought me to another world being able to witness these battles of characters happening completely through their minds, yet still affecting them physically. There's simply nothing else in YA Sci-Fi (and also fantasy) that I've read that is at this level of development.

Iron Widow also indulged into a type of relationship that I've yet to read in YA, until now. The polyamorous between three of the characters was beautifully done, and will definitely set this apart from the basic YA love triangles seen so often. I love that they dared to take a path that has been little done in YA.

As for the character themselves, I thought their development through the period of the story was smartly done due to the story taking place in what I would say is a fairly short time span. I learned a refreshing amount about the all, and was also left wondering the perfect amount about them.

I loved Zetian!! She's a very promising main character and I'm very excited to see how she develops in the next book as she comes into power, and how it will affect her as a person.

The only thing I could have wished for with this book was maybe more setting changes? I also think a map to reference to would have been really useful, the geography was still very easy to understand without it, though.

An amazing debut, overall!! Will definitely be getting a copy when it's released in September.

Thanks to #Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me a digital ARC of #IronWidow in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, AHHHAHHAHAHAHAH.

Ok, now that that is out of the way. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is a fantastic read. As a reader, I tend to prefer lighter and fluffier reads, but I have always loved books based on ancient history (or normal history) with a twist, so discovering this book, I decided to give it a go, and it was so worth it.

Wu Zetian, Li Shimin, and Gao Yizhi would not let me stop reading. They are all fantastic characters, and their romantic relationship is *chef's kiss.* These characters and their relationship with one another are amazing and everything I desire in my romance novels but can never seem to find, so finding them has been a breath of fresh air. I would not consider this a romance novel though. It is pure SciFi and I love it for being that.

While the characters are what kept me, the world build is superb as well. With the giant mech and the aliens they are fighting, that build to a fantastic twist that makes me hungry for more.

I will say there are parts of it that made it hard for me to read in its depictions of how society and people in power abuse those they consider lesser, be it someone of a different race or gender than the ruling class. Despite how hard it was for me to read, I could not put it down and recommend this novel to anyone interested in science fiction and giant mech.

Xiran Jay Zhao, your debut novel, has this Librarians's seal of approval!

This book is so angry and so ready to crush the patriarchy under one giant robot boot and I'm extremely here for it. Like an angry feminist Neon Genesis Evangelion, or the Echo Wife with more giant robots. Wu Zetian is a deliciously vicious protagonist who is done taking shit from the world. She's going to take what she wants and burn anyone who dares to get in her way.

As for romance, this is an antidote to the endemic young adult love triangle. Zetian has two love interests and doesn't need to choose between them. Triangles are, after all, the strongest shape.