So this was one of the books I was most enthusiastically waiting for. And it didn’t disappoint.
The setting, the characters, the plot, everything was just marvelous and well written.
I would recommend Iron Widow literally to everyone!

Iron Widow was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and this was such a nice ride.

From the beginning, I was super excited about this book as some aspects remind me a lot of Pacific Rim and this film is part of my favorites. Moreover, a poly relationship in a book?! I’m in.

I really enjoyed the world and characters of Iron Widow, but I do have to say I have found the story to be rushed quite a bit at times which didn’t allow me to really enjoy all of it. I’m really really excited for the second book though! Just hoping things won’t be as rushed and we’ll have the time to enjoy this crazy entertaining world and its characters.

The Hunduns, mecha aliens dedicated to destroying humanity are a constant threat to the people of Huaxia. Giant robots known as Chrysalises are their only form of defence, powered by the qi of the men and women who pilot them. Unfortunately, most of the concubine-pilots die from the mental strain of operating them. After her sister is killed by a well-loved pilot Wu Zeitan enrols to enact her vengeance. No one expects her to overpower the pilot, killing him through their psychic link. A woman this powerful must be controlled, but Zeitan isn’t ready to give up her chance at changing the system that devours them. Iron Widow wields its fast pace into an explosive, cinematic read that’s difficult to put down. The Chinese-inspired worldbuilding is wildly entertaining. Although a little more detail would have been useful, the lack of info-dumps kept the pace moving at breakneck speed. The way this book tackled the gritty reality of misogyny and the levels of violence women face in a world that barely views them as human was unflinching. Zeitan was ruthless, powerful, and determined to rip the system down, and that was brilliant to see in a character. Unfortunately, the lack of major women characters was disappointing considering the books anti-patriarchal theme. It gave Zeitan slight ‘not like the other girls’ vibes, which would have been easy to offset if she wasn’t the only main-cast woman. More backstory on her relationship with her sister may also have been effective here. Iron Widow was a piercing, action-packed read, and despite my small criticisms, I believe it’s a sparkling example of how Young Adult Sci-Fi is doing some amazing things.

Breathtaking.
Striking.
Stunning.
Suspenful.
Tender.
Revolutionary.
Exciting.
Overwhelming.
Wonderfully developed.
Intelligently written.

Not enough words to describe the literary excellence of this story. Took a while to grip, but once it all clicked I could do nothing but turn the page and finish it on a high. Will certainly be recommending this at the library.

What an elegantly executed, ambitious novel! This book was a RIDE. Think all the badass futuristic action of Pacific Rim entwined with rich detail and specificity inspired by imperial China. And also, feminism! Empowerment! On no-one’s terms but the protagonist’s own. I also want to thank the author for killing the love triangle trope. It’s dead. Finally.

I came across the novel Iron Widow through social media and I immediately thought it was going to be a best seller. The amount of press and marketing I’ve seen supporting this book is quite shocking for a YA sci-fi debut, so I knew the publishers were really betting on it.

The first thing that caught my attention about the book was its astounding cover, which suggested a story full of magic and lead by a powerful woman, and what else could we ask for?

When I started reading the book I was completely hooked, I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I was reading, but sadly, after the first half of the book I lost a bit of interest. It wasn’t because the book got boring but because it focused more on the romance than on the other plots, which I found to be more interesting and fresh. Smashing the patriarchy, getting revenge and piloting Chrysalises to fight aliens are way more interesting plots than the overused love-triangle trope.

Nevertheless, if I think about the plot as a whole, I did enjoy both the concept and the execution overall, even if there is a cliffhanger at the end that I didn’t like as much, but I guess we’ll have to see what the author does with it in the sequel.

The characters were probably my favourite part of the book, I loved seeing morally-grey characters in a YA book and I loved getting to know them and their circumstances. They were nuanced and complex enough that they felt real and I probably liked them because I tend to like villains more than heroes and these characters are not villains but they definitely aren’t heroes either, perhaps we could say they are the perfect antiheroes.

I really enjoyed reading Iron Widow and even if there are some things that I didn’t like about it, I will definitely pick up its sequel when it comes out because I want to find out more about Zetian and the future of Huaxia.

This book was a phenomenal read! From the first page we are thrown into this incredibly vivid world that Xiran has created and I loved every second of it. Zetian has become one of my favourite characters and I love the trio so much, they are pure chaos and I am here for it!

This is set in a world where women are considered worthless and only there to sacrifice themselves for the male pilots or to be good wives and mothers. By good I mean silent and obedient. Zetian has had enough of this and after the death of her sister she vows to get revenge and does so in the most spectacular fashion and in that moment I fell in love with her.

I loved seeing Zetian and how she battled against the systemic injustice that women are subjected to on a daily basis and the pure rage she felt. I related to her a lot; I understand her rage. I loved how it was shown in the book and through her. She has every right to be angry but what I loved most was watching her opinions and thoughts about how to become empowered changed and grew as she learnt more and interacted with different people in different situations. How that impacted how she fought for herself and for women’s empowerment everywhere. This book is honestly such a powerful read and had me feeling all the emotions.

I especially loved her internal conflict of how can she fight for empowerment and yet love and care for a man and be vulnerable with them. Her learning it isn’t an either or situation, she can have both. There is so much depth to her character that we see more and learn more about her as the story goes on and I just need everyone to read this book.

The discussions on misogyny and patriarchy are done so incredibly well and we see just how deeply these views have impacted women in so many ways that are completely invisible to men. There’s also discussions around how the powerful and wealthy just continue to grow in wealth and the poor become poorer. Honestly there was so many interesting and nuanced discussions in the book but it didn’t take away from the plot and suspense of the story. It just added more layers to it.

I loved the mechas and the battle scenes, I would love to be able to see this in a film, I think some scenes would have some breath-taking visuals and it was all described so vividly that I could picture everything. We learn about the world through Zetain, Shimin and Yizhi who all come from different situations in life. All three characters are morally grey and despite some of the awful things they do, you can’t help but root for them. Especially as everyone seems equally monstrous.

The build up to the ending had me on the edge of my seat and the second half especially had me completely hooked and I thought I knew what was happening but the ending still left me completely shook and I was left screaming! I am ridiculously excited to read the sequel and honestly I don’t know how I’m going to wait a whole year for it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Wow. This is one of my favourite books of the year so far. Zhao has created a fascinating alternate history version of China, with a narrative that is Pacific Rim meets feminism. Zetian is the epitome of a strong female character and the relationships between her, Yizhi and Shimin are note perfect. I'll be recommending this book to everyone I know, and I can't wait for the rest of the series.

Such a unique book!!! Loved the characters and the whole way everything happened. The author hooked the reader until the very end. Daaamn, book two will be even better, can't wait for that to happen.

Iron Widow first came to my attention due to the slowly growing anticipation online. While we had some brilliant Fantasy novels featuring fascinating female characters come out this summer, Iron Widow was poised to take us by storm this fall. And take me by storm it did! I fell right into this novel and now feel slightly bereft, having finished it. Thanks to Oneworld Publications and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Xiran Jay Zhao makes it very clear at the beginning of this book that this is not meant to be seen in any way as a semi-historical or alternate history kind of novel. Iron Widow is its own thing, taking inspiration from Chinese history and mythology, but setting it in a different, fully realised, world. Iron Widow feels radically different from so many other fiction I have read, in that it truly feels like Zhao took what she wanted and created something totally new. Her mind! Usually I would say feminism or women's rights are a theme in a novel, but in the case of Iron Widow they're the novel's raison d'etre. Every page of this novel is full of rage about the crimes committed against women, the ease with which they are put down, the cruelty with which misogyny is institutionalized. Despite all of this, Iron Widow is also a majorly fun read. While I can't quite explain this fine balance, perhaps I can show an example. The title of the first chapter made me laugh, until we got to the end of the chapter and I fully realised what it meant. And then it almost made me cry.

Zetian has it all planned out. She will volunteer as a concubine-pilot and kill her sister's killer, consequences be damned. Things don't go quite to plan, however, when it turns out Zetian is not just a determined young woman, but also a woman capable of matching, even surpassing, her male co-pilots chi. Instead of taking down one man, Zetian now has to think bigger. But, as a wise man has said in at least three reboots, with great power comes great responsibility. Zetian is one of my favourite female protagonists in ages. She is so angry, so hurt, so sad, and she lets these emotions guide her. She feels the pressure to apologise for them, absolutely, but every time she feels herself instinctively bow to the system she snaps back up, stronger, angrier. She sees her anger, recognizes it and lets it fuel her. She makes horrifying choices with major consequences, but she does so knowingly. She is fully prepared for the world to burn, as long as the fire stops the hurt being perpetrated. Iron Widow is a bit of a rallying cry to kick down barriers, to smirk in the face of assholes, to go as low as they are willing to go, but it is also major fun.

I adore Xiran Jay Zhao's mind! She literally gives us so many things with Iron Widow that I wouldn't even have dreamed of asking for. When I first heard the novel described as a "Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale" I honestly wasn't quite sure what to expect. How could that possible be combined without either losing the fun of Pacific Rim or the seriousness, nay urgency, of The Handmaid's Tale? Well, Zhao manages it. Zetian is all snark, but she is also an open wound, hurting with every step. The balance Zhao strikes with Zetian, between the hurt and the anger, is stunning. I adore her. Also, Xiran Jay Zhao is the only one to understand how a love triangle is meant to work and to make.it.work! I am so here for polyamory to sweep YA. Let a girl have both! Let the boys have both! Iron Widow moves between quite a few genres, being solidly fantasy while also working within the sci-fi genre. It is Queer YA and it is a social critique. It isn't afraid to be ridiculous and it is also deadly serious in its ambitions. All these things come together into a solid 400 pages I raced through breathlessly in the middle of the night. When is the sequel coming out? I needed it yesterday!

I utterly adored Iron Widow. It gave me everything I could have asked for, from battles between massive machines to condemnations of the patriarchal systems. Do yourself a favour and jump on board, you won't regret it!

Iron Widow is the opening instalment in this epic, richly inventive, eponymous young adult historical series that blends Chinese history, mythology and mecha science fiction into a compulsive read. It reimagines the true story of the only female Chinese emperor as a thrilling space opera and follows a young concubine-pilot determined to dismantle the patriarchal system following the brutal death of her beloved sister. In the kingdom of Huaxia, a Chinese-influenced futuristic society, we are introduced to 18-year-old Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history, and chart her rise to prominence. Humankind is suspended in a state of perpetual war with the Hunduns, who appear as large buglike entities that have been created to fly efficiently and attack when needed, and they have developed a terrifying power that humans are most fearful of. The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labelled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead. To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed. This is a bold, inventive and thoroughly spellbinding fantasy from the moment you pick it up as you are led on a dark and dangerous adventure as Wu plots her sweet, sweet vengeance.

This book has something for everyone; it's amazing, brutal, unique, and horrific, and there was so much queer and Asian representation and so many difficult topics, themes and situations handled really well. The characters are primarily ambiguous, which I always adore, in the sense that they are morally grey, and this made them so much more intriguing as you never quite knew what they were going to do next. The complexities of their personalities meant they were each multi-faceted, flawed and therefore real, raw and relatable characters which made them all the more engaging to follow and admire as they came of age. Bloodthirsty and tender, full of power, powerlessness and determination, I could hear Wu Zetian roaring her vengeance call long after I finished this thrilling sci-fi extravaganza. The action never lets up and the tale has many delicate touches that add a refreshing originality to the plot and make it feel exhilarating and so, so special to read. Fighting through both physical and mental battles, science fiction and East Asian myth combine in this dazzling retelling in which you can't help but cheer for Wu and her fierce form of feminism as she tries to move heaven and earth against the intensely patriarchal military system. Highly recommended.

When we first meet Zetian she is filled with impotent rage. She sees how girls and women are treated in her world and feels the injustice of it all, but doesnt know what to do about it. Until a personal tragedy gives her the impetus she needed and the thirst for revenge.⁣
Zetian was a very interesting character, and though I didnt always agree with her decisions I could see what was driving her to make them. The author mentioned she is loosely based on the only Chinese Emperor Wu Zetian ( yes I fell down a google rabbithole. Fascinating historical figure) and the Zetian of Iron Widow is no less fierce and strong willed, and it was hard not to root for her.⁣
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The secondary characters are entertaining and I look forward to them being developed further in book 2. The dynamics between all the characters were compelling and I am intrigued to see where it goes and how it will all play out. ⁣
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The Author has done a fantastic job of creating a world where myths and lore coexist with sophisticated technology. I hope book 2 elaborates more on how Chrysalises (giant robots) came about and why there is so much around them that is unknown. ⁣
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This is a dark story, about a girl just trying to avenge a death, but then who gets a taste of all that she could have and so grows into so much more to take it. If you love fierce, unapologetic heroines and unique storylines then I think you'll definitely enjoy this one!

Oh my GOD I loved this book so much! It was everything I expected and more! I loved the setting, the plot, the characters, everything! I can't wait to read more from this author!

The characters though historically based, are taken into an alternative universe created by the author and then deliver a story that is epic in every way. Wu Zetian herself in this book says 'nope' to every single bad idea society can put on a woman and does it, and does it with aplomb, with an energy that I can only dream of.

The world that this author creates in this book is just as incredible. The idea of the Chrysalises is inspired and the blending of new and, myth and tech together is truly so well done in this book, and with such good characters this book is taken to a whole new level.

It has its issues, sometimes it feels simplistic language-wise, however I can overlook this for an amazing plot, the first well-written polyamorous relationship I've seen in fiction and a world that is so well constructed and makes me want so much more from it. The last page of this book is as powerful as the first and you should read it.

This book is getting all kinds of traction on social media, so I was excited to read it and see what it's like. It's advertised as Pacific Rim - a movie I haven't seen but know the basic plot of - meets The Handmaid's Tale - a series I follow with more or less enthusiasm depending on the series. There are also shades of Transformers, a franchise I know a bit of. And, of course, it's based (very) loosely on Chinese history, a subject I know very little of. So how do all these elements come together?

Unfortunately; messily. There's a good story here, but it's buried under a lack of worldbuilding and two 'surprise' twists that I saw coming. Nothing is really explained, in my opinion, it's just thrown at us - oh, there's a fight between a giant robot and a small robot, right. One's an alien? Ok. Now the not!alien one is transforming! Uh huh...I'm sure that a lot of readers were able to follow along, but I had a lot of trouble with it.

It wasn't enough to turn me off; I want to keep reading the series and see how people deal with the not!twist revealed near the end. The language used was great and some of the descriptions were amazing. I really felt the cold in the mountains near the end, and the descriptions of the luxury apartments were fantastic. I wish the worldbuilding and the qi system had been explained better, but there's room in the next book (and the one after? Is this a trilogy or a duology?)

Overall a good, but not great read, but I'll be looking out for more and I think other readers won't have the problems I did.

As so wonderfully put by the author "ENFORCE YOUR LAST PATHETIC GENDER ROLE, PATRIARCHY".

This was genre-bending, rule-breaking and incredible. Amazing world-building and complex characters. I was completely hooked from page one.

The arresting cover is what first drew my eye to Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao , it truly is a beautiful work of art. Reading the synopsis intrigued me enough to prompt a request for a copy, and I am very glad that I did. This is a futuristic blend of fantasy and science fiction with an East Asia inspired setting. A battle is raging between humans of Huaxia and an alien species, and the most powerful weapon in the human's arsenal are the chrysalises, giant transforming robots that are controlled by pairs of male pilots and female concubines. The combined Qi forces of the pair power the robot, but often the concubine dies in the process, something that infuriates our heroine , Zetian. Determined to avenge the death of her sister she signs up to be a concubine, but when the unthinkable happens and she overpowers her co-pilot, killing him instead of dying herself she gains the title Iron Widow , and is paired up with the most powerful, and dangerous pilot of all .
This is an action packed thrill ride that seems like it would be ideal for adaptation as a film or video game. The characters are well developed and the complexity of their relationships is a breath of fresh air. I was expecting a cliched love triangle but the way the story played out. was so much more interesting and unexpected, and was perfect given the characters involved.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

What an absolutely WILD RIDE. It was a brutal, revenge driven story and I was hooked to every word. Zetian is an unlikeable character that you still end up rooting for? I can't even explain it. Iron Widow is a super engaging, scifi blended read that doesn't shy away from the discussion of important topics. A must read of 2021.

I was really looking forward to this book, as I've watched Xiran Jay Zhao's videos on YouTube and think they're great, and that they have a really interesting way of describing Chinese culture. So naturally I was very excited when I saw that it was available. But in the end, I have very mixed feelings about this book, much more so than I expected, and I'm not really sure whether it fulfilled everything I was expecting of it.
Firstly, the good things: this is a rich and detailed world, based on a fusion of Imperial China with a futuristic technological world where humanity fights to maintain control of its territories through the use of giant mecha-tanks, fueled by a pair of spirit pilots. A reimagining of the story of Wu Zetian, China's only female emperor, is a powerful and interesting character, railing against the sexist and patriarchal structures of her society, and fighting back in every way she can. Devastated by the death of her older sister, sacrificed to a male pilot of a Chrysalis, Wu Zetian volunteers at the very beginning of the book to become a concubine-pilot as well, ready to use that opportunity to murder the man who took her sister's life. But the way she achieves this end is unexpected - in her first battle against the Hunduns, the alien race struggling against humanity to claim the territory of Huaxia, Zetian overpowers her male pilot, killing him, and emerging unscathed from the battle. She's then paired with Li Shimin, one of the most powerful and feared pilots, killer of his brothers and father, and so dangerous he's kept muzzled outside of battle. In the mean time, her childhood friend Gao Yizhi is devastated to learn of her intention to sacrifice herself (knowing that the penalty for murder of a pilot is death) and takes advantage of his privileged position to assist in any way he can. The relationship between the three main characters is really interesting, as Zetian looks at both her first love and her new love, and the three of them find that the triangle is the strongest shape. Finally, Zetian had her feet bound, and uses a wheelchair or walks with a cane, so some disability rep is always interesting. The contrast of Zetian's limited physical mobility against the sheer power and freedom of piloting the chrysalis is also powerful - making the critique of the practice of footbinding for lotus feet even more stark.
But there was also a lot that I didn't like, or found frustrating about this book. Even though I've just praised the disability rep, for highlighting footbinding as a form of disability, I quickly got frustrated with how it was presented in the narrative. Zetian had her feet bound when she was a small child, but her inner monologue is filled with frustration about it, and she's constantly furious at the limitations that the patriarchy places on her mobility. This fury spins out into fury more generally about the role of women and girls and their limited power and prestige - most aptly demonstrated in the sacrifice of concubine-pilots in every battle, as their qi is overpowered by that of the pilots, killing them. As the book progresses, the sexism inherent in this system is laid bare, and Zetian becomes more furious as every page turns. What I found difficult to accept or believe, however, is that Zetian starts the book furious. And there's no real catalyst for what makes her furious. She just starts off as an angry feminist.
Now don't get me wrong - I'm an angry feminist. But I'm an angry feminist standing on the shoulders of generations of angry feminists before me, with the benefit of a wealth of education, information, and struggles informing my rage. Zetian seems to have come to this conclusion on her own, with no catalyst, and no obvious reason for why she was able to so completely shrug off generations of social conditioning. Her disgust for the patriarchal society she lives in resonates with modern feminist rage, but for that reason it jars, because I cannot see where it comes from. Perhaps that's me being dumb, and Xiran Jay Zhao is much cleverer than I give them credit for, and there is a backstory of a feminist awakening that I simply glossed over. But I spent much of the book bewildered as to why or how Zetian started off so angry. Throughout the book, there were plenty of things that fueled that rage - women with unbound feat, reveals about spirit power and the yin yang arrangement of pilot seats - but while any of those could have been an awakening, we never saw Zetian's, and that lack of a trigger point for how she shrugged off the prevailing societal norms really baffled me.
As well as that, I though that the relationships between Zetian, Li Shimin, and Gao Yizhi was somewhat underdeveloped. While I applaud the author for resolving a would-be love triangle in an interesting way, there was very little that made me actually believe that this relationship was stable, loving, and would justify the degrees of vengeance that Zetian displays in the latter parts of the book.
Besides that, I felt that this book dragged somewhat. The blurb tells us that Zetian kills her first pilot, but this doesn't happen until about a quarter of the way through the book. I found myself putting it down and being reluctant to pick it up again, despite overall interest in the plot progression. There were some excellent twists and turns in this story, and definitely artistry in the reimagining of Wu Zetian and her rise to power as the Emperor of China, but there were definite weaknesses in this too, leading me to consider it a quite middle-of-the-road experience.

“Despite the endless horrors that we’ve both been through, I really am grateful that we survived to meet each other.”

***

How do you write a review when everything is simply perfect?! This book, and especially Zetian, stole my heart completely.

Zetian is a girl who has been taught she is not worth and that she has been born to please and serve. Her life, being a woman, is not as important as a male and it is normal that she should sacrifice herself in order to let a male pilot thrive.

But her power is simply too strong to be contained and as long as she understands it, she also realizes that everything she has been told is a lie and that her desires matter, even if they bring her to unconventional choices!
Society shouldn’t really condemn people who do not conform, it’s right to find our own happiness, in our own way, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else!

If you want a tame female main character, choose another book because Zetian is fierce and she doesn’t stop! Yet it is really sweet to see how she can recognize the people who really love her and give them the world.

It’s not really a fight between males and females (as feminism is not saying that women should rule and men should serve) it’s just a way to recognize each person’s value beyond their sex… and this thought is really inspiring.

The world is futuristic and very well created, even if I found the end a little bit rushed. Nonetheless I loved the writing style and all Zetian’s thoughts and reflections. I am really excited to see what the next book will bring and super ready to continue this adventure.