This book really blew me away. I loved the relationships between our three main characters and how they all support each other in a world that always expects something of them. I couldn't believe that ending, it makes me need the next one right now! The writing was beautiful and I love how honest Zetian is, she's not there to be what others want her to be, she's there to be herself and of course, be their nightmare.

Monster girls here to rip out your hearts with their teeth unapologetically and have complex, interesting queer relationships and rivalries. I am ~*obsessed*~

When I first heard about this book I couldn’t believe my ears. It sounded like everything I could want from a book.
To summarise what arguments convinced me this will be the most amazing book:
- badass female protagonist fighting the patriarchy!
- Science-Fiction and fantasy!
- Pilots!
- Poly love triangle!
- Based on the Chinese history and mythology!
Ever since hearing about it I couldn’t wait for it to come out and thanks to NetGalley I was able to read it a little earlier. Thank you!
I’m now thinking about buying a physical copy because this book blew me away, deserves all the support and I just want this gorgeous book to have a place on my bookshelf.

The characters:
Oh my, the characters. I love them so much.
Zetian is one of the most badass protagonists I’ve read about in a while. She’s ruthless, fierce and yet, through all her brutality, she has heart. The stark contrast of her love for her boys, and he rage against the system and ferocity of her will to fight it was stunning.

Shimin just kept on giving. Layer after layer was revealed and through Zetian’s rather biased eyes it was so interesting to get to know him. He has my heart and honestly I just want to give him a hug and never let go. He’s so loveable and yet so strong. Calling him impressive doesn’t even start to say it all.

And of course Yizhi. I want to call him a ruthless puppy. He feels so different to Shimin and Zetian, giving it a breath of fresh air and yet he fitted perfectly. His presence was so comfortable. He just radiates calmness which the fire of Zetian needed. And yet he’s everything but innocent or shy. That man got a power of his own and I love him for it.

The three of them make a perfect and balanced team. They just feel right together and all their character moments were so beautiful, I didn’t want to let them go.

The plot:
This story is so good! The world building is fantastic. It’s so rich and detailed! I have such a strong sense of how this world is put together and even though new revelations did change the world quite a bit, it never fell apart. It just painted an even more detailed picture that wrapped itself around a thrilling plot.
This didn’t let me go! A perfect balance of character moments, reflection, setting something up and pure action. I was rooting for Zetian all the way through, cheering her on to destroy the absolutely horrendous and disgusting sexist society she lives in.

Conclusion:
This book lived up to all my expectations and created a beautiful world that I don’t want to leave. Without a doubt, 5 out of 5 stars.
And now I can’t wait for the second one!

What I was looking for: The cover caught my interest and the blurb got me hooked.

What I liked: Nearly everything. Even the (quite drastic) physical and mental violence, difficult themes and unapologetic ruthlessness of the characters. This is certainly a book where I do not see myself in the main character but feel inspired by her to some extent. Also, several tropes are being turned on their head which is a very welcome change.

What I did not like: My only complaint is that it is marked to YA while I think it would be a great adult novel (unfortunately, SFF novels with female protagonists (especially if written by a woman) are so often marketed as YA even if they are not).

Conclusion: This is by no means a light and easy book: In violence and ruthlessness, the closest would be The Hunger Games, though I find Iron Widow to be much more raw and angry. This is certainly something to keep in mind before reading or gifting this book. Nevertheless, I love it and cannot wait for the second book.

Iron Widow jumps straight into Zetian’s quest to avenge her sister’s death. In Zetian’s world, women are either sold off as brides or sacrificed as human batteries to the male pilots who power giant robots with their life force (or qi). When her sister dies in service as one of these concubine-pilots, Zetian follows in her footsteps, intent on killing the man responsible for her death.

The same day Zetian joins the military, the alien Hunduns mount a surprise attack on the border of Huaxia. Zetian is dragged into co-piloting the Chrysalis in an emergency mission, thinking her plan is ruined. But she’s shocked to find that her spirit pressure exceeds that of the legendary pilot Yang Guang, and she battles him for mental control of his Chrysalis, draining his qi and killing him in the process.

Finding herself in an unprecedented position, Zetian fights fiercely to forge a path for herself in a world determined to keep women silent and servile.

‘It’s hilarious. Men want us so badly for our bodies, yet hate us so much for our minds.’

Zetian is metal AF in Iron Widow, relentlessly railing against the shocking treatment of women across Huaxia, which is the primary driver of the story. In a character arc inspired by the rise of Empress Wu Zetian–the only female leader in Imperial China’s history–we see Zetian rise to power through grit and sometimes cruelty.

‘We can live for more. We can live for justice. Change. Vengeance. Power’

At times, there was a little too much over-explanation as part of Zetian’s internal dialogue which made her come across as immature. That said, I still believed in her cause.

Hands down my favourite thing about Iron Widow is the spiritual mechanics of the Chyrysalises and the alien Hundens that they fight. If anything, I could have done with more mecha battle scenes! I’m no anime expert, but this story reminded me of Neon Genesis: Evangelion or Knights of Sidonia, but with the weird bug things from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. In their acknowledgements, Zhao does mention that Darling in the Franxx provided them with a lot of ideas for the story.

My only problem with the Hunden side of things is that the Hundens themselves didn’t seem to present much of a threat. I didn’t believe they would still be advancing into human territory after thousands of years. But still, the sheer novelty of a book that reads like an anime film kept me engaged throughout the story.

Beyond this, the worldbuilding is a little light in Iron Widow and the plot is relatively straightforward, but there are some exciting events towards the end that have me feeling looking forward to the next instalment. The brief, cryptic references to the gods in the sky make me think that something big is about to kick off!

Many thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Trigger warnings: Physical abuse/mutilation, threat of rape/reference to rape, murder, death of family

This is one of the most captivating and fresh new takes on a fantasy story I have read in a long time. The feminist voice spoke strong and, through it, an interesting and powerful female character was born. I am excited to see that the author wants to continue into this fantasy world & I will be waiting excitedly for the next adventure!

TL;DR

LOVED. Got a lot of time for this little gem.

Polyamorous triangle wielding qì-powered mech suits take down the patriarchy.

Honestly, if that didn’t get your attention then we’re a little bit screwed.

I don’t like doing this but I feel it’s the only way I can describe shit right now – if you were to smush Handmaids Tale with Pacific Rim and sprinkle it with The Hunger Games, you’d get Iron Widow. And that, my dearest pals, creates quite the read. Here’s what you’re in for:

✨ Inspired by China’s only women emperor – Wu Zeitan
✨ FUCKING MECH SUITS
✨ Patriarchy smashing
✨ Polyamous relationships that will bring a big ol’ grin to your face

Zeitan has one hell of a rough life so far and she’s only 18. Living on the wrong side of the poverty wall, Zeitan lives at the end of her family’s abusive ways enduring her father’s wrath and her grandmother cruelty in form of Lotus Feet (Googling and watching videos about this at 1am is not recommended) all whilst trying to stay alive. On top of that, her sister has been recruited into the war against the Hunduns. Like most women who get sold by their families, she didn’t survive.

The main reason for her death? The mech suits require both a male and female pilot (Ying and Yang) for balance except it’s anything but. The only way they can work successfully is to sacrifice a women’s qì (or life force) and very, very few break through to see the light of day again.

On a path of revenge, Zeitan quickly discovered she’s more powerful than most of the men who surround her and that she can break this cycle.


This is an absolutely WILD story and I’m quite frankly here for it. The story will enrage you to your very core and whilst that makes Zeitan an understandable angry character, I totally fell for her and her fuck-this-noise way of smashing the dumb systems of a patriarchal world.

By the time I got to the end, I had forgotten this was a sci-fi book and then got slapped in the face with a twisty-twist I did not see coming. Cannot wait for the second book.

Iron Widow is out 7th October 2021 and you should hook it right into your veins.

Writing a coherent review for this book is a struggle, because it has so many tropes and concepts I personally love, including a murdery vengeful female main character, celebrity mecha pilots, and sci-fi fantasy that incorporates elements of real world culture and history.

Inspired by the only female emperor in Chinese history, Zetian is full of fire and rage - understandably so in a setting where male pilots of giant magical mecha sacrifice girls and get treated like Hunger-Games-style celebrities. I loved following her as she realised her power, but I also really appreciated her more vulnerable moments too, and overall I really loved her as a protagonist.

Seeing Zetian navigate this world, which blends fantasy, sci-fi and Chinese historical elements, kept me on my toes the whole way through. It’s fast-paced and exciting with characters you can’t help but root for (love triangle who?? Not in my favourite YA book of 2021!!). While this is an absolute rollercoaster of 400 pages, I would have happily devoured 600 pages of it and I CANNOT WAIT to see how this world and these characters develop in the next book of this duology.

Thank you so much to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. I loved so much I had to order the physical copy,

A wonderful awe inspiring adventure that will shock and surprise you right from page 1. Thrills and spills that will keep you hooked from page 1.

‘“You’ve been living a dream for long enough!” I yell at the cameras between bursts of maniacal laughter, raising my arms. “Welcome to your nightmare!”’

CW: Death/Violence/War/Attempted rape/Mutilation/;Alcoholism/Torture

Choosing to pick up Iron Widow was one of my best recent decisions. It contained so many things I love to read about - without me even realising they were included (tbh I picked it up for the pretty cover).
Zetian is a fantastic main character. She’s intense and fierce and unapologetic. I love how driven she is to get to her goals and that it doesn’t matter who gets in the way. I’m really looking forward to seeing her ambition develop. She was the perfect catalyst for a discussion of feminist expectations in a world not designed for them.
The other main characters in this are so interesting too - I love particularly how they all interact together too (read: two boyfriends who are both each other’s boyfriends).
I think the setting was amazing. I thought it was really well developed and loved the history to the world. I liked how real-life Chinese history was twisted into this brand new dystopian world.
The plot was thrilling. I didn’t realise I was in a bit of a reading slump, but it was the first book in ages that I caught myself wanting to keep reading. The ending, that final chapter, hurt and I just want more… like now.

Iron Widow is a sci-fi YA novel inspired by pre-colonial China. This book is full of female rage and I am 100% here for it.

Full video review on my channel: https://youtu.be/-KAsF7XH_Kc

This is a staggering bold debut that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. Zetian's rage and fire fuel the story and you cannot help but root for her in this epic world where the odds are forever stacked against her. She is a force to be reckoned with, and with the revelations in the final few pages leaving me gasping, I cannot wait to continue her story.

This was an e-arc copy from NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin Teen.

I was so excited for this one, it was sold to me as a Chinese history inspired fantasy, but sadly I didn’t love it…

I found that it was always either very angry and violent or boring with not a lot going on, which got very repetitive in the end :(

The anger was understandable, and the feminist streak powering it was great, I just wish we had seen more variety!

I really enjoyed the coldness of Zetian our main character, very refreshing for a YA book BUT she was very rarely shown in another light which made it a bit 2 dimensional

The world building wasn’t particularly clear, which after reading the epilogue kinda makes sense, but it made for confusing reading

I thought the disability rep and the polyamorous rep were great, a different thing to see in a YA novel, although I never found the romance super believable

I will definitely read the sequel but sadly the book wasn’t as much my cup of tea as I had hoped!

3 stars

Review coming to my Instagram 18/09/21 :)

Just. Wow. Thank you so much @Rocktheboatnews for sending me a proof of @XiranJayZhao's YA: Iron Widow! It is totally gripping, to the very last page. They've created amazing & brutal characters, blending Chinese history & legend with mecha sci-fi. Publishes 7th Oct in the UK https://t.co/V4xVX77OkK

This book had a cool concept, a good cover, and is written by someone whose twitter content I greatly enjoy, but the book was a bit... Meh.

It felt like a lot of one dimensional writing and character work with glittering moments sprinkled throughout. Paragraphs or pages that I fell into, but then would be ripped right back out of and I'd once again feel like I was reading more to be done with the book than anything else.

It could simply be the whole debut book is a baseline for an author's future work and quite honestly, I really hope so.

I'll be looking at more of Xiran Jay Zhao's work in the future to see where her work takes her

Firstly, I would like to thank Oneworld Publications/ Rock the Boat and NetGalley for an e-Arc of this title.

Trigger Warning: violence, abuse, discussion of sexual assault, alcohol addiction, torture and suicide ideation.

I am known for picking up books without properly reading the synopsis either due to its hype or my interest in the author's previous work. For this book, I had followed Xiran Jay Zhao's YouTube channel watching their in-depth analysis of Asian and Asian inspired film and TV picking out truthful and accurate representations and identifying whitewashing or harmful depictions. When they mention, they had a book coming out based loosely on a historical Chinese empress - I was intrigued.

However, my investigation into the rest of the storyline stoped there. Despite being stated as Pacific Rim meets Handmaid's Tale - prior to beginning to read the book... I had completely forgotten it was scifi.

But that is the joy of going into a book blind.

Despite being taken off guard, the book quickly works to establish this new world and character and the scifi elements to help ground the audience. My previous experience with scifi books being held down by length descriptions and long-winded explanations did not surface in this book. Instead, the author eased me in as a reader into this world of towering animal machines who run on qi and their formidable counterparts.

While being cited as Chinese inspired, the world heavily pulls on Chinese traditions and practises. The characters and locations all have traditional Chinese names and the book heavily explores qi - the different elements of qi, how it functions and can be used.

The book also focuses heavily on traditional male and female representation and ideology. The world is built on the inequality between male and female and the subjugation of females within a family and even within the "military" world. Female are seen as secondary, passive and expendable. However, the book looks to challenge this outdated perception, creating a character who active fights back and dismantles this perception.

While other books and media have looked to capture a similar dynamic it tends to be handled in a more subdued manner with the characters aim of creating as little fuss as possible but highlighting to the world this flaw that is then readily accepted and corrected.

However, this book holds no bar. Our main character will go above and beyond to ensure the world sees her for who she really is, in all her glory and ability without holding back no matter who is in her way. There is no apology for her deathly display, no resistance in her capture of power. This book takes a new look at how far someone will go to ensure they are never subservient to anyone ever again.

This creates an ambiguously moral character and as a reader, you question your support of their actions while also siding with their justifications. You are conflicted but still root for our main character. And ultimately, this is what makes this book amazing.

A definite recommendation for anyone looking for a book that fights the patriarchy head-on, an equally weighted polyamorous relationship and a hankering to rewatch Pacific Rim.

Iron Widow is an exceptional book. This is an interrogative, imaginative and endlessly interesting retelling that combines a personal story of revenge with an epic sci-fi world.

I absolutely loved Zhao’s writing. This felt like an incredibly strong debut novel, with the writing flowing so well and completely enveloping me in this creative and immersive world. I’m not always the biggest sci-fi fan, but Zhao has converted me. The entire concept of the mechs was really fascinating. In particular, I loved how it was used to explore the themes of identity, control over sexuality and the disposability of female lives. At every turn, stereotypes are oppressively enforced and used to dictate every action. The marginalisation of women and the pervasive idea of their silence allows them to be seen as lesser and therefore far more expendable. It asks the cost of heroism and celebrity in this patriarchal society.

The characters feel really fleshed out and vivid, with glimpses into their backstories and motivations that allowed for a more layered portrayal. In particular, Zetian was a fascinating protagonist to follow along. Initially, it was interesting to explore her single minded vision of revenge at all costs and how it becomes more complex than that. She is merciless and willing to sacrifice everything to change the system. Her relationships with people allow for more nuance to gradually creep in, though there is still plenty of bloody action. Ultimately, her quest is still brutal and laser focused. This all leads to an incredible ending that had me craving the next book. I can’t help it, I just love morally gray stories that really dig into your heart.

Iron Widow is a cutting story of vengeance at all costs that strikes back against the patriarchy. This is a firecracker of a book that I cannot wait to discuss with more people.

This was a well written story with a good cast of characters and an interesting world. I just found that I wasn't attached to any of it - this one wasn't for me, but if the synopsis intrigues you I'd still recommend checking it out.

But I have no faith in love. Love cannot save me.

I choose vengeance.

Holy wow, this book was everything I needed and more! The feminism! The polyamory! Screw the love triangle, let’s just have them all love each other! I am ALL for this!

This book is nothing but inspiring, Xiran Jay Zhao has tackled so many important issues, that usually get skirted around, in such a direct and fantastic way. We watch a young girl who’s always taught to be second best to men, to do what the men ‘need’ her to do and told that that’s all she’ll amount to in life, become a full on warrior QUEEN. The misogyny she fought throughout this entire novel was insane.

Wu Zetian is my favourite character, ever. Point blank, end of story. She is a warrior. She knows what she wants and what she believes in and she will damn well make sure she fights for her beliefs.
I love that when we first meet her we find out that she’s purely undertaking her role to enlist in the army for vengeance. Yes girl, you bloody fight for your sister! You get your revenge!
She hated that she was always defined by her gender and ended up trying to find a way to stop that from happening any more. I have so much respect for her character, knowing that she deserves more regardless of her gender. Knowing that the way society treated women was wrong and unjust and fighting for them. She is awe-inspiring, and I will forever love her as a character.
To sum her up, she is angry, powerful and fierce!

I enjoyed the dynamic between Wu Zetian, Li Shimin and Gao Yizhi, they knew their strengths, knew their weaknesses and then worked together to become one. I loved how Yizhi was one of the most selfless characters and just wanted to support Zetian in whichever way possible. I love that the relationships between them became more than friendships, more than lovers. At the end, they were family.

For a debut novel I am absolutely astounded by how much I adored this. Xiran Jay Zhao’s writing style is absolutely beautiful, I was enraptured from page one and couldn’t bring myself to put the book down until I was finished. It is, in my eyes, literary perfection.

The whole book was action packed from page one, I felt as though we started with a ‘bang’, and ended with a ‘bang, crash, holy hell the whole thing is imploding’ type scenario and I am absolutely INVESTED in this world.

However, this book has reminded me why I dislike arc reading. I now have to wait even longer for the next instalment. Cry.

Trigger warnings:
Suicidal ideation. Alcoholism. Blood & gore depiction. Murder.

In an apocalyptic world, peasant girl Zetian sets out to avenge her sisters death by using her Qi to help power a fighting machine, a Chrysalises, for Huaxia in the war against the Hundans.

Qi is the vital essence that sustains everything in this world and keeps a boy/girl pair mentally connected in the war machines. Zetian is now the Iron Widow and gets a bit more than she bargained for in her new partner, Li Shimin, the Iron Demon.

Although I loved Zetian and her feminism, I actually thought she was a psychopath!! I loved her! I was out of breath reading it! Li Shimin I just wanted to cuddle all the time and along with them for the ride is Yizhi, calm, patient Yizhi.

The three of them and what grew into their relationship made my heart sing! The killer boy and the sweet boy and the psycho girl. A perfect triangle.

And that ending? Didn't see that coming!