“But I have no faith in love. Love cannot save me.
I choose vengeance.”


Xiran Jay Zhao has written an ambitious debut novel that should definitely appeal to Pacific Rim & The Hunger Games fans. Iron Widow is likely one of the most creative books that I've read this year (which is saying something given that atm my read count atm is at 150+) as it presents readers with a unique blend of genres and concepts: fantasy and sci-fi elements are incorporated in a dystopian yet recognizably historical Chinese-inspired setting.

“It takes a monster to slay a monster.”


Way back when I used to be quite a fan of mecha anime (fyi my faves were: macross, code geass & eureka 7) so I was rather looking forward to seeing this subgenre translated into book form. The robots in this novel are called Chrysalises and operated by a psychically linked male/female duo in order to fend off aliens called Hunduns. The male fighters are celebrities, their fights broadcasted to the whole of Huaxia. The female fighters, 'concubines', often do not survive these battles, as the boys more or less use them as their own energy bars. The way the girl fighters are treated definitely brought to mind the tributes from The Hunger Games. They are sacrificed without any care or regard, their certain death is deemed necessary for the ‘greater good', an honour even.

“If we want something, we have to push back against everything around us and take it by force.”


Our narrator, Zetian, has grown up in this extremely misogynistic world. She has been mistreated by her family her whole life, her feet were broken and bound at a young age, and she basically has no freedoms whatsoever. When her older sister dies after being forced into becoming a ‘concubine' Zetian seeks revenge. She wants to kill the male pilot responsible for her death.
Zetian does indeed succeed but in doing so reveals to the world just how powerful she is. After earning the title of ‘Iron Widow' she’s paired with Li Shimin, 'Iron Demon', a male pilot with a dangerous reputation. Forced into working together Zetian and her new partner discover more about their abilities and the Chrysalises themselves.

The story is very action-driven and has an ‘edgy' feel to it that will definitely appeal to many other readers. While I did enjoy the author’s take on mecha, their take on Yin/Yang, as well as the issues & relaties they touch upon (because of her bound feet our mc’s has difficulties walking and often experiences pain in her feet), I would be lying if I said that I enjoyed this novel.
This is one of those rare cases where I genuinely feel shitty for not liking a book as much as I wanted to (the last time it happened was with lindsay ellis' axiom's end).
Because I really love the author’s content on youtube I am not too happy about critiquing their debut novel so I will just list the things that prevented me from liking their book without going into that detail and without spoiling anything for anyone. Also, I feel the need to say (or write) that I don't want to dissuade anyone from reading this book. I wish the author the best and I do think that they have the potential of becoming a really good writer. They are definitely creative and throughout their novel there are some visually stunning scenes that attest to this (this is the kind of book that should be adapted to the ‘big screen’).

But, alas, here are the things that did not work for me:
the writing felt simplistic and certain words/expressions (‘ugh’, ‘duh’, ‘wow’, ‘yup’) pulled me out of the story; quite a few phrases had this ‘edgy YA' tone to them that didn't really do it for me either; personally, I would have preferred it if the story had implemented multiple povs or at least had been told through a 3rd person perspective as Zetian's inner monologue struck me as extremely simple and the constant questions she asks herself got grating, fast, (“what's happening? how did i get here? who am i?" “how could i have forgotten him? what does he mean to me?" ); I would have loved more detailed descriptions about the characters' surroundings or their different environments (and maybe less about their clothes/hair styles); I also think that the world-building would have benefitted from being more firmly established earlier on...we get some crucial lore way too late in the narrative & quite a few aspects remain unexplored; the romance (something i was rather looking forward to) also did nothing for me...the relationship between the boys seemed rushed and it struck me as...I don't know, I just would have believe in their relationship more if we’d been given their perspectives (their relationship to mc also was kind of meh); while the story was certainly fast-paced my interest waned early on in the story (there were a lot of repetitive and not-so-clear-cut sequences); all of the characters would have benefitted from some more depth; last, but not least, Zetian...I hoped she would be someone a la Zhu from She Who Became the Sun or like Lada Dracul from the And I Darken series (ruthless, knows what they want, may not be 'physically strong' but they are certainly intelligent)...but Zetian was low-key stupid and annoying, she had this vague OP/Chosen One/Not Like Other Girls quality to her that I find really offputting...also, for all her talk of girls supporting girls, the majority of the interactions that she has with other women (there are very fewn) gave me girls-hating-girls vibes (she has one token female friend).

There are a few other things that I didn't like but I won't go into them. I think this novel has a lot of heart and I'm sure that over time the author will hone their writing skills.
If you want to read this novel I recommend you give it a shot regardless of my review because I’ve been known to have shitty opinions.

Iron Widow is an INCREDIBLE book! The writing is so detailed I felt more like I was watching the story unfold on the big screen than on the page.

Zetian is not a likeable character, and I didn't like her at all. However, that didn't matter one bit - she is still a strong, uncompromising woman doing what she can in a world where everything is working against her.

I cannot wait for the sequel!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I want to begin by saying thank you to Netgalley and the publisher (oneworld publications) for kindly providing me with this eArc.

OH-MY-GOSH. This book is something special. With deeply feminist messages and an amazing East Asian setting/inspiration I ADORED this book. Love triangles? Forget it, there’s some great polyamorous representation in this book!!

With a content that matches this beautiful cover I cannot recommend this enough.

Some trigger/content warnings: gore, torture, murder, rape (mentions and threats), misogyny, femicide, suicide, alcoholism/drug usage and abuse.