Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Iron Widow

I absolutely loved it. So rarely do I see that primal justice we crave when wrong has been done to us. So rarely do we see a woman allowed to be wrathful.

Is it healthy? Probably not. Was it so so satisfying? Hell yes.

I feel like this is what men must feel like after watching those war movies or something. God it feels powerful to read of Zeitan’s rise.

That being said: I wish this was an adult book, not YA. It had potential to be more and go deeper. The romance line could have carried more weight if they had the ability to flesh it out more, beyond the YA label. Also the “girl” and “boy” phrasing felt juvenile. You’re 18 now, time to stop calling yourself a girl exclusively. And a man in his early 20s is not a boy. It was the only part I disliked.

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softwindflower's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Firstly, I want to preface this by saying that I've been excited to read this book since it was published, but had to hold off due to university being university. With that in mind, let's go.

The positives:
I absolutely loved about this book was the concept. It's a recipe for sci-fi military action and a fantastic female lead, and it was nice to read a book which did have an entirely original plot. I also thought the dynamic between Zetian, Shimin and Yizhi was amazing. It would've been very easy to make it toxic (e.g. if Shimin were to prioritise his role as a pilot over compassion for Zetian, or if Zetian were to think herself above Yizhi or vice versa in any combination — as we see as the basis in a lot of YA romance arcs involving Determined" characters) but all of the trio were understanding of one another and complemented each other's personalities well. I really liked the bi/pan and polyamorous rep and it's something l'd like to see more of in the future. The negatives: While the concept was great, the execution felt hollow. Zetian is introduced as a character with a clear goal.

She has one mission in life...which she completed within the first 80 pages. So where do we go from there?

Zetian is thrust into a world without a plan and that's how the rest of the book feels. It's made abundantly clear that society is incredibly sexist and misogynistic (and by abundantly clear, I mean it's spelled out explicitly on many occasions) with little other detail given. Outside of the world of the military, what is the power structure like? What kind of government is there? What is life like outside of the army? This lack of clarity about the wider world makes it difficult to comprehend the rest of the novel as there's no context and makes the ending, well, disappointing. Zetian wipes out the military strategists and seizes power, but power of what? The military? The state? It makes very little sense without the worldbuilding and makes it hard to care about the wider implications and what the consequences will be in subsequent books.

Summary:
All in all, I thought it was a good debut. The characters were likeable and easy to root for, and the concept was a refreshing change. The execution, however, didn't work for me personally and it would have been nice to gain a better understanding of the world as a whole, even though the story was from Zetian's somewhat limited perspective.

Though I probably won't read any further books in this series, do look forward to reading XJZ's future works and seeing how they develop as a writer.

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mssrquackers's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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jade_newcastle's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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reader4435's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book is just - chef's kiss.
It's got an immersive world with all the giant mech fights you could wish for, prose that fuels the imagination, young people fighting systemic injustice, a stong-willed female protagonist, and core representation of bisexuality and healthy non-manogamy.
Eagerly anticipating the sequel.

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captainhannes's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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purplelake's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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