A review by chamaeleontis
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was honestly amazing. I physically stopped myself from reading it (I put it at the bottom of my backpack and piled stuff on top of it) so I could spread it out over multiple days and enjoy it for longer. It's a medium length book, but an incredibly fast read, with excellent pacing. I am blown away by the book and utterly loved it. I don't want to give away any plot here, because there are a ton of twists and turns that are fun to discover as the come, even if they wouldn't really be spoilers. 

The characters were well-developed, and have a very real sense to them. The plot is engaging and doesn't falter. Bonus points for the gorgeous cover, it did not disappoint.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Slavery, Abandonment, and Colonisation