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A review by braiths_book_thoughts
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I LOVED this book. I devoured it in two days and was completely enthralled by it.
I adored Wu Zetian, she was completely ruthless, battling a system that was constantly set against her. She was walking a tightrope between being a villain and the hero of the story and I honestly adored that dynamic.
Sometimes her rage at the injustice blinded her and caused her to react in ways where the situation could have ended more advantageously, but I didn't feel frustrated at Zetian as I normally would have.
The world-building wasn't incredible, it didn't really go in-depth over a lot of things and sometimes it felt we were just jumping from scenario to scenario, but again, this didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying it. It relied a lot on you knowing Pacific Rim, but as I loved that film, I'm not mad about it.
However, what originally drew me to this book was the fact that the love triangle ended in a polyamorous relationship.
ALL LOVE TRIANGLES SHOULD END THIS WAY.
I wish there could have been more focus on this, I didn't always feel a lot of chemistry between all the characters at one point I questioned if one of the love interests even had feelings for Zetian, but it didn't pull away from the overall relationship.
The ending of the book was amazing. I knew something like this was coming up, but it didn't stop me from gasping when it happened.
While flawed, this book was such a delight to read and I cannot wait to read book 2.
I adored Wu Zetian, she was completely ruthless, battling a system that was constantly set against her. She was walking a tightrope between being a villain and the hero of the story and I honestly adored that dynamic.
Sometimes her rage at the injustice blinded her and caused her to react in ways where the situation could have ended more advantageously, but I didn't feel frustrated at Zetian as I normally would have.
The world-building wasn't incredible, it didn't really go in-depth over a lot of things and sometimes it felt we were just jumping from scenario to scenario, but again, this didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying it. It relied a lot on you knowing Pacific Rim, but as I loved that film, I'm not mad about it.
However, what originally drew me to this book was the fact that the love triangle ended in a polyamorous relationship.
ALL LOVE TRIANGLES SHOULD END THIS WAY.
I wish there could have been more focus on this, I didn't always feel a lot of chemistry between all the characters at one point I questioned if one of the love interests even had feelings for Zetian, but it didn't pull away from the overall relationship.
The ending of the book was amazing. I knew something like this was coming up, but it didn't stop me from gasping when it happened.
While flawed, this book was such a delight to read and I cannot wait to read book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, War, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Violence, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail