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A review by honeyreads1066
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
5.0
It has taken me a whole day to be able to write a review for this book because I had to process it, I LOVED it so much.
This book follows Zetian who offers herself up as a concubine pilot to murder the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. She does the unexpected and does kill him using the psychic link used to pilot the chrysalises.
After this, she's labelled the iron widow a much-feared pilot who can sacrifice the male pilots to power up the chrysalises. She is paired with Li Shimin, the most controversial and lost feared pilot ever. Now that Zetian has tasted power shell for everything she can to save these other girls even with the entire system working against her.
There is not a single thing I did not enjoy about this book. The characters themselves were incredible, fleshed out and complicated. I empathised with them in ways I didn't expect and as they learn more about themselves and each other I learnt more about them as though meeting them myself.
Before reading it, romance wasn't something I thought made sense in this book but good it does here so very much, it brings a new layer to these characters and enables you to find out more about them.
The world and plot themselves were easy to understand and very compelling, the world-building was complex but not in a way that it took over all other elements of the book.
Overall, it was incredible, showing the extremes of emotions and just how far people are willing to go to achieve something. I truly enjoyed myself, there were moments when I was sitting up having to put the book down just to process. I've already preordered this and I would urge everyone to do the same.
This book follows Zetian who offers herself up as a concubine pilot to murder the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. She does the unexpected and does kill him using the psychic link used to pilot the chrysalises.
After this, she's labelled the iron widow a much-feared pilot who can sacrifice the male pilots to power up the chrysalises. She is paired with Li Shimin, the most controversial and lost feared pilot ever. Now that Zetian has tasted power shell for everything she can to save these other girls even with the entire system working against her.
There is not a single thing I did not enjoy about this book. The characters themselves were incredible, fleshed out and complicated. I empathised with them in ways I didn't expect and as they learn more about themselves and each other I learnt more about them as though meeting them myself.
Before reading it, romance wasn't something I thought made sense in this book but good it does here so very much, it brings a new layer to these characters and enables you to find out more about them.
The world and plot themselves were easy to understand and very compelling, the world-building was complex but not in a way that it took over all other elements of the book.
Overall, it was incredible, showing the extremes of emotions and just how far people are willing to go to achieve something. I truly enjoyed myself, there were moments when I was sitting up having to put the book down just to process. I've already preordered this and I would urge everyone to do the same.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual content