A review by mayastef
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

4.25

You say you want unhinged female leads? Well, this is the book for you, and it is not in the gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss way but in the Vengeance, Violence, and Vendettas way. I read this book so quickly and enjoyed it a lot. My gripes were that sometimes the protagonist's rage is a bit much, but I think that's warranted and an intentional part of the storytelling. It is more so the decisions the rage pushes her to make somewhat impulsively not the emotion itself. I had minor issues with the piloting system, but they were not major enough to go into detail here. 
I loved the Chinese cultural influence in this book; that type of integration into fantasy/sci-fi is always a drawing point for me in books.