A review by heropick
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

i wanted to like this book a lot. i really did. and at times i did really enjoy it! i loved the prose and the three main characters. i think the first act and maybe half of the second act were pretty good and i did enjoy reading them but towards the end i just felt like i was reading the book because i had to. it was predominantly because the pacing started falling all over the place for me. there were times where i did not understand what the hell was happening during battle scenes. i also really wish that there was more worldbuilding. i think that would've major

gave the ending in the epilogue with the humans not being native to the planet more impact. when i read that i was just like. “oh. ok”

 
i was a bit confused with the romance part as

i did like the buildup to the polycule and i thought that was done pretty well, but i don’t know? it was just buildup, buildup, buildup, we’re in a relationship now, aaaaand shimin is dead (?). i don’t really know how to feel about that. i also wish we got more of the dynamic between yizhi and shimin.

oh well. 
i do love to see a girl boss slaying tho. i will definitely be reading the sequel don’t even worry. zetian my best friend <3