A review by catapocalypse
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous dark emotional tense 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? Yes

5.0

 Iron Widow lived up to the hype, and is my favorite read of the year so far by a wide margin!

I'm not usually interested in giant mech battles, but the battle scenes were clear and compelling, and the book deals with so much more: Zetian takes on a deeply misogynistic culture and fights for vengeance, justice, and the freedom to live the life of her choosing. While she pushes on with brute force where she can, she also must learn to navigate the necessary evils of military and media politics. She's also stuck with a couple young men as her closest allies: Yizhi, the son of a rich media magnate, and Li Shimin, a powerful pilot and dangerous criminal.

The feel of the book is very minimally YA, so there's a lot of appeal still for adult readers. And though there's a love triangle, it plays out in what I feel is the best possible way. I don't want to spoil it here (though I feel it is pretty obvious where it may go early on).

I had a great time with this and loved Zetian so much. Looking forward to the second book! 
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