From the Bookshelf of Challenge Corner…

Iron Widow (Iron Widow, #1)

Xiran Jay Zhao

Start date: November 1, 2021

Finish date: November 30, 2021

Discussion: Book of the Month

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What Members Thought

Aug 16, 2021 Dr. Andy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, queer-af, changed-my-life, mental-illness-ptsd, read-2021, mental-illiness-suicidal-ideation, bipoc-author, ownvoices, asian-rep, queer-rep-bisexual

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What the fuck. I want the next one immediately. Reading the Author's Note now, it gave me chills. Truly this work is incredible.

Iron Widow is a work of fiction that pulls historical figures from Chinese history. The main character is inspired by Empress Regnant Wu and her rise to power to become the only female Empress of China.

In Huaxia, boys dream of piloting Chrysalises, giant transforming robots, t Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What the fuck. I want the next one immediately. Reading the Author's Note now, it gave me chills. Truly this work is incredible.

Iron Widow is a work of fiction that pulls historical figures from Chinese history. The main character is inspired by Empress Regnant Wu and her rise to power to become the only female Empress of China.

In Huaxia, boys dream of piloting Chrysalises, giant transforming robots, that defend against the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. Girls are bound into service as concubine-pilots, and taken on a subservient role that also has a greater chance of death. Zetian Wu decides to join the army for revenge of her Big Sister's murder. When she kills the man responsible through the psychic link in the Chrysalis, she becomes an Iron Widow--a woman feared for her power. But the army isn't ready to cooperate with her yet, they team her up with Li Shimin, the most powerful pilot ever.

This book was bloody, violent and so damn good. I loved Zetian and her craving for revenge and justice for all the concubines who were killed. Zetian would probably not ever be described as "good", but I absolutely loved her character. I am so here for powerful, unlikeable, yet determined female characters.

The plot of this was fantastic. Throughout almost the whole novel, we're convinced of the storyline and we are given hints on how it will proceed. But then the ending comes and whacks you upside the head and everything goes to shit... I'm still screaming from the ending. I probably won't stop until I have the sequel because damn that was amazing.

I loved the appreciation of Chinese history and culture that was woven into this book. The world truly came alive and I could viscerally picture it. This book also definitely asks the question what use are gender roles and why does the patriarchy continue to win? Truly, I just can't say even good things about this book!

Rep: Chinese polyamorous female MC with bound feet & uses a wheelchair, bisexual Chinese male love interest, alcoholic bisexual Chinese male love interest, supporting cast of all Chinese characters. While the world heavily relies on the gender binary, there are discussions that gender and sex are not binary.

CWs: Acephobia/Acemisia, alcohol/alcoholism--forced development of alcoholism, internalized biphobia/bimisia, blood, body horror (bound feet), body shaming/fatphobia, colonisation, confinement to chrysalis vehicles and prison cells, death/death of parents, emotional abuse, fire/fire injury, forced enlistment of women as concubines, gaslighting, mental illness (PTSD/panic attacks), misogyny, murder, racial slurs, attempted rape/mentions of past rape/sexual violence, sexism, sexual content, suicidal thoughts, torture, war, violence.

CWs from author: contains scenes of violence and abuse, suicide ideation, discussion and references to sexual assault (thought no on-page depictions), alcohol addiction, and torture. ...more

19 likes · Like · see review

Nov 10, 2021 Jenn rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, new-author-to-me, read-in-2021, 4-star-reads, dystopian, cover-love, sci-fi, book-club

"Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in a polyamorous reimagining of China's only female emperor"

I mean, who isn't intrigued by that? This book was selected as my bookclub's November pick and I couldn't have been more excited. Not only is that cover absolutely GORGEOUS but the plot just sounded out of this world amazing. And you know what? I wasn't disappointed.

Set in a world where a species known as the Hunduns invaded, killing many and taking over lands, the government decides to fight ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Jun 20, 2023 Sibil rated it it was amazing

This book. Oh my gosh, this book!
This is amazing. Brilliant. Bloodthirsty. Without mercy. And so vindicating. And more. So much more!
I was a bit torn between giving it 4.5 stars or 5 full stars, and objectively it may be more accurate the first but... who cares about objectivity at the moment??? I just finished it and my feelings are all over the place.
We have some amazing characters because let's be clear here, Zeitan, Shimin, and Yizhin (and sorry, I really hope to have written them right!!) ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 10, 2022 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Odd book. Part anime part feminist manifesto. I liked it and will def read the next.

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 05, 2022 Maddie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

All I can say is holy shit. This book BLEW ME AWAY. This is going to be a major rant non-spoiler review

So many wtf moments in this, this book solidified the ya sci-fi genre for me. I knew I'd love this once I could stop being intimidated by it, and holy shit

Let's start with the audio. I did the audio narrator alongside it and it's 100% the way to go. The narrator just adds in the right amount of emotion while not sounding cringey. Her enunciation and pronunciation is perfect, and she got me feel All I can say is holy shit. This book BLEW ME AWAY. This is going to be a major rant non-spoiler review

So many wtf moments in this, this book solidified the ya sci-fi genre for me. I knew I'd love this once I could stop being intimidated by it, and holy shit

Let's start with the audio. I did the audio narrator alongside it and it's 100% the way to go. The narrator just adds in the right amount of emotion while not sounding cringey. Her enunciation and pronunciation is perfect, and she got me feeling the feels where I wouldn't if I was reading it just with my eyes.

Second is Wu Zetian. NOW THIS IS A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER. There's too much to say about her. This is a revenge story CORRECTLY followed through, she actually does what she sets out to do and her determination is NEXT LEVEL. Her one-liners are incredible, her personality is fully fleshed out, I can connect to her and she makes me FEEL. I was fully on board with her decisions, I backed her all the way, and the fact that she's bigger than the typical character and it's brought up but not the main focus of the book, that's just something I really bow to. The way she views herself, and how she thinks others should view her, it's amazing. She knows herself and what she wants, but she develops with her life as well.

Third is THE RELATIONSHIPS. Now, I can't say much about this, but IT'S SO PERFECT, everything about it is perfect, I just can't. The reasoning, the selflessness, the trust they have together, and the understanding. It's a true relationship with no bitterness at all. There was never bitterness, it developed perfectly, it solidified perfectly, there was never any miscommunication.

There was nothing wrong with this book at all. It was absolutely perfect. Fast-paced, incredible twists, incredible quotes, one I can't wait to read over and over. The names were a little hard to remember, but that's only because I'm not used to hearing Asian-inspired names over audio. I cannot believe we are lucky enough to be blessed with a SERIES of these books, I need them all please and thank you ...more

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