Week 38 Review: Iron Widow

From Goodreads:

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed. 

My Review:
Wow, this was an incredible read! I loved this world, with the ability to use qi to power these mechanical suits. It's such an epic idea, and adding to that that it's a boy girl combo that powers it, and the girl somewhere down the line loses her life it? Intense, and so incredibly unfair! 

This is a book about a girl who is angry-and rightfully so. Girls are meant to be chattel, basally, sons are preferred, and girls lives to be spent to save boys. And the foot binding! And that girls are supposed to be grateful for this? Zetian is so very right to be this angry! 

That she survives, is  because of her strength of will, and her spite. This world has hurt so much, and now she has the power to hurt it back in return. I loved her journey, and watching her deal with all the politics of her surviving, and being partnered with Shimin. I loved how their relationships progressed, loved the rep, and I couldn't put it down, I had to know what was going to happen next! 

There were so many outrages, from the way her family treated her, to the way the army treated her and Shimin. And that one reveal? That was just devastating, and horrible! I was so anxious for how their plan would go, that something was going to go wrong! 

And oh, that last bit of the ending? Ten to one, the odds are that this is some mining operation, since they give them the spirit metal, that humans that were put on this planet, and the "Gods of the Heavenly Court" are just others collecting it, or something along those lines. I don't know how long this series is going to be, but I'm pretty certain I'm right, and I want to find out more! I'm dying for Heavenly Tyrant! It has a release date of January or June 2023, but no cover yet, so who knows how long the wait will be! 

Absolutely loved reading this book, it's a top read of 2022 for sure, and the wait for book 2 will be evil, no matter how long or short it is since I can't read it now!

Author: Xiran Jay Zhao
Series: Iron Widow #1
Read: September 23rd, 2022
Source: Ebook.bike 
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a DAC Book and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Book! 
Publisher: Penguin Teen
Published: September 21st 2021

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars