Iron Widow

“This is not true power. True power is when I stood on the Nine-Tailed Fox with Yang Guang's corpse at my feet, playing by my own rules. Victorious by my own standards. Reliant on no one but myself.” - Zetian pg 137, Ch. 15

After her sister is killed, Zetian offers herself up to be a cocubine pilot, one of the pair that powers a Chrysalis, a sure death sentence for girls.

But she kills Yang Guang through a mind link and is labeled the Iron Widow. She is paired with an even more powerful and feared pilot, Li Shimin, and together they just may be Huxia's last hope to save it from the Hunduns and maybe even stop more girls being sacrificed.

This book was dark, had some nice twists, and a hint of poly romance.

This book is not feminist or wholly happy. It full of war, trauma, and hard decisions.

I'm conflicted about this book because on one hand, I like it. On the other, I hated Zetian's characterization.

I liked that Zetian actually killed. She said she was gonna kill people and she did it with no hesitation. I like the inclusion of Zetian's disability and it's presence throughout the WHOLE book, not just half of it. I liked the poly romance and the fact the characters don't care what anyone thinks about it. Their relationship, however underdeveloped, was cute. I love the different Chrysalises and their names and the idea of Matches and Crownings. And the cover is BEAUTIFUL.

Yet, on the con side, Zetian wasn't really morally grey to me, she was just grey and acted on her emotions a lot without thinking of the consequences. Just literally just like Mare from Red Queen. Like almost textbook. Hates everyone (& women they met) around them, grew up in a different mindset despite not given a reason for them to, no real character development, just strong throughout the whole book. Zetian seems too much like “I'm not like other girls”. Every other sentence she says is dripping in sarcasm and cockiness. In fact, sometimes her dialogue seems very modern. Its feels very weird and out of place.

I hate that Li Shimin was just book's trauma bucket and Zetian seem more in love with her best friend than with Li Shimin & her friend seems more in love with Li Shimin than her. We never really see their relationship develop or when, it's just they're are there for each other, holding hands.

I've seen this book described and marketed as feminist but in my opinion, it's far from it. I don't see it AT ALL. Almost every interaction with another woman is negative. There is no coming together in solidarity moment. She barely even thinks about the other women unless the situation calls. I feel like she wants to destroy the pilot system and social norms way more than liberating all woman.

This book had some fun parts and awesome twists but the execution and dialogue could have been better. I may stay tuned for the second one.