A review by missjuliamazing
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
SPOILERS!!!
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Let me preface by saying I flew through this book and had a great time. Magic, mech suits, and an honest to god throuple??? Yes please!!
That said, I had two major issues with this book:
1) I found a lot of the world building to be pretty clunky. Additionally, this book was marketed as heavily feminist. Some of the sexism is cartoonishly handled in a very jarring way. There were many asides that sounded like they would fit in with a 2012 Tumblr rant about feminism. It’s not that I disagree, but it was a little ham handed for my taste.
2) the main character, despite being on a mission for revenge for her sister’s murder and eventually to change the misogynist pilot practices, seems to have a lot of disdain for other women. There is not one other sympathetic female character in the whole book aside from her dead sister, who I’m pretty sure isn’t even named. I would have loved to see more girls supporting girls, but Zetian seemed to go out of her way to hold contempt for every other woman.
In the end I enjoyed the book enough to be motivated to finish it and still want to read the next one. Dat cliffhanger tho!!!!
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Let me preface by saying I flew through this book and had a great time. Magic, mech suits, and an honest to god throuple??? Yes please!!
That said, I had two major issues with this book:
1) I found a lot of the world building to be pretty clunky. Additionally, this book was marketed as heavily feminist. Some of the sexism is cartoonishly handled in a very jarring way. There were many asides that sounded like they would fit in with a 2012 Tumblr rant about feminism. It’s not that I disagree, but it was a little ham handed for my taste.
2) the main character, despite being on a mission for revenge for her sister’s murder and eventually to change the misogynist pilot practices, seems to have a lot of disdain for other women. There is not one other sympathetic female character in the whole book aside from her dead sister, who I’m pretty sure isn’t even named. I would have loved to see more girls supporting girls, but Zetian seemed to go out of her way to hold contempt for every other woman.
In the end I enjoyed the book enough to be motivated to finish it and still want to read the next one. Dat cliffhanger tho!!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Sexual assault, and Violence