Iron Widow is a sci-fi fantasy book following the journey of Zetian, our main character. We follow Zetian as she becomes a concubine, a co-pilot of the giant war machines piloted by boys of Huaxia. The only issue, the girls who co-pilot them die as the boys drain them completely to aid their own power. Zeitan goes into this knowingly, aiming to kill the boy who murdered her sister. When she succeeds, Zetian becomes a feared Iron Widow, a powerful female pilot who is silenced by the state and paired up with a feared prisoner as they try to dispose of her. Warning - this review contains slight relationship spoilers!
Okay… don’t hate me but I just didn’t get the hype. I saw so much about this book and how great it was but honestly it just fell flat for me, I didn’t feel any real connection or love for the characters so I couldn’t find myself caring too much about what happened to them. I didn’t really get the enemies to lovers vibe as they mainly felt ambivalent towards each other/mistrusting but not fully enemies and I liked the exploration of a polyamorous relationship, but it felt very rushed in some ways and I think it would have been better suited coming up in a sequel as you only really see the relationships one-sided if that makes sense?
I enjoyed the plot but it didn’t grip me as much as I’d thought it would, the sci-fi elements of the book I found myself really enjoying though! It took some time to get my head around but I think I picked it up fairly quickly which was useful. It was easy to get into the story but I found the characters just put me off, so I didn’t get that connection to the story that I think I otherwise would have. The main character, Zetian is definitely a badass though, she was great as someone taking charge of her own destiny and fate and challenging the patriarchal system she was in. But I just didn’t love her, and I’m not sure why because on paper she’s a great character but there was something that held me back and I have no idea what, which really frustrates me, and I think ultimately affected my feelings on the whole book. As a character I think it was partly that she moved too fast, throughout reading it was very fast-paced, which normally I love but I think in this instance it put me off as it was too quick for me to fully understand her character and her motivations, as well as why she was the way she was in comparison to the rest of her society.
I definitely enjoyed the blend of mythology and sci-fi, resulting in the war machines inspired by mythological creatures. It was an interesting concept to me, especially when paired with the concept of twin pilots and the draining of female pilots to aid the men. I enjoyed the feminist narrative pushing against that and the relationships built up throughout the book, but there was something that I just didn’t connect with and it’s a shame because I do think that if I had read it at another time I would have loved it.
I think one issue I had in getting into it was that the war felt like it wasn’t truly explained, and I guess that is in part due to the characters also not knowing much, just knowing that there is ‘the enemy’. Obviously done in part to show the government control and lack of information available to the public, but I think it made it frustrating for me as I was immediately questioning why it was happening and it felt like that wasn’t fully reflected in the character until later on in the book.
Ultimately, it was enjoyable but I wish it was a little slower, with the characters fully fleshed out and their motivations and backgrounds explained a little more, as I think this would have also aided the relationships throughout the book. I can’t see myself rushing to buy the sequel, though if it is on a kindle deal I might just to find out what happens because the plot was intriguing and to see if the characters are developed anymore.
Also, if you’re interested I am selling my illumicrate limited edition copy so check out my depop - https://www.depop.com/careyberry/
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