Welcome to Litsy!

I enjoyed this one for the most part but the battle scenes had me confused. The last 25% of the book really had me hooked and now I‘ll have to wait til next year for the next book.

An immensely powerful and enjoyable read. An amalgamation of Chinese history and culture, and mecha and science fiction, set in the near future, this YA novel hits on some very adult themes: misogyny, cultural norms, rape, suicide ideation, murder, revenge and the list of trigger warnings goes on. But while these themes are brutal and triggering Xiran Jay Zhao crafted the story in such a way that it drives the plot and pulls the reader along.

April?!?! I have to wait 9 months for the follow up book? Sonuva.

How to make the most out of Mumbai monsoon traffic!

Also this book was so bad, it gave me a headache!

Young Adult books feel more grownup these days. But I‘ve been repeating this since ‘Hunger Games‘ series was released as an Americanized version of the Japanese action-thriller film ‘Battle Royale‘ (バトル・ロワイアル). But I LOVE Xiran Jay Zhao‘s amalgamation of Chinese mythology, history, cultural norms to create a lush near sci-if future. Their storytelling prowess keeps the action moving rapidly while also giving nuance and depth to their characters.

Pacific Rim meets Hunger Games and Handmaid‘s Tale set in a post-apocalyptic world based on historic China. That sounds like a lot, but it blends so well together that it works.
Zetian was such a good main character. She was allowed to be unapologetically vicious when she needed to be without being forced into a softer role by those around her.

Oh. My. Gosh. Hearing how the author‘s publisher gave them a bum deal I‘m glad I invested the time and energy because this book was fantastic! Going into it I had little knowledge as to what it was about aside from the glorious cover art but I‘m so glad I took the time to read it. The characters are energetic and charismatic and the plot rings like Wendy Wu homecoming warrior meets power rangers meets a twilight zone episode. It was glorious!

After finishing iron widow (which was magnificent and I can‘t wait to review it) I can‘t wait to read the next one! #thingsincommon Those who have read it, how do I move on from that?!

Giant robots. Giant monsters. A society built on the subjugation of women. And Wu Zetian is going to burn it all to the ground.

A fun take on a historical Chinese figure, with an intriguing sci-fi setting & epic battles. But too fast paced. I didn‘t feel like there was time to breathe, and it felt like nothing (character development, relationships, world building) got the time it deserved. And the ending felt rushed & like sequel bait. 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

First book for #transrightsreadathon finished. Incredible read. 4 stars.

Honestly Sci-fi books simply aren't my go to when I sit down to read. I decided to give this one a shot based on a co-works relentless pursuit that I give it a go. I'm happy to say this was a very entertaining read and I enjoyed the world building and characters. There were at times areas I didn't think were 100% necessary for the storytelling but otherwise it was a solid and creative read.

I‘ve got lots of thoughts, but here are the main ones:
1) The writing style ain‘t all that, but the storyline is neat enough to outweigh that shortfall 2) Okay, TV-show Daenerys 3) Zetian could be fleshed out in more ways than “Hates the system. Has real gross feet. Lives for vengeance.” Overall I give this a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️ though and would recommend it to lovers of big ol‘ bots and powerful gals!

Just had the inaugural read in my very own craft/reading room, and boy was the hard renovation work worth it!

#paintbynumber

How do you take the fight out of half the population and render them willing slaves? You tell them they're meant to do nothing but serve from the minute they're born. You tell them they're weak. You tell them they're prey.

You tell them over and over, until it's the only truth they're capable of living.

Such a great book! I loved that the futuristic technology was combined with ancient Chinese medicine. The society had historical elements woven in that felt natural and plausible.

I really liked having a MC that was willing to burn the world to uncover the truth and get what she wanted.

Starting this today for #AuldLangSpine . I thought it would take me a while to get into, but the prologue has me hooked straight away! @wideeyedreader @monalyisha

Finished Iron Widow last night and loved it! Can't wait to read the sequel!

I will admit that it took me a hot minute to understand how chrysalises and qi work, but this book has an actual love triangle and feeds my feminine rage! It‘s vicious and deservedly so - Zetian will take down anyone and everyone to avenge her murdered sister and to fight all of society, which treats women as second class citizens (shocking!). It had an anger I could feel in my bones. I can‘t wait to see what she does next in the sequel.

Ugh. This book wanted to be the next Poppy War & Rin so bad. BUT GUESS WHAT. The world building is non-existent and nothing was ever explained. I had no idea what was going on 80% of the time, and at some point (around page 150) I stopped caring.

#IronWidow #fantasy #youngadult

I completed all my #bookspin and #doublebookspin reads this year! I love how completable this challenge is for me, and it really encourages me to read the books I already own. I look forward to participating again in 2023.

Thanks @TheAromaofBooks for hosting!

I'm hoping to have time to post more after the holidays, since I fell of the radar again for a bit there.

In the meantime, here's a quick pic of a stack of book gifts I just finished wrapping!

I also have a question for you all: what is on the top of your book wish list for the holiday season? (Mine is tagged above!)

Okay. Not super sure how I feel about this one. I liked the story. Kinda. Still not entirely sure with this one. The characters were okay but the average for this is seriously brought down by the fact that I hated the main character. The side characters? Actually pretty good. Overall, not a bad book, just not what I was hoping for.

Happy holidays everyone!

Zetian was too superhuman and that didn't feel really likable. I liked how strong she was but I just prefer imperfection.

I loved how sick the society was but the worldbuilding was almost non-existent. Battle scenes weren't really great and there were so many of them.

The beginning was intriguing and the last page was good.

#SeriesRead2022

“When you cherish someone for how amazing they are, you don‘t pluck them from their roots just to watch them wither in your hands. You help them bloom into the incredible thing they‘re really meant to be.”

This one blew me away. Great book. Can't wait for the next one.

I loved this book!! It reminded me of Transformers but in the best possible way 😂 the main character Zetian was unapologetically herself and set fully on revenge. Paired with a fierce prisoner, Shishin, (aka my new book boyfriend) she is determined to survive a world designed to kill her. The ending was pretty epic and I‘m looking forward to the next book!

I am so unbelievably excited about this news!

https://www.tor.com/2022/09/22/xiran-jay-zhao-iron-widow-movie/

Starting this today. I finished Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram earlier. It was a nice escape. I also started Stephen Graham-Jones' latest audio only release but wasn't feeling it. I've been reading a lot, but a lot of it has been a really long, amazing fanfic. 🤣

This was everything I have ever wanted in a sci-fi fantasy novel! The plot kept me on my toes with all of its twists and turns. The message of women‘s empowerment was so well written. And the characters! Oh man, the character development was SPOT ON and beautifully done. I wish I hadn‘t read this book so quickly because I enjoyed every second of it. I will probably reread later this year.
My Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Iron Widow started off smart, intelligent, and exciting. It hit some strong topics about gender inequality and discussed the true differences about gender roles in a futuristic, yet ancient Chinese society.

However, while it started off strong, it didn't finish that way. The book meanders off into too many topics including polygamy, corruption, love, drug abuse, and independence. Ultimately never addressing any of the topics at all

The concept of this book was very exciting, modern sci-fi based upon historic China. I had high hopes. Queer and polyamorous relationships being represented in this story was the reason I stuck it out to the end. The plot twist gives me hope that a sequel may be more enjoyable. Unfortunately, the execution was fairly poor. Even for YA the writing was poor. The feminism was also obvious and ham-fisted.

This was intense and awesome! I loved seeing historic China reimagined in a sci-fi context with epic mechs. The characters are strong, as are their motives, and the world building is vivid. I also love that everything I wanted or predicted happened, from relationship development to two major twists toward the end. #LGBTQIA #Chinese #SciFi #Mech

I loved the fact that the plot seemed really obvious and typical, but then there was always a little plot twist and suddenly you had no idea what was going on.
Definitely worth reading.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4613070629

This is great. The audiobook is fab. If you're into fantasy, definitely read this one.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Iron Widow certainly has an agenda, which I don‘t mind, but there are times when it does feel like Xiran Jay Zhao is pummeling their readers. Granted, I am also not Iron Widow‘s target audience, so there‘s that. There are some very fine moments of prose and a lot of great action scenes. The love story didn‘t bother me at all. There was enough in the story to keep me invested. I think it‘s worth reading and I am looking forward to the next entry.

So this book was interesting... I feel like I am totally lost though. I have to admit that I don't know a lot about Asian mythology. This book seemed like a strange mix of mythology and science fiction! I will definitely read the sequel to find out what happens. But the book was not one of my favorites.

This book is 8.5/10 — I would have liked more battles, throuple could have been flushed out better, book was left on a cliffhanger, and little more detailed world building. I would recommend this book. Great long weekend read. I really enjoyed this book. #libby #aapi #lgbtq #poc #woc #china #ironprincess

I was at a car show and brought my book. I sat down and read while people walked around. Weather was nice but this pic reminds me of this book. I will say this is a page turner. There are very few slow parts. Gets to the point and the action. #woc #battleready #pilot #poc #aapi #boundfeet

I started this book — Umm we started off rough 🥺 this book will not be easy #poc #woc #boundfeet #fight #figtlikeagirl

Nominated for the Aurora YA and Lodestar (Hugo YA) awards this year, this novel is a hard-hitting, fast-paced story that plays around with the usual YA fantasy tropes. I really enjoyed it and I love the gorgeous cover too.
#auroraawards #hugo2022 #hugoawards

I'm at a bit over 12 hours for the #20in4 readathon. @Andrew65

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Great premise, fast, entertaining read. But I have a problem with a story about a bad ass woman fighting the patriarchy when she hates all the other female characters and most of them are written as pathetic and petty. I also felt it suffered from underdeveloped world building. It's very plot/action driven and needed some depth. I have noticed this in a lot of recent YA books, ⬇️

This is a barbaric yawp of a novel. Our protagonist refreshingly skirts the line of hero and antihero, (justifiably) enraged and out for justice at any cost.
We've got an F/M/M poly relationship wherein the two men are as enamored with each other as they are with her.
On the downside, nothing is given enough time and space, and our protagonist having no women on her side in fighting patriarchy felt misogynistic and too "chosen one" tropey. ?

Ferocious and fearless. My favourite book of 2022 so far.

Despite a somewhat rocky start, but the end, this book had me DYING to know what happened next!! Zetian is a wild protagonist, and I‘m so excited to see what she gets up to next!

new girl boss just dropped !!! Zetain fights so hard against patriarchal definitions and heteronormative ideals that she becomes the opposite of all of them, becoming the Iron Widow, a female pilot who sacrifices the men who are supposed to be using her as a sacrifice. she is angry and brutal and bloodthirsty and you will bow down

Next up from the TBR pile. I‘ve heard a lot of good things about this one!!!