This was my favorite read so far for 2022. I read this book back in February and have not stopped thinking about it. I need another book in this world. I NEED to know what happens next. This book came to me at the start of a reading slump. I did not expect it to become one of my favorite books of all time. It is different, fast paced, and thrilling.
I will say this; this book has a lot of trigger warnings. I know there is a big debate on if books should list their trigger warnings. This one does not. I saw the trigger warnings on TikTok. It did not impact the way I read this book. There is sexual assault, assault, harassment, arranged fate/marriage and many more that I cannot think of to add. I personally went into this book blind, like I normally do when reading books. I like the surprise that books bring when you read them without knowing what they are about.
When I was a wee child there was this thing on cartoon network called Toonami. Toonami aired all different types of anime’s and shows. One show that they used to play was Mobile Suit Gundam. I personally never watched this show a lot but I always seemed to catch parts of it. For some reason when I pictured the robotic animals in this book I would think about this anime show. I never thought this book would unlock a core memory like this for me.
If you are looking for a dark read that is unique and different, this is your book.
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.
“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.”
5280 BOOKS 