Iron Widow

 

My Thoughts:

This novel has a polyamorous love triangle, a strong-willed girl who wants to change the gender inequity in her society, a  superstar Chrysalis pilot who kills his concubine pilots without remorse, aliens, mechanical sci fi machines, Chinese historical characters, and an Emperor pilot that has been asleep for two hundred years under  the enemy hive. Add to that Game of Thrones style killings and you have an exciting ride with Zetian, historically the only female Emperor of China, now set on avenging her sister and destroying the misogyny in Huaxia.  I am beyond thrilled at all of the minority-led sci fi and fantasy coming out. Send more!

Spoiler alert - this book is a wild ride that will end with no conclusion as well as no set date for book #2. If that is a game changer, then wait on starting this book until the next book comes out. Instead read other strong willed female sci fi/dystopia like Divergent,  or Hunger Games. At least readers can devour and conclude the series. 

From the Publisher:

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.