Iron Widow

In a patriarchal society where young girls are sacrificed to power-up giant robots that protect humanity, no one bats an eye. It’s the boys who are heroes for piloting the Chrysalises, while the girls who are sacrificed during battle are ignored.

When Zetian’s sister dies in battle, Zetian vows to avenge her and joins the army. But when the boy she is paired with is killed instead, she becomes something different: an Iron Widow, a girl capable of sacrificing boys to power the machines. In order to tame her, Zetian is paired with the strongest male pilot in the army. But she will not back down from her mission. Zetian is here to avenge her sister and destroy the system that abuses girls – and she will do whatever it takes.

This was an interesting book! Highly feminist, angry, and with polyamorous rep to boot. It was very aggressive in its delivery, which was sometimes intimidating. Nevertheless, I appreciated the world-building and the feminist agenda. It was a timely book about the oppression of women and what it takes to break a system, and I think that sci-fi and female-centered fantasy fans will find much to savor here.