Wow. This book would have shocked and delighted mini-me to a ridiculous degree. I started this book last night and then it absorbed me and I finished it, but the late night was worth it.

Reading it now as an adult still brought me joy, although a much younger me may have lauded the book as perfect. The amount of rage and absolute no-holds barred teenager risk taking here is stunning. Not to mention that (and mild spoilers here although I feel like it has been mentioned so much it almost doesn't count) there isn't a fight over the girl! They just up and make a threesome and it crafts a delicious character progression arc.

There are some absolute gems in terms of lines as well as Zetian is a blunt and observant narrator. She pulls no punches in her mind or with her words. The commentary throughout is golden. I also deeply appreciated the author's note right at the start of the book.

I did stumble a bit in picturing the world-building as I went along and some of the characters came across as 2-dimensional, but those are almost side notes and they didn't impact my reading. They were a bit obvious after I wrapped up the book and tried to picture some of things that occurred, but it was only upon reflection after finishing and trying to bring myself down from the serotonin high that I could point out the things that didn't quite work for me.

One of the lines that made me grin:
"What I have learned through this madness is that you can absolutely solve your problems by throwing money at them. If you can't, you probably don't have enough money for that particular problem."

If you are a YA fan, a mecha fan, if you like revenge, and if you are always on the side of a deeply ambitious character I cannot recommend Iron Widow enough. Yes, it definitely reads as YA, but I am ecstatic to have read it. It does put me in the mood to go watch Death Note again though...