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oliverreeds's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Racism
marshiereads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really and truly liked this book! The author had me from the very beginning with a timeline. Some fantasy novels can drag you through the trenches trying to learn their world and this one is not one of them! I feel like I’m along for the ride, learning about it with her rather than in spite of her. I’m gonna talk specific so spoilers ahead. Also please look at the trigger warnings for this book if that applies as this book has a lot!!
The inner turmoil of both, but especially, Ayla and Crier had me reading the book in only a couple sittings. I almost couldn’t put it down. Trying to figure out what was and wasn’t one of Kinok’s manipulations had me reeling to the literal last pages of the book. I mean wow! The romance was certainly a part of the plot but this is not a “romance book” it is fantasy first but it still felt completely integral and not just thrown in there. I was also a fan of the fact that it wasn’t one of those “we can’t do this because it’s wrong because it’s gay” because frankly as an lgbtq+ person myself I was grateful for some relenting on that narrative choice. There still was an element of “wrongness” but more because on girl literally wanted to kill the other. Overall an excellent start to the series and I cannot wait to read the second (I’ve got it on hold now).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gore, Genocide, Gaslighting, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, and Body horror
Minor: Miscarriage
abby_shupe's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
So I just saw the most beautiful and extensively written review for this amazing novel, by noahczerny so please listen to them because they put what Criers War is way better then I’m about to try to. 😭
The budding tension between Ayla and Crier was just amazing. Their entire dynamic, the dual POVs, and the glorious world building really all sucked me in.
Ayla going back and forth, so uncertain and untrusting of the daughter of the sovereign - while also so obviously in love with her made the entire book.
I definitely think Iron Heart is the better of the duology, just because there are so many moments in this book that I didn’t get enough i information (yet), to piece everything together. In Iron Heart, almost everything blends together well and left me satisfied.
I love that a lot of the main characters in the story are good or bad, they’re both. Getting the opportunity to read so many character arcs, and following along as they find their footing was pure gold.
One of my favorite elements in the novel was Crier’s continued remembrance of queer stories. She kept thinking back to ones including a prince and a male commoner, and of course the one of Winter and her lover. It was a great touch on the author’s behalf, and really added a lot to the story.
The budding tension between Ayla and Crier was just amazing. Their entire dynamic, the dual POVs, and the glorious world building really all sucked me in.
Ayla going back and forth, so uncertain and untrusting of the daughter of the sovereign - while also so obviously in love with her made the entire book.
I definitely think Iron Heart is the better of the duology, just because there are so many moments in this book that I didn’t get enough i information (yet), to piece everything together. In Iron Heart, almost everything blends together well and left me satisfied.
I love that a lot of the main characters in the story are good or bad, they’re both. Getting the opportunity to read so many character arcs, and following along as they find their footing was pure gold.
One of my favorite elements in the novel was Crier’s continued remembrance of queer stories. She kept thinking back to ones including a prince and a male commoner, and of course the one of Winter and her lover. It was a great touch on the author’s behalf, and really added a lot to the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
serena_hien's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Death of parent
sssssoup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Gore, Death of parent, Child death, and Mental illness
Minor: Kidnapping, Infertility, War, Alcohol, Cursing, and Sexual content
olafsl0stcarrot's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
enemies to lovers but mAKE IT SAPPHIC?? YES?!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
dlrosebyh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
right now, i’m still shocked on how beautiful this book is. i can’t form exact words on how much i loved it. all i can say is that it was absolute perfection.
reading this made me realize that i prefer sapphic romance more than heterosexual romance; and i am not mad about it.
the buildup was great, the world building was not too complicated, the characters are amazing (besides kinok and heros ofc). i cried a lot. sad and queer books are basically my favorite thing ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
valpyre's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
[audiobook]
this book was just kind of "eh", to be honest. it didn't really blow me away, and that's fine, but i honestly just never even felt invested in the story or the characters. this book had all the well-written bones of a good read -- i though the concept of the automae were really interesting, and the political plot was coherent and drew me in quite frequently. it's clear that varela thought deeply about the history of the world they built, and i enjoyed learning about it through the timeline, and historical excerpts at the beginning of chapters.
however, as much as i liked ayla and crier's relationship, i personally found there to be a lack of development in the romance. crier was, overall, honestly too naive/childlike for me to be invested in her pining. i felt like i didn't get enough onscreen instances of their relationship that added depth to the insta-love vibe, which sucked because, again, it really has the bones of a good romance.
this book was just kind of "eh", to be honest. it didn't really blow me away, and that's fine, but i honestly just never even felt invested in the story or the characters. this book had all the well-written bones of a good read -- i though the concept of the automae were really interesting, and the political plot was coherent and drew me in quite frequently. it's clear that varela thought deeply about the history of the world they built, and i enjoyed learning about it through the timeline, and historical excerpts at the beginning of chapters.
however, as much as i liked ayla and crier's relationship, i personally found there to be a lack of development in the romance. crier was, overall, honestly too naive/childlike for me to be invested in her pining. i felt like i didn't get enough onscreen instances of their relationship that added depth to the insta-love vibe, which sucked because, again, it really has the bones of a good romance.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, Child death, and Death of parent
ellewg's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual content
charlereads's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I wish I had access to queer fantasy books like these at 16, it’s a little wistful to read at 25.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Self harm, Slavery, and War