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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
All in all, this left me feeling meh.
Because of this there’s undoubtedly an audience out there for Crier’s War. And for those readers who rarely – if ever – see themselves within the fantasy/sci-fi genre, it will be invaluable.
For me though, there was little that stood out beyond the important representation.
As a hard magic-system kinda gal, I want clear rules, lore and structure in my fantasy. Heck, I’ll take excessive world-building over underdeveloped any day of the week. Crier’s War fell somewhere in-between these two extremes; committing neither to being detailed nor vague.
There clearly was a lot of work put down by the author in creating this world. After all, we’re given a timeline before even heading into the story itself.
Though I question why this information couldn’t have been naturally incorporated into the story and dialogue. Isn’t it an odd choice to essentially spoil what could’ve potentially been central plot points later on?
However, despite the author’s clear vision and quite a few info-dumps, I never think she managed to fully convey her world-building. At least not in a way that had me invested.
There were some interesting ideas here; blurring the lines between sci-fi and fantasy. But they never realised their full potential.
The same can be said for the characters and plot. While I can see the good ideas behind every character and storyline, they never managed to evoke any sort of emotion. Leading to both intended emotionally-loaded scenes and plot twists feeling unearned and flat .
I honestly don’t think I’ll finish this duology, even though this first book was open-ended. There’s just not enough emotional investment on my part.
But for anyone wanting some queerness in their fantasy, you might want to give this a go.
“If longing is madness, then none of us are sane.”Off the top of my head, I can name very few fantasy books with a central sapphic romance. Let alone one where sexuality is not the source of conflict in the plot.
Because of this there’s undoubtedly an audience out there for Crier’s War. And for those readers who rarely – if ever – see themselves within the fantasy/sci-fi genre, it will be invaluable.
For me though, there was little that stood out beyond the important representation.
As a hard magic-system kinda gal, I want clear rules, lore and structure in my fantasy. Heck, I’ll take excessive world-building over underdeveloped any day of the week. Crier’s War fell somewhere in-between these two extremes; committing neither to being detailed nor vague.
There clearly was a lot of work put down by the author in creating this world. After all, we’re given a timeline before even heading into the story itself.
Though I question why this information couldn’t have been naturally incorporated into the story and dialogue. Isn’t it an odd choice to essentially spoil what could’ve potentially been central plot points later on?
However, despite the author’s clear vision and quite a few info-dumps, I never think she managed to fully convey her world-building. At least not in a way that had me invested.
There were some interesting ideas here; blurring the lines between sci-fi and fantasy. But they never realised their full potential.
The same can be said for the characters and plot. While I can see the good ideas behind every character and storyline, they never managed to evoke any sort of emotion. Leading to both intended emotionally-loaded scenes and plot twists feeling unearned and flat .
I honestly don’t think I’ll finish this duology, even though this first book was open-ended. There’s just not enough emotional investment on my part.
But for anyone wanting some queerness in their fantasy, you might want to give this a go.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inhaled this 🙂↕️ no complaints abt the slow burn bc i love yearning <3 it's kinda funny reading other reviews bc i can just tell some people could NEVER survive the conflict between the couples in the 100, arcane, and she-ra. not gonna lie, the characterisation of the FMCs could be improved and that's probably the weakest point. at times, it really seems like their feelings towards their kind as well as each other respectively are due to what they are, not who they are, which results in them coming off as a bit shallow to me. at the core, i understood the motivations and behaviours but it just didn't feel personal. i enjoyed the romance but i didn't get attached to the characters bc of the lack of depth. really this is more like a 3.5 stars BUT it's YA and it's fun so i'll round up 👩❤️💋👩
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
slow-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
I LOVED THIS OMFG 😭 I was very excited to read this and it definitely did not disappoint!!! Crier and Ayla my beloveds TT
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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:
Complicated
<blockquote>“Justice was a god, and Ayla didn't believe in such childish things. She believed in blood.”</blockquote>
I can't believe it took me so long to read, so delicious. Review coming soon!
I can't believe it took me so long to read, so delicious. Review coming soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Murder, War, Classism
Moderate: Child death, Sexism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
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:
Complicated
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you love a strong fantasy realm with realism woven within it then you will LOVE Crier’s War.
I enjoyed the book overall, but this book is a beast. If you are not good with intricate details of stuff that happened pre-dating characters then you will be LOST. It’s very easy to connect the dots if you thoroughly read every piece of information you are given because it is very intentional.
The fact that it’s sapphic is mega bonus points (forbidden at that).
This is not a book you can try and breeze through, you need to read and take in everything in order to understand the full scope of the world so my adhd girlies take your time (I was LOST at certain points).
If you love a strong fantasy realm with realism woven within it then you will LOVE Crier’s War.
I enjoyed the book overall, but this book is a beast. If you are not good with intricate details of stuff that happened pre-dating characters then you will be LOST. It’s very easy to connect the dots if you thoroughly read every piece of information you are given because it is very intentional.
The fact that it’s sapphic is mega bonus points (forbidden at that).
This is not a book you can try and breeze through, you need to read and take in everything in order to understand the full scope of the world so my adhd girlies take your time (I was LOST at certain points).
I was really excited for this unfortunately this just wasn’t for me. The premise was so amazing that I pre-preordered the book but the truth is I was bored through most of it. I couldn’t get invested in the characters they just didn’t stand out to me n the writing felt overdramatic at times. even the romance which was the thing i was most excited about was underwhelming and the scenes between the 2 main characters were thrown at me randomly in a way that didnt feel like the slowburn I was promised......the universe is cool tho and the last few chapters were really gripping. sadly it wasn’t enough to satisfy my f/f enemies to lovers cravings