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xxrrir's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: War
bek_p87's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.75
Set 47 years after the Automae - created humanoid beings - revolted and overthrew the ruling humans to claim rule for themselves and subjugate the humans as slaves, 'Crier's War' tells the story of Crier, a young Automa who is heir to the throne, and Ayla, a human girl who is part of a fledgling rebel force trying to overthrow the harsh rule of the Automae. It is a story about betrayal, revolution, impossible decisions, and love. This is book one in a duology, and it definitely left me wanting more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Blood
bluegenes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Slavery, and War
Moderate: Blood and Classism
Minor: Gaslighting
thecatconstellation's review against another edition
adventurous
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: Murder, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Death, and Grief
Moderate: War, Racism, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual content, Animal death, and Alcohol
piphux's review against another edition
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Death
Moderate: Murder, Gaslighting, Blood, Violence, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
some_random_person_hi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This book:
-made me so emotional that I screamed out loud at one point and cried during the end of the Acknowledgements
-was a learning experience that I personally should not read something without spoilers
-was a pageturner
-has a very exciting ending
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Hate crime, and Racism
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Death, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and War
sinaprst's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The sapphics won big time on this one, this was all I ever wanted and more.
I literally physically could not put this down (I read the last 300 pages in a day), because it is that good.
The romance was just the perfect slow burn with all of my favorite tropes executed perfectly. Both Crier and Ayla felt so real to me and I fell in love with both of them.
But the story aside the romance was just as great. I loved the way both Crier and Ayla had their own arc and their own secrets and motives that they kept from each other and how both arcs came together in the end.
Also, the writing style was beautiful and the world was believable and nicely crafted.
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/6nRFaOFcbpk?si=hOC2OB-O1xe-7xKH
I literally physically could not put this down (I read the last 300 pages in a day), because it is that good.
The romance was just the perfect slow burn with all of my favorite tropes executed perfectly. Both Crier and Ayla felt so real to me and I fell in love with both of them.
But the story aside the romance was just as great. I loved the way both Crier and Ayla had their own arc and their own secrets and motives that they kept from each other and how both arcs came together in the end.
Also, the writing style was beautiful and the world was believable and nicely crafted.
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/6nRFaOFcbpk?si=hOC2OB-O1xe-7xKH
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Slavery, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Sexual content, and Death of parent
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
I devoured this, finishing the whole thing in two days. Crier is Made, one of the Automae who took over several decades before her creation and displaced the humans who made the first of them. Humans now are servants at best, slaves at worst, full of unrest and needing a revolution. Ayla has dreamed for years of getting back at the local Automae leader for her own brother's death by killing his daughter, but when she becomes Lady Crier's servant things stop feeling so simple after all.
Ayla's closest human friend is in love with her, but she doesn't seem to reciprocate his feelings. I'm not sure whether that's because she doesn't want to get him killed, or if she completely lacks romantic and/or feelings toward him.
Crier and Ayla don't trust each other but find themselves drawn to each other's company. Crier has almost no friends and is newly betrothed to an Automa fomenting a different kind of revolution, one which would move away from human trappings entirely in a city devoid of life except for the Made. Ayla wanted to kill a specific powerful Automa's child, but before she can she begins to maybe think of that Automae as Crier, possibly a person, and not so easy to let herself kill. The romance between Ayla and Crier builds very slowly and fits their situation. They share intimate connections because of Ayla's role as Crier's servant, but those connections feel one-way because what Crier feels as kindness is a job for Ayla. However, the fact that Ayla has spent years planning to kill Crier means that she has feelings for the Automa which are as intense as Crier's for her... they're just not necessarily the same kind of feeling.
The worldbuilding for the Automae and the humans is detailed enough to feel like a real place, but it focuses mainly on the ways that the Automae do or do not attempt to mimic humans in their society and structures. It means that a great many concepts and items can be lifted wholesale and then used by the Automae in slightly different ways from how a human would have meant them. The political machinations hit the right balance of intrigue and complexity for me, stopping shy of becoming confusing by keeping the number of important characters and factions small but having their plans have multiple layers. This uses cross-purposes between supposed allies and complementary tactics between nominal enemies in a way that's deliciously messy.
I love this and I'll read the sequel as soon as I can, I want to know how things resolve for everyone. I don't necessarily want Crier and Ayla to end up together (not without having several truthful conversations first), but I'm excited to see how this story goes.
Ayla's closest human friend is in love with her, but she doesn't seem to reciprocate his feelings. I'm not sure whether that's because she doesn't want to get him killed, or if she completely lacks romantic and/or feelings toward him.
Crier and Ayla don't trust each other but find themselves drawn to each other's company. Crier has almost no friends and is newly betrothed to an Automa fomenting a different kind of revolution, one which would move away from human trappings entirely in a city devoid of life except for the Made. Ayla wanted to kill a specific powerful Automa's child, but before she can she begins to maybe think of that Automae as Crier, possibly a person, and not so easy to let herself kill. The romance between Ayla and Crier builds very slowly and fits their situation. They share intimate connections because of Ayla's role as Crier's servant, but those connections feel one-way because what Crier feels as kindness is a job for Ayla. However, the fact that Ayla has spent years planning to kill Crier means that she has feelings for the Automa which are as intense as Crier's for her... they're just not necessarily the same kind of feeling.
The worldbuilding for the Automae and the humans is detailed enough to feel like a real place, but it focuses mainly on the ways that the Automae do or do not attempt to mimic humans in their society and structures. It means that a great many concepts and items can be lifted wholesale and then used by the Automae in slightly different ways from how a human would have meant them. The political machinations hit the right balance of intrigue and complexity for me, stopping shy of becoming confusing by keeping the number of important characters and factions small but having their plans have multiple layers. This uses cross-purposes between supposed allies and complementary tactics between nominal enemies in a way that's deliciously messy.
I love this and I'll read the sequel as soon as I can, I want to know how things resolve for everyone. I don't necessarily want Crier and Ayla to end up together (not without having several truthful conversations first), but I'm excited to see how this story goes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Animal death, and Suicide
nightshaderoots's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.75
I liked how complex the plot and characters are. The writing style was something to get used to but I liked the way the author described scenes and the characters. The world building was also something I haven't seen before which I loved learning about. The lore building was also paced well so it doesn't feel like info dumping but it was still enough where I wasn't in the dark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Body horror, Cursing, Grief, Torture, Physical abuse, Vomit, War, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Infertility
librariangeorgia's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.0
I’d put off reading this book for SO LONG purely because it’s an absolute CHONK of a book.
I loved it. I need the second book now.
The writing style is quite simple, but I preferred that over the complex styles that you usually find in fantasy. The characters are well developed, even the background characters. Ayla is a bit chaotic but maybe that’s the intention?
I know she’s meant to be the ‘villain’ but I loved Crier!!
Lots of cliches: enemies to lovers, angry protagonist, evil villain, etc. But I’m loving them. I’m loving Ayla and Crier.
Overall, a very enjoyable easy-to-read fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, and War