Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Iron Heart

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Iron Heart by Nina Varela

26 reviews

leafylover's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

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thecourtofreading's review against another edition

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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

4.0

"it's you, the wash of starlight, the old paradox: if the universe were static, i could stand anywhere in this world and i swear my line of sight would end on you. i swear i'd find you in the dark."

this, right here, is one of my favourite duologies. i adore this series to the moon and back, not purely because it's sapphic and i feel seen in this absolutely gorgeous book about girls falling in love despite everything trying to get in their way, but because it's so beautifully written. i would read this series again and again and i would fall in love with ayla and crier again and again because they are just so loveable.

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olafsl0stcarrot's review against another edition

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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? No

5.0

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sssssoup's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.75

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cemeterygay's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0

I really loved the first book and I somehow adored this book even more.

I honestly don't have much to say negatively about this book. Instead I'm going to focus on why this was a five star read for me.

I loved how Ayla and Crier's relationship was explored in this book. I adored the way Ayla and her brother's interactions were portrayed specifically how much their relationship has changed since childhood and how that's reflected.

I adored how the complications of war were portrayed in this book and how Crier interacting more with the world was portrayed. I especially adored Crier's time spent with the rebellion. I love the reveal about the Iron Heart and what actually helps Automae run and the horror behind it. It's so satisfying to watch so many people who have been subjugated and had their autonomy stripped from them regain their autonomy and truly rise to the occasion. The most satisfying example of this is the conclusion of Faye's story. Watching her become a pivotal character in this book after having so much stripped from her is phemomenal.

The explorations of what it means to be human, conversations about the complexity of privilege and what revolution actually entails is so beautifully handled. I love the hopeful messaging and the emphasis on the beauty of life and love. I think the political intrigue was so well handled and came to a satisfying conclusion in this book. I also adored the explorations of trust in this book and how it impacted everyone's interactions with each other and specifically the importance of trust and solidarity in revolutionary movements.

The epilogue is probably one of my favorite parts of the book and wraps up the intense journey Crier and Ayla go through so well.

Everything about Crier's love for both humanity and Ayla is so beautifully written and will stick with me for a while.

If you're looking for a duology that heavily features a sapphic romance that doesn't involve homophobia and centers the beauty of humanity and regaining autonomy in the face of oppression, I could not recommend this book enough.

This is a beautiful read that will stick with me for quite a while.

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starccato's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

3.0

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katte's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful 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

5.0

This was so. good. I read it in two sittings only because I needed to sleep and work. Excellent adventure. After getting to know the protagonists in the last book, we get introduced to more characters in this one and it is not overwhelming, which is nice. I also love the fact that even though we follow two storylines for a while, I never feel like there’s a character I’d prefer to be following over the other. Each story feels like as important, just as intense, and I wanted to absorb them both at the same time!

From book one I found the dynamic between Crier and Ayla to be problematic with the lady-handmaiden thing. But in this book they are equals, which makes their interactions and relationship so much more fun. It was genuinely funny in many places! It almost makes their relationship dynamic from the first book better - if it hadn’t been so tense and weird, would it have been so good in this book?

The ending was very satisfying in several different ways. I feel the characters stayed true to themselves, and a plot point I’d been hoping for from book 1 happened! It felt good and satisfying instead of cheap and predictable. Fabulous read!

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