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mackenzie073's review
adventurous
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, War, and Blood
itscrispyy's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, War, and Physical abuse
gondorgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Slavery, Grief, War, Torture, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
good_names_dont_exist's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Body horror
micaelacccc's review
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
I loved getting to see Crier & Ayla finally get together but I did feel like once I hit page 300 it was kinda pointless. Last 100 pages kinda didn't need to happen, I ended up skimming just to get to their happy ending. But I truly did love these characters so much!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
bergha1998's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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
3.5
Ayla has run to the Mad Queen’s court in hopes of finding her brother & fighting against Kinok’s evil plan. Crier’s wedding is upon her & she is still trying to get out of marrying a horrible man like Kinok.
LGBTQIA+, Enemies to Lovers
“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.”
“Because you are brilliant and have never once used it to cause harm.”
“You can’t read me once and know everything.” “Then I will read you again and again.”
LGBTQIA+, Enemies to Lovers
“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.”
“Because you are brilliant and have never once used it to cause harm.”
“You can’t read me once and know everything.” “Then I will read you again and again.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Murder
courto875's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Genocide, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture
Minor: Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Animal death, Drug use, and Drug abuse
dlrosebyh's review
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
Automae have ruled Rabu's country for far too long, oppressing its human subjects. But the human revolution has risen, and Ayla is at its center. Ayla, a former handmaiden turned fugitive, almost fled Lady Crier's palace, the girl she would've slain if she hadn't fallen in love first.
Ayla has now committed her loyalty to Queen Junn, who can assist the human revolt achieve its ultimate goal: the destroying of the Iron Heart. The Automae will be reduced to the point of extinction if it loses its strength. Ayla wants to succeed, but she can't get rid of her love for Crier. Unbeknownst to her, Crier has also abandoned the palace, joining a band of wandering rebels in her quest to find and defend Ayla.
Crier's War was my favorite book that I read in 2021. I was dying for this conclusion because I was afraid it wouldn't measure up to my expectations— yet, shockingly, it much exceeded them. Since I read Crier's War about two years ago, I was afraid I'd forget the story and, of course, the world-building. However, Nina Varela did an excellent job recap from Crier's War.
Iron Heart is certainly more political than Crier's War, which is why many people disliked the sequel. Personally, I enjoy political fantasies with a romantic subplot. I like how it's plot-driven, yet you can see Crier and Ayla staring at one other. If you like Crier's War for its romance, I think it's unlikely you'll enjoy Iron Heart as much.
The characters were considerably more developed and seemed more real. The characters were not conventional hero-villain types, yet there had complexity. There are reservations. The characters are ethically ambiguous—difficult it's to choose someone to trust because everyone ends up betraying one another.
It was fascinating to read about the interactions between Automaes and humans, and how they experience the world in such different ways yet still connecting together. I liked how the novel didn't just focus on the characters' romantic relationships, as most YA fantasy stories do, but also on platonic and family ones.
If you're looking for an enemies to lovers sapphic tale, this is a must-read. The representation is fantastic, both LGBTQIA+ and POC. If you're not a big lover of plot-driven novels, you might forgo this one since, as much as I adore the characters, it's somewhere in the midst of being plot-driven and character-driven.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, War, and Panic attacks/disorders
naldorah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Death, Sexism, Medical content, War, and Panic attacks/disorders
librariangeorgia's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
Ughhhh, I just adore Crier and Ayla.
This is another slow burn but it felt like a quick read because of the easy-to-follow writing style. The world building isn’t over described which I prefer as sometimes it can be too much to remember. The characters are well developed, even the background characters have some backstory to them.
I really enjoyed this one, so much so that I read it within a couple of hours.
My favourite bit? The ending. It was everything that I’d spent the 2 books hoping for!
I’d love another book as a prequel with more in-depth detail on how the Automa came to be and the start of the divide between them and humans. It is told in flashes throughout these 2 books, but I want more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, War, Death, and Blood