Reviews with content warning for Torture - Iron Heart

This book has a beautiful cast of diverse characters, relationships, disability representation, etc. It's an interesting world full of twists and turns and revealed secrets.

The only reason I docked a .5 is that, while it wrapped up in a way that hinted at an end, the book needs a third or a spin off. It left a lot of unanswered or unexplained things unexplored. The end felt more like a "to be continued" but a third book or anything hasn't been announced. I hope the author continues.

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josb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Series 4*
This was everything I hoped would be bundled into Criers War. It really redeemed the series for me.

At the end of book 1 I did not ship the two mains at all, but Varela turned it around and actually sold me on it. There was a lot more attention to the emotional growth between the two mains and there was no miscommunication/no communication trope in this one. I was relieved to actually watch Crier and Ayla have a conversation, sure there was a big reliance on subtext and reading between the lines but both characters were able to put it together without excessive angst.

The writing also improved since the first book, I found that it was easier to understand what was going on despite reading Crier's War over a year ago.

There was one part about 100ish pages near the end that seemed to slow down unnecessarily. But overall an almost perfect effort that completely flipped my perception and enjoyment of the series.

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some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is so YA Fantasy, in all the good and not so good ways. This includes being full of tropes and this book is packed to the brim with tropes.

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achay91's review

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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? No

5.0

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jennamcclendon's review against another edition

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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

5.0

Again: HOW HAVE I NOT READ THIS SERIES SOONER. I LITERALLY LOVE IT SO MUCH, CRIER AND AYLA OWN MY HEART. While some of the sequels I’ve read earlier this year have not been as good as their debuts, this was one of the ones that were a PERFECT addition and it added so much to the plot and the world and the characters. I love how it picked up right after the events of the first book and how things still remained tense and the stakes were still there. Nothing felt slow or out of place, and there were a lot of storylines that were resolved in a very satisfying way. Long story short, I LOVE THIS BOOK AND THIS SERIES.

This book changed my way of thinking about a few of the characters. Faye honestly grew on me. I didn’t really have an opinion of her in the first book, she was okay, but in this one? Working with Crier and BEING THE ONE TO KILL KINOK IN THE END? HONESTLY SLAY. On the other hand, Benjy. I did not like him the most. I will admit, in the end, he was okay, but I just don’t like his role in the story. He’s supposed to be Ayla’s best friend, but they barely interact. Their connection didn’t seem as strong as they said it was. Their past was with Rowan, but there’s hardly any mention of it. I don’t know, he’s just kind of boring. I did like how he put his love for Ayla aside and supported her and Crier (even when Ayla didn’t realize it) and he was probably the one to make Ayla realize she liked her. Storme definitely redeemed himself, especially in the Heart when he finally came back for them. :,) And Junn… I didn’t trust her at first, but she ended up being chill. She had her reasons for killing Reyka, and honestly, in a time like this, it was understandable.

ALSO. THE NEW CHARACTERS. Hook and his crew were kinda cool, and I loved how they interacted with Crier and treated her with respect. They were her first friends outside of the palace and I think they really helped her come to terms with her humanity that was inside her all along. And when they came back at the end? Hook and Erren’s reunion was HILARIOUS. It was so angry but also so gay lol. And DINARA. I LOVE HER. I think Crier saw a lot of Reyka in her (especially since she was Reyka’s daughter) and that was great.

The was this book was set up was so great. It had the original antagonist, of course, Kinok, but with the Shades added in? BRO THOSE WERE SCARY NGL. I FELT WHAT CRIER WAS FEELING. I knew Nightshade wasn’t gonna be good and then BOOM, ZOMBIE AUTOMAE. Crier and Ayla’s journeys back to each other were perfect for them, kind of like a role reversal, and everything after that was AMAZING. I’M GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT LATER. I was hooked from the beginning. And the end was so satisfying, with Kinok gone and Crier giving up on Hesod even though it was hard and the Tourmaline and the countries reunited. CRIER’S GLOWY SCENE WITH YORA’S HEART WAS AMAZING. SHE WAS JUST LIKE KORRA AND SHE-RA, I LOVE MY GLOWY SAPPHICS. And Ayla’s leg too… she’s going to be an amazing Maker.

The representation in this book was amazing. There were TWO nonbinary characters, Wender whom Ayla hung out with at Junn’s palace, and ERREN, WHO WAS SO FUNNY WITH HOOK OMG. And then obviously there was Hook and Erren’s relationship, and Reyka’s and her wife’s. I’m so glad Crier had a strong, powerful queer woman to look up to, even though she wasn’t fully aware yet. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY CRIER AND AYLA. AAAA. I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THEM.

CRIER AND AYLA ARE MY FAVORITES EVER. OMG. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Even in the beginning with the parallels to Crier’s questions and Ayla in the palace, they were still thinking about each other. Ayla was definitely in denial, but Crier? Girl was down BAD AND SHE KNEW IT. EVERYTHING SHE DID WAS TO HELP AYLA AND HELP HER COUNTRY. AND THEN WHEN THEY MET AND SAVED EACH OTHER AND THEN WENT ON THEIR LITTLE QUEST? THE SCENE AT THE RIVER SWIMMING TOGETHER AGAIN. THE *LOOKING*. (AYLA’S BACK OMG). AND THEN THE FAKE MARRIAGE TROPE WHERE CRIER GAY PANICKED AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT EACH OTHER LIKE THEY WERE MARRIED AND THEN THEY HAD THE SCENE WITH THE STORIES AND THEIR HANDS AND THEN THE ONLY ONE BED. AND THEN WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE TOURMALINE AND THE EPILOGUE IN THE LIBRARY. WOW I LOVE THEM I WILL NOT STOP THINKING ABOUT THEM. I AUDIBLY SQUEALED AND GASPED SO MANY TIMES. They’re so perfect for each other. I love them.

This series now means so so much to me. I read the acknowledgments and cried. Everything was so well-written and well-represented. Plus, you really can’t go wrong with a lesbian royalty/handmaiden slow-burn in my book. Would recommend it a million times if I could, this will definitely be up there on my list of more sci-fi recommendations. I LOVED IT AND I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS DUOLOGY IS OVER. I MISS IT ALREADY. I WISH I HAD READ THESE SOONER OMG. BELOVEDS.

Content Warnings

leafylover's review

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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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inconsequentialperson's review

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adventurous 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

3.75

Very interesting and an amazing sequel to Criers war. Gets a bit slow halfway through as it’s very tense but the ending is perfect and I was so attached to the characters 😭 would definitely recommend to a friend but wouldn’t recommend reading it at the same time as another book as it throws a lot of information at you to process,as a fantasy would lol 🤥

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