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itscrispyy's review
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, War, and Physical abuse
bergha1998's review
- 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
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.”
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
- 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
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
some_random_person_hi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Police brutality, Torture, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Gore, Hate crime, and Murder
Minor: Abandonment, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
The worldbuilding from CRIER'S WAR is built on and complicated slightly in IRON HEART. This is everything from revealing the true nature of heartstone's production, to making it clear that humans and Automae have fallen in love before. My favorite bit is the technically-not-zombies, they're handled in a pretty cool way and make several appearances. I also love Queen Junn, she's a fantastic character.
This is the second book of a duology, and the the whole point of it is to wrap up things left hanging from CRIER’S WAR, which it does admirably. It gives resolutions to a bunch of characters (major and minor), untangles several heartstone-related mysteries, and handles atrocities, both recent and longstanding. There’s a minor storyline which begins and ends in this volume, and this focuses more on journeys than the first one did. As the final book it deals with systemic injustices which were established in the first one, doing so in ways that free most individuals from the oppressed/oppressor dynamics which were getting in the way of this sapphic love story. It wrapped up hanging plot threads and provided closure for several characters in ways I wasn’t expecting, which is nice. The point-of-view characters are the same, and they're consistent with their previous voices even though they've grown and changed throughout both books.
The story is complete enough and backstory recapped succinctly such that someone could probably pick up this book without having read the first one and have a good experience. It'll definitely be better for anyone reading the whole duology, but the recaps at the beginning are well done and the story can stand alone enough to makes sense.
The main plot alternates at first between Ayla in Queen Junn's court and Crier on the road, eventually merging the two threads when Ayla also has to travel. Their individual goals complement each other, but they have different pieces of the puzzle that a bunch of people are trying to solve, and don't realize it at first.
I originally had misgivings about this as an oppressor/oppressed romance, but I waited to see how things ended up. I'm so pleased about the choice to address the systemic inequalities rather than just having Ayla and Crier defy the odds or something. Even better, IRON HEART makes it clear that they aren't the first Automa/human couple and they won't be the last. They individually join up with existing efforts to solve the problems, not trying to reinvent the networks that other people have put in place over years. Also, Crier and Ayla have unique access to specific information, and particular connections with others that let them do what they're doing, but a bunch of other people's specific efforts are highlighted throughout. It makes them feel like people who happened to be in a position to do something to help, not destined heroes whose presence magically fix things it shouldn't have fixed.
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit, Child death, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Drug use, Death of parent, and Self harm
wet_towlette's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: War
achay91's review
- 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
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Torture
serena_hien's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
midem's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Classism and Genocide
Moderate: Death, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, Cursing, and Death of parent
Minor: Death, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
sssssoup's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Violence, Body horror, Blood, and Torture
Moderate: Death, Cursing, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, War, Death of parent, and Genocide