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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
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
cinnamonandpancakes'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? It's complicated
4.5
Ayla's journey towards accepting her feelings was so good and I loved how Varela didn't shy away from describing the physical desire Ayla and Crier have for each other. A lot of f/f books seem to shy away from that so it was really satisfying to read this (and the previous book).
I'm especially pleased that this book managed to knock down all the dominos of the last book without feeling too neat. Open endings are my favourite, so this was very satisfying to read.
Graphic: Grief, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
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
abby_shupe's review
- 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 budding tension between Ayla and Crier was just amazing. Their entire dynamic, the dual POVs, and the glorious world building continued to amaze me on how well they were pulled off.
I definitely think Iron Heart is the better of the duology, just because there are so many moments in Criers War where I didn’t get enough i information (yet), to piece everything together. In Iron Heart, almost everything blended together well and left me satisfied.
I love that a lot of the main characters in the story are good or bad, they’re both. Getting the opportunity to read so many character arcs, especially Aylas, and following along as they find their footing was pure gold.
I will say, those shades are FUCKING CREEPY!! I can’t remember the last time I’ve read something as horrifying as what Varela was describing the rotting, black veined, zombie-like corpse people. Absolutely harrowing and had me on the edge of my seat every time a person had come across one.
One of my favorite elements in the novel was Crier’s continued remembrance of queer stories. She kept thinking back to ones including a prince and a male commoner, and of course the one of Winter and her lover. It was a great touch on the author’s behalf, and really added a lot to the story.
The epilogue was done really well, I truly loved everything about this novel.
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Vomit
starccato's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, War, Xenophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment, Self harm, and Alcohol
katte's review
- 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
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!
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Torture, War, Grief, and Confinement
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
averyrembish'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
Moderate: Gore, Murder, Police brutality, Addiction, Confinement, Physical abuse, Death, Body horror, Medical content, and Torture
Minor: Alcohol, Self harm, and Death of parent
alyxinthestars'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
4.5
Minor: Violence, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Alcohol