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marshiereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really and truly liked this book! The author had me from the very beginning with a timeline. Some fantasy novels can drag you through the trenches trying to learn their world and this one is not one of them! I feel like I’m along for the ride, learning about it with her rather than in spite of her. I’m gonna talk specific so spoilers ahead. Also please look at the trigger warnings for this book if that applies as this book has a lot!!
The inner turmoil of both, but especially, Ayla and Crier had me reading the book in only a couple sittings. I almost couldn’t put it down. Trying to figure out what was and wasn’t one of Kinok’s manipulations had me reeling to the literal last pages of the book. I mean wow! The romance was certainly a part of the plot but this is not a “romance book” it is fantasy first but it still felt completely integral and not just thrown in there. I was also a fan of the fact that it wasn’t one of those “we can’t do this because it’s wrong because it’s gay” because frankly as an lgbtq+ person myself I was grateful for some relenting on that narrative choice. There still was an element of “wrongness” but more because on girl literally wanted to kill the other. Overall an excellent start to the series and I cannot wait to read the second (I’ve got it on hold now).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, and Blood
Minor: Miscarriage
charlereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I wish I had access to queer fantasy books like these at 16, it’s a little wistful to read at 25.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Self harm, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and War
cemeterygay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I adored this book. It hit all of the right tropes for me. I mean person and machine falling in love. Exploring the boundaries of humanity and the consequences of war and oppression, I adore it. Both Crier and Ayla are great protagonists and I adored reading both of their POVs, I just wish the supporting cast was a bit more memorable. I think the world for the most part was quite understandable, but the initial timeline was a bit hard to wrap your head around.
I also loved that we got a Sapphic romance that wasn't solely focused on coming out. I also really enjoyed the writing style of this book and I found the ending cliffhanger to be quite effective. While quite a few twists were predictable, the reveals were still quite satisfying and it wasn't necessarily a let down that they weren't revolutionary.
I was very concerned that this was going to be a yet another book where a person in a position of privilege only begins to care about oppression because they think a person that is oppressed is cute, but that was not what this was. It is very clear from the onset that Crier has severe doubts about the treatment of humans and from the get go wants to help improve the lives of humans separate to her relationship with Ayla.
I really liked this book but I will say it's nothing that revolutionary. I would recommend this book but it's not like you have to read it.
I also loved that we got a Sapphic romance that wasn't solely focused on coming out. I also really enjoyed the writing style of this book and I found the ending cliffhanger to be quite effective. While quite a few twists were predictable, the reveals were still quite satisfying and it wasn't necessarily a let down that they weren't revolutionary.
I was very concerned that this was going to be a yet another book where a person in a position of privilege only begins to care about oppression because they think a person that is oppressed is cute, but that was not what this was. It is very clear from the onset that Crier has severe doubts about the treatment of humans and from the get go wants to help improve the lives of humans separate to her relationship with Ayla.
I really liked this book but I will say it's nothing that revolutionary. I would recommend this book but it's not like you have to read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Infertility, Misogyny, Xenophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Cultural appropriation and War
Cultural Appropriation is of fictional cultures. Discussions of infertility refer to past figures and not main characters but is still discussed in depth.starccato's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol
k_aro's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It was good.... I definitely enjoyed the slow burn enemies to lovers, but I'm not sure if, as a whole, it'll be particularly memorable for me. Like, it was good, but not life-changingly good.
Crier and Ayla are... good? Characters? I'm definitely not categorically opposed to them but I don't think they're particularly compelling in and of themselves, they seem kind of standard.
It was pretty gripping, though. It took me a little bit to get into it but it was definitely exciting after that.
Crier and Ayla are... good? Characters? I'm definitely not categorically opposed to them but I don't think they're particularly compelling in and of themselves, they seem kind of standard.
It was pretty gripping, though. It took me a little bit to get into it but it was definitely exciting after that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Infertility, Self harm, Death of parent, and Alcohol
It's sort of hard to talk about the more social aspects of this book, given that it's between a fictional race and a real one, so when I say "cultural appropriation" I'm unsure whether it would realistically affect someone, given that it is largely the king appropriating human culture (such as, marital traditions).lollyr's review against another edition
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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Infertility, Grief, and Murder
morganish's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Crier's War started off a little slow for me, BUT. The book very quickly overcame my doubts, and I found myself really looking forward to picking it back up every night! It's fantasy of the YA variety, which doesn't deviate too much from a lot of the themes, stylistic choices, and characterization of other YA stories.
Yet even as I've been leaning away from YA fantasy and more toward adult recently, I found myself really absorbed in this one. The prose was straightforward, but sometimes unexpectedly beautiful; the worldbuilding wasn't dense or complicated, and yet the central conceit works well and there's a surprising amount of effective mystery. All the untold secrets yet to be discovered ultimately worked to hook me in. The romance is a kind I like but don't often find executed this effectively: angst-heavy, with lots of pining. It's a true slow burn, with outstanding threads still left hanging by the end of this installment, the first of a duology. Even though I'd heard others say this book was really good, AND even though I was excited by the idea of AI creations in a traditional fantasy setting, I was still surprised how good Crier's War was.
If you like your slow-burn romances to actually feel like something slow and aching and epic, this book probably has what you're looking for. (Especially if you're looking for more sapphic fantasy.) If you like the feel of YA fantasy stories, but sometimes wish the worldbuilding had just a little bit more mystery or intrigue like adult fantasy, this might serve, depending on your tastes. But if you're just completely done with YA fantasy and all the aspects that come with it, or don't like romances that build across multiple books, OR don't like the enemies-to-lovers trope, this book probably won't do much for you.
Yet even as I've been leaning away from YA fantasy and more toward adult recently, I found myself really absorbed in this one. The prose was straightforward, but sometimes unexpectedly beautiful; the worldbuilding wasn't dense or complicated, and yet the central conceit works well and there's a surprising amount of effective mystery. All the untold secrets yet to be discovered ultimately worked to hook me in. The romance is a kind I like but don't often find executed this effectively: angst-heavy, with lots of pining. It's a true slow burn, with outstanding threads still left hanging by the end of this installment, the first of a duology. Even though I'd heard others say this book was really good, AND even though I was excited by the idea of AI creations in a traditional fantasy setting, I was still surprised how good Crier's War was.
If you like your slow-burn romances to actually feel like something slow and aching and epic, this book probably has what you're looking for. (Especially if you're looking for more sapphic fantasy.) If you like the feel of YA fantasy stories, but sometimes wish the worldbuilding had just a little bit more mystery or intrigue like adult fantasy, this might serve, depending on your tastes. But if you're just completely done with YA fantasy and all the aspects that come with it, or don't like romances that build across multiple books, OR don't like the enemies-to-lovers trope, this book probably won't do much for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Genocide, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol
A lot of the elements I include about the content warnings are specifically fantastical, like fantastical xenophobia. Most of the other content warnings have some level of fantastic to them as well. It isn't a direct reference to IRL events and doesn't include IRL bigotry, for example.make_believer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
This is my new favorite YA fantasy series. The world-building is incredible. It’s interesting to see a story where AI has taken over the human world. My favorite part of the book, however, was Crier. I don’t think I have ever loved a YA protagonist more. She is so incredibly naive and she makes absolutely idiotic decisions sometimes, but it’s because she truly means well. She truly wants to help everyone around her, and she wants to make the world a better place. And her relationship with Ayla is amazing. This is a slow burn romance for sure, and it is about as enemies to lovers as you can get. But that is once again one of the many reasons that Crier is so lovable. Ayla’s hatred of Crier and the system that Crier represents is absolutely valid. Ayla’s hesitance to trust and acknowledge her feelings for Crier make for a wonderful slow burn. Crier is so insistent on helping people, and so in love with Ayla from the start, that she completely misses the fact that she and Ayla are enemies. The yearning from both sides is beautiful. Ayla wants to badly to feel nothing towards Crier, and Crier wants so badly for Ayla to love her back. It leads up to an incredible ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Infertility and Sexual content
mothie_girlie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Vomit
offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I enjoyed this sapphic fantasy aspect of this book but I found the writing to be somewhat weak. The world-building takes place in the first couple pages instead of unfolding throughout the story.
Spice level: 🌶/5
Spice level: 🌶/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Infertility, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Gaslighting