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sssssoup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Infertility, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and War
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
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.sandy_21's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
Minor: Gaslighting
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
idanolberger's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
Going into this book, I didn't really know too much and I also didn't have any expectations. I only knew it was a Sapphic fantasy with the enemies-to-lovers trope. Like many others, I am a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope. While it could've had more tension between Crier and Ayla, it was still good.
I was, at first, a bit turned off by the info-dump in the beginning. I didn't quite understand much of it, nor was I able to keep all the information in my head for more than 2 seconds, making it a bit hard to follow. I would have preferred to get into the book and the world before getting a history lesson in said world. I did listen to the book which might make it more difficult with all the years and numbers. But once I was past that section I was sucked into an intriguing story about two girls, from very different backgrounds, whos lives get intertwined in complicated ways.
I found the characters in this book very interesting and well written. The wlw representation was good. I especially like that the book didn't include a huge triangle drama with a boy. I like the slow building of Ayla and Crier's relationship and trust and how fragile it is. How one wrong move can break it all down to nothing. But I found the pacing kind of weird at times.
I had a strong dislike for Kinok early in the book and it only grew as the story continued. He is a great villain, and abuser. His abuse of Crier is not physical but psychological. He essentially gaslights her throughout the book, manipulating her and her thoughts. It's not an obvious abuse as it is not visible from the outside, it is barely even visible to Crier for a substantial part of the book, which is why I think it is so brilliant. You only get hints of it and a bad feeling, but not very much palpable proof.
All in all, I liked the book (the ending had me hooked) and I am looking forward to reading the second book!
I was, at first, a bit turned off by the info-dump in the beginning. I didn't quite understand much of it, nor was I able to keep all the information in my head for more than 2 seconds, making it a bit hard to follow. I would have preferred to get into the book and the world before getting a history lesson in said world. I did listen to the book which might make it more difficult with all the years and numbers. But once I was past that section I was sucked into an intriguing story about two girls, from very different backgrounds, whos lives get intertwined in complicated ways.
I found the characters in this book very interesting and well written. The wlw representation was good. I especially like that the book didn't include a huge triangle drama with a boy. I like the slow building of Ayla and Crier's relationship and trust and how fragile it is. How one wrong move can break it all down to nothing. But I found the pacing kind of weird at times.
All in all, I liked the book (the ending had me hooked) and I am looking forward to reading the second book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting