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elliott_the_clementine'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
4.5
Graphic: War, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Toxic relationship
some_random_person_hi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Hate crime, and Racism
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Death, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and War
stekka__'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: Abandonment and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Grief, and War
Minor: Gore and Toxic relationship
starccato's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexual content, and Mental illness
ashleycmms's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: War, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
morganish's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, and Sexism
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.stolen_honey'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
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Drug abuse, and Addiction
Minor: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Gore, Grief, and Cursing
alouette's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Going back to the romance though- the descriptions of how Ayla and Crier see each other, the overlapping moments and POV switches giving their different perspectives, all of it was breathtaking. No matter what happened, I was always cheering them on and wishing the best for them. I can't wait to continue doing so in the sequel.
music pairing: moonday by flor
Graphic: Death and Xenophobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Toxic relationship