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naldorah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Death, Sexism, Medical content, War, and Panic attacks/disorders
librariangeorgia's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Ughhhh, I just adore Crier and Ayla.
This is another slow burn but it felt like a quick read because of the easy-to-follow writing style. The world building isn’t over described which I prefer as sometimes it can be too much to remember. The characters are well developed, even the background characters have some backstory to them.
I really enjoyed this one, so much so that I read it within a couple of hours.
My favourite bit? The ending. It was everything that I’d spent the 2 books hoping for!
I’d love another book as a prequel with more in-depth detail on how the Automa came to be and the start of the divide between them and humans. It is told in flashes throughout these 2 books, but I want more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, War, Death, and Blood
teaskate's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
Enjoyed this sequel.Again the main characters are so great.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Slavery, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
cinnamonandpancakes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.5
It took me a while to read this, though this is more a reflection of how busy I am at the moment and less of the quality of the story. Once I finally managed to pick it up for a decent length of time, I devoured it.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
vaniavela's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
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
5.0
Iron Heart is the sequel and conclusion to Crier's War, a duology of a world in which humans and automatons exist.
Crier and Ayla are very strong characters, transforming into the best versions of themselves. Ayla learns that there is more than revenge; her vulnerable side is seen and we find her even more human. Crier brings out her passionate and determined side, defying her father and the government. She gives up her naiveté and stands up for what is right.
Varela's writing is exquisite. This book is written with such elegance and lovely descriptions that we are left craving more and picturing the scenes in our heads.
Iron Heart manages to incorporate colonialism, slavery and revolution into a fantastic world. We read about a world that, like our own, has been built at the cost of thousands of lives.
This book was an excellent combination of slow-burn lesbian romance, political elements, and creative world building.
If you haven't read this duology, what are you waiting for?
rep: lesbian poc mc, bi poc mc, poc cast, side m/nb couple, side mlm & wlw couples
tw: discussions of war, discussions of the suffering & exploitation, past, offscreen death of family, offscreen death of minor characters, self harm, violence, blood, physical combat, body horror, drug use, drug addiction, medical trauma, forced sedation, panick attack, ptsd.
Crier and Ayla are very strong characters, transforming into the best versions of themselves. Ayla learns that there is more than revenge; her vulnerable side is seen and we find her even more human. Crier brings out her passionate and determined side, defying her father and the government. She gives up her naiveté and stands up for what is right.
Varela's writing is exquisite. This book is written with such elegance and lovely descriptions that we are left craving more and picturing the scenes in our heads.
Iron Heart manages to incorporate colonialism, slavery and revolution into a fantastic world. We read about a world that, like our own, has been built at the cost of thousands of lives.
This book was an excellent combination of slow-burn lesbian romance, political elements, and creative world building.
If you haven't read this duology, what are you waiting for?
rep: lesbian poc mc, bi poc mc, poc cast, side m/nb couple, side mlm & wlw couples
tw: discussions of war, discussions of the suffering & exploitation, past, offscreen death of family, offscreen death of minor characters, self harm, violence, blood, physical combat, body horror, drug use, drug addiction, medical trauma, forced sedation, panick attack, ptsd.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Self harm
laurbubbles's review
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Violence
anka_not_anchor's review
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? It's complicated
4.75
This duology is so underrated….just read it. We need more sapphic fantasy stories!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexual content
_persephone_'s review
adventurous
emotional
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
i love crier and ayla so much, their development both separately and together was perfect and i think they are might be my new favorite fictional couple
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Death and Body horror
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Slavery
(death of parent is off-page, slavery is off-page and in the past)midem's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
Really good book, maybe even better than the the first one in the series, and that’s saying something. I really liked the way the character development was so tightly woven in with the plot and how it handled and resolved conflict without it adding unnecessary frustration for the reader. Got through it really fast! There is much diversity(mlnb for example) in the minor characters as well as the main wlw pairing, it paints the relationships in a very relatable way without making it to realistic, still being fantasy and all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Genocide
Moderate: Death, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, Cursing, and Death of parent
Minor: Death, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
angelsbooks's review
adventurous
dark
funny
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: Violence and War