Crier's War

By: Nina Varela

Narrated by: Kim Mai Guest

Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

From debut author Nina Varela comes the first audiobook in an Own Voices, richly imagined epic fantasy duology about an impossible love between two girls - one human, one Made - whose romance could be the beginning of a revolution.

Perfect for fans of Marie Rutkoski’s The Winner’s Curse as well as Game of Thrones and Westworld.

After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, designed to be the playthings of royals, usurped their owners’ estates and bent the human race to their will.

Now, Ayla, a human servant rising in the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging her family’s death...by killing the sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier. 

Crier was Made to be beautiful, flawless, and to carry on her father’s legacy. But that was before her betrothal to the enigmatic Scyre Kinok, before she discovered her father isn’t the benevolent king she once admired, and most importantly, before she met Ayla.

Now, with growing human unrest across the land, pressures from a foreign queen, and an evil new leader on the rise, Crier and Ayla find there may be only one path to love: war.

©2019 Nina Varela (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

the ending was so unsatisfying

i really loves the lore and story telling of this book, but the ending sucked and kinda ruined it for me. It felt like they where just breaking off the story to make you buy the sequel that I assume is coming out. The romance never gets resolved, the conflict only got worse, leaving the main character in a sucky situation, then just ended. it really ruined it for me. I wouldn't recommend this book, unless the sequel comes out and you're willing to pay for 2 books just to get a satisfying story.

So there I stood..

There I was, looking for a book that had story, life, power. I wanted something with strong characters writhing and fighting for what they wished. I didn't want the classic "boy saves world" story. I wanted pain, reality, hope. When I finished listening to this book, I sat down hard in a chair and stared at the wall across from me, wide eyed.
I struggled at first when reading this book. But please, dear reader, push through. The ending made me -feel-. There are reviews about this book saying the end is terrible, that the two books could be one, I disagree. Those who left those reviews did not finish the first book completely. they got to the heartbreak that happens with one hour left, then stopped. The journey these characters make? Could not have been one book. That would have been a book to rival the size of the Stand by stephen king, or Brandon Sanderson's storm light archive. This book is more than worth the purchase price. I have finished it, and feel like my life is changed. I cannot wait to read the second to find out everything that happens. No review would do this book justice, but I have done what I could. Give this book more than a chance, you will not regret it. Finish it, feel the pain, the loss, the HOPE, the LOVE. Good luck, happy reading.

Many plot holes, queer baitish and breathy narrating.

I didn’t have very high expectations for this book, I chose it bc it had a beautiful cover, it was long, and it was a decently reviewed w/w novel. While the book started off with a more context crowded timeline and plot holes than my girlfriend could handle (she powered through to chapter 5 before stopping) I really wanted to see this one through (gritted teeth)

While I feel the narration was breathy all around and monotone in some places, it also managed to be more emotional than the Automa characters were described. This made some behavior seem ooc imo.

One thing I wish I had known in advance is that the protagonists, Ayla, was not only bisexual but her male best friend crossed her physical boundaries more than once. The author writes her reactions to this in a realistic way, in that she does nearly nothing about you it despite an inner monologue of slight protest and discomfort. What’s wrong with this is that there is zero self awareness of how he is being inappropriate and she is not communicating her boundaries.

As far as this novel being unapologetically queer, there’s many offhand mention of characters you never meet being in same sex relationships but the focus romance really left me wondering if this was a queer bait novel and would have been better off representing asexuals. (Whome I love and adore and feel deserve more honest honorable rep)

-SPOILER WARNING-
I almost forgot, 7h into this 11h audio book is when you FINALLY get their first and LAST kiss of this book. They then almost immediately become adversary’s again.
-END SPOILER-

If you don’t mind everything mentioned you will enjoy the interesting plot. I will be reading the next book, fsag, and so I can leave another review. I need closure!

Just stick with it.

After you are bombarded with so much information the story starts to get good. Ends early. The 2 books could’ve been one.

Effortlessly captivating

This book was very different from what I expected, but in the loveliest of ways. Crier and Ayla’s relationship was really moving, as it's fragile, and timid, but still moving and emotional. I enjoyed the political unrest throughout the chapters, and watching the characters try to navigate this world. The story embraces a lot of diversity, betrayal, enemies and self discovery. Lots of strong female characters, which is a win for me! I would like to know a lot more about the characters and the world, so I'm hoping that there is more to come.

Absolutely incredible

Crier’s War was immediately captivating. The writing was beautiful and the mixture between the intense rebellion and slow burn romance kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. Additionally, the queer representation and real life parallels to discrimination were very hard hitting. I’d highly recommend this story, it truly is a masterpiece.

Just ok

The writing was good and the story was interesting but I’m disappointed with the lack of actual passion between the two main characters. It felt like their whole love affair sprouted out of nowhere, very generic and forced and not at all passionate. As a WLW I just couldn’t get into the romance portion because it just barely existed.

Stick it out

I am so glad I came back to this book after being "meh" on it before. Wow! Just finished it and am grabbing the sequel immediately. Don't be impatient like I was on the slowness of the first few chapters. Stick with it!

It’s gay and it slaps

Excellent world-building and character depth. It will be one I read again. The narrator was slow, so I cranked it to 1.2x, but it didn’t detract from the story.

The primary relationship feels natural and perfectly sapphic.

Depressing, but good

The performance was so raw, and emotional, it was worth the read on that alone.

Lives up to the hype

I’ve heard a lot about this book and was worried it wouldn’t live up to expectations but it definitely does! About to download the next book right now !

An Emotional Epic

A fantastic, wild ride through a world so different yet with such a familiar soul. Such intense peaks and furrows that keep you constantly wanting more.

An engrossing world populated with rich characters, and a history both tragic and fascinating.

But the heart of it is the story of awakening, and love.

Narrated so perfectly, capturing the essence of the world and characters

My new favourite book.

was not sure what to expect....

After reading so many glowing reviews, I wondered if the book would live up to the hype,and I can say for me I loved this book and go right on to the next book!

Surprisingly generic

A cool concept, but surprisingly slow paced and dull overall. The characters fell very flat for me, and it all felt like it was setting up for a sequel (which it was). But it definitely has potential as a series, and the narrator did a solid job.

FANTASTIC BOOK

The best book I have red in a long time!! Sapphics delight. 10/10 I’m going straight on to the second book Iron heart I can’t wait to find out where this story leads :)