Crier's War

By: Nina Varela

Narrated by: Kim Mai Guest

From debut author Nina Varela comes the first book in a 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.

Standing ovation

Loved everything about this, riveted from the beginning. Immediately started the next in the series.

Worth the read

I really really enjoyed this book. It was entertaining the entire way through and I couldn’t stop listening. I was iffy on the narrator at first but after a chapter or two I wondered why I was iffy on it in the first place.

This book delivers a great balance of adventure, mystery, and romance and I can’t wait for the sequel. Ignore any potential bad reviews you may read because if the synopsis sounds interesting to you I promise you will enjoy this book. Definitely became an instant favorite for me.

interesting story and characters

you know a book is doing something right when you want to shake the characters for their choices but still love and understand them. it's so easy to make characters and their motives feel silly and two dimensional, but this book does well at grasping complex and competing character motives and emotions. it has diversity and intrigue and the world is built without too much given away, lots of realistic confusion and mystery.

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.

Akin to a YA version of The Jasmine Throne

Pretty good book, though the motivation driving the characters toward love is a bit thin. Great narration.