This is a spoiler free review.
Crier's War
Written by Nina Varela
Written by Nina Varela
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Pages: 448
Source: Library
Source: Library
Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository
Recommended Age: 13 and up!
Summary:
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.
(Summary from Goodreads)
Review:
Crier's War by Nina Varela is a book that I heard a lot about all over Goodreads but I didn't really know what it was about and I am very glad that I went into it blind. This book is filled with revenge, mystery, betrayal and an adorable friendship/romance.
COVER
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.
(Summary from Goodreads)
Review:
Crier's War by Nina Varela is a book that I heard a lot about all over Goodreads but I didn't really know what it was about and I am very glad that I went into it blind. This book is filled with revenge, mystery, betrayal and an adorable friendship/romance.
COVER
I think the cover is very unique though I'm not sure how I feel about it. I don't like the colors of the cover but I really like the sort of etchings that around the cover which are very pretty.
WORLD-BUILDING
Crier's War is set in an alternative future where alchemists have created mechanical people who are called Automaes. These Automae were created for a powerful queen, who could not bear children, could have an heir, but soon Automae were forged for other human pleasures and uses. However, the Automae soon rose up and conquered the humans who had originally made them. And now the world is unsafe for the humans, and they are mostly treated as servants and allowed very few liberties. Nina Varela is able to introduce new information to the reader as well as maintain the fairly brisk pace of the plot.
Then there are the characters. (This book is told in two POVs)
CRIER
"Crier was beautiful. Created to be beautiful, but it was more than that. [...] It was the way her eyes lit up with interest, the way her fingers were always so careful, almost reverent, as she flipped the pages of a book."
Crier is one of two female protagonists and wishes to move up in the world of Automae politics. She thinks she can fix the unjust system that Automae follow, if only she could make other Automae listen to her arguments, which makes her a little bit naive. Despite this, she is smart and sharp as well as patient. She is used to playing the long game and waiting to get what she wants. Throughout the book she slowly adjusts to the world of manipulations and scheming and begins some of her own. Crier became a very strong female protagonist and her development as she learned that she could be her own person was beautiful.
AYLA
"Like she was more than a human girl. Like she was a summer storm made of flesh."
Ayla is a human girl who has a need for revenge against the Automa who killed her family. She becomes a handmaiden for Crier and takes the opportunity in order to learn more about her enemy. Ayla abhors Automa and she doesn't forget it even as she works for Crier and becomes her 'friend'. She refuses to be played by Crier's kindness and gentleness and steels herself against her, however, it doesn't completely work. She places her moral code above her own happiness, and tries to be cold, blunt and judgemental, however the emotions that she's tried so hard to conceal come bubbling up to the surface. I think Ayla grows throughout the book, however her initial thoughts and biases are still always present no matter how much time she spends with the Automae Crier.
Crier's War is set in an alternative future where alchemists have created mechanical people who are called Automaes. These Automae were created for a powerful queen, who could not bear children, could have an heir, but soon Automae were forged for other human pleasures and uses. However, the Automae soon rose up and conquered the humans who had originally made them. And now the world is unsafe for the humans, and they are mostly treated as servants and allowed very few liberties. Nina Varela is able to introduce new information to the reader as well as maintain the fairly brisk pace of the plot.
Then there are the characters. (This book is told in two POVs)
CRIER
"Crier was beautiful. Created to be beautiful, but it was more than that. [...] It was the way her eyes lit up with interest, the way her fingers were always so careful, almost reverent, as she flipped the pages of a book."
Crier is one of two female protagonists and wishes to move up in the world of Automae politics. She thinks she can fix the unjust system that Automae follow, if only she could make other Automae listen to her arguments, which makes her a little bit naive. Despite this, she is smart and sharp as well as patient. She is used to playing the long game and waiting to get what she wants. Throughout the book she slowly adjusts to the world of manipulations and scheming and begins some of her own. Crier became a very strong female protagonist and her development as she learned that she could be her own person was beautiful.
AYLA
"Like she was more than a human girl. Like she was a summer storm made of flesh."
Ayla is a human girl who has a need for revenge against the Automa who killed her family. She becomes a handmaiden for Crier and takes the opportunity in order to learn more about her enemy. Ayla abhors Automa and she doesn't forget it even as she works for Crier and becomes her 'friend'. She refuses to be played by Crier's kindness and gentleness and steels herself against her, however, it doesn't completely work. She places her moral code above her own happiness, and tries to be cold, blunt and judgemental, however the emotions that she's tried so hard to conceal come bubbling up to the surface. I think Ayla grows throughout the book, however her initial thoughts and biases are still always present no matter how much time she spends with the Automae Crier.
FRIENDSHIP/FAMILY
We see a bit of Crier's relationship with her 'father' though it isn't the most positive of relationships. Her father seems more concerned by the appearance of his family rather than how Crier is actually feeling about her upcoming marriage and the other changes in her life. Crier seems to realize throughout the book that her father cares more about his political stance than anything else.
We see a bit of Crier's relationship with her 'father' though it isn't the most positive of relationships. Her father seems more concerned by the appearance of his family rather than how Crier is actually feeling about her upcoming marriage and the other changes in her life. Crier seems to realize throughout the book that her father cares more about his political stance than anything else.
PLOT
Crier's War is set in an alternative future. One where alchemists have crafted mechanical people, called Automaes, who now rule over the humans. The humans originally created them so a powerful queen who could not have children, could have an heir but afterwards Automaes were forged for other human pleasures. However, these Automae rose up and conquered the humans that had made them, making the world a very unsafe and oppressive world for the humans to live in.
Ayla is a human girl who craves revenge against the Automa who killed her family. She is a servant who works for the Automa king, Hesod, and one day she saves the princess' life. The princess is named Crier and she offers a job to Ayla as her handmaiden. Ayla accepts the job in order to learn more about her enemy and finally put her revenge plot in action. However, nothing is as she thought and she soon finds herself sympathizing with her enemy and questioning if she can go through with her revenge, even though a lot more people are now counting on her. The plot of Crier's War was a high stakes, intense adventure. There were various political intrigues, manipulations and brewing revolutions that kept you anticipating each new turn of events.
Crier's War is set in an alternative future. One where alchemists have crafted mechanical people, called Automaes, who now rule over the humans. The humans originally created them so a powerful queen who could not have children, could have an heir but afterwards Automaes were forged for other human pleasures. However, these Automae rose up and conquered the humans that had made them, making the world a very unsafe and oppressive world for the humans to live in.
Ayla is a human girl who craves revenge against the Automa who killed her family. She is a servant who works for the Automa king, Hesod, and one day she saves the princess' life. The princess is named Crier and she offers a job to Ayla as her handmaiden. Ayla accepts the job in order to learn more about her enemy and finally put her revenge plot in action. However, nothing is as she thought and she soon finds herself sympathizing with her enemy and questioning if she can go through with her revenge, even though a lot more people are now counting on her. The plot of Crier's War was a high stakes, intense adventure. There were various political intrigues, manipulations and brewing revolutions that kept you anticipating each new turn of events.
ROMANCE
The romance in this book was done really well. It was a slow-burn enemies to almost lovers between two women. Their love is forbidden because one is a princess Automae betrothed to another and the other is a human servant girl. I really liked how Nina Varela developed their relationship as they grew from enemies to slowly being friends, even though still didn't know if they could trust each other.
WRITING
I really enjoyed Nina Varela's writing. She is able to construct the first book in a new fantasy series in such a way that just makes you want to continue. She was able to introduce new information to the reader as well as maintain the fairly brisk pace of the plot. I also really liked how she was able to add flashbacks in without making it confusing to the main plot.
The romance in this book was done really well. It was a slow-burn enemies to almost lovers between two women. Their love is forbidden because one is a princess Automae betrothed to another and the other is a human servant girl. I really liked how Nina Varela developed their relationship as they grew from enemies to slowly being friends, even though still didn't know if they could trust each other.
WRITING
I really enjoyed Nina Varela's writing. She is able to construct the first book in a new fantasy series in such a way that just makes you want to continue. She was able to introduce new information to the reader as well as maintain the fairly brisk pace of the plot. I also really liked how she was able to add flashbacks in without making it confusing to the main plot.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Crier's War is a fast-paced well-written debut filled with political intrigue, lush writing, enticing characters and a thrilling plot. I recommend this to everyone and I can't wait to see what the sequel entails.
Quotes from the Book:
“Humanity is how you act, my lady,” said Jezen. “Now how you were Made.”
Crier's War is a fast-paced well-written debut filled with political intrigue, lush writing, enticing characters and a thrilling plot. I recommend this to everyone and I can't wait to see what the sequel entails.
Quotes from the Book:
“Humanity is how you act, my lady,” said Jezen. “Now how you were Made.”
“Justice was a god, and Ayla didn’t believe in such childish things. She believed in blood.”
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns
