Iron Heart (Crier's War, 2, Band 2)

I devoured the first, and the second accompanies me on all my daily journeys. I can't wait to continue witnessing Crier's evolution. Thank you Ms. Varela for these moments of joy, frustration, sadness and, above all, suspense!

LOVE THIS BOOK!

As was true for the first book of this series, I absolutely loved this novel! As a continuation, this story did a great job starting off where it left us. The characters continued to be incredible and the world further expanded into even more to love. We finally got to see many of the places that were mentioned in the first book and they were fleshed out beautifully. While I wish the two main characters’ storylines came back together sooner (since they were apart for a hefty chunk of the beginning of this book), once they did come back together, it was done really well. At first, I was worried all of the plot wouldn’t be able to get tied together cleanly, but of course, I had nothing to worry about and it was done well. My only complaint from this book is that there really wasn’t as much romance as I had been hoping. Partially to blame for this, of course, is that the romance got cut short because of the large portion of the book where the characters were physically apart. I also, however, felt like some parts of the story dragged or were weighed down by details that didn’t need to be there. There were times I would just graze over parts of the book because they just got too wordy—or rewordy (you’ll see what I mean). What I mean by that, is that, for example, Ayla’s backstory of “that day” when her village burned down felt like it was repeated at least four times. It wasn’t new information, we had already heard it before, so it felt a little bit dragging to the story to be retelling it so many times. The characters also seemed to reflect on their romantic interactions from the first book more than they created new ones. I felt like the characters just continued to pine for a bit too long. It was good in the first book and, in part, it was good for some of this one. But at some point, I had been expecting that the second book in this series would have a little more actually happen between the two love interests. Their storyline was cute and I loved how they interacted with each other, but there were so many moments where they had the perfect set up for some romance and it hardly went anywhere besides maybe a little hand-holding which was a little disappointing. Overall, I loved the book. Maybe if it had been a tiny bit longer or a few of the repetitive parts were cut out and replaced with more romance so that we could see more of what Crier and Ayla were like as an actual couple, I would have been completely satisfied. I still think this story deserves five stars and it’s one I absolutely love to death. There were a lot of beautifully written passages and the plot really was wonderfully unique. I look forward to more from this author!

Update: Der Kaufbetrag wurde aus Kulanz erstattet und das Buch durfte behalten werden. Als Geschenk zwar immernoch ungeeignet aber daher die Sternewertung erhöht.Das Buch ist natürlich leserlich. An und für sich kann ich den Inhalt noch nicht beurteilen. Der Versand allerdings war leider sehr enttäuschend. Das Buch kam trotz intakter Verpackung beschädigt an und trübt so sofort den ersten Eindruck. Sonst wäre das nicht weiter tragisch, als Geschenk jedoch sieht das leider sehr unschön aus. Buch geht deshalb wieder zurück und die Suche geht weiter.

After finishing Crier’s War earlier this year, I was an emotional mess and I wasn’t ready to read whatever Nina Varela would throw at me with Iron Heart. What should I say? I was right and most definitely NOT READY.The story again follows both Ayla and Crier – after the former tried (and failed) to kill the latter. While Ayla fled into the neighbouring country of Varn, Crier stayed behind in her home country to go through with an arranged marriage. It was kind of sad to see that the two of them were apart after they somehow grew together during the first book. But it made the yearning and pining so much better! To see how the two of them take their time to finally realize and acknowledging their feelings for each other was simply delicious. Still, I appreciate that romance is an underlying current rather than the whole stream. The focus lies on far more important things than just falling in love and I love how the author incorporated the love story into the main events without taking the focus off the latter.More important to both Ayla and Crier is the fact that their world is on the brink of war and everything they knew might change. On top of that, a new menace arises in the corners of the country, threatening both humans and Automae alike. Even if separated, Ayla and Crier loosely follow the same goal: weaken the Automa rule over the humans (though Crier advocates for a shared lifestyle, Ayla’s approach is quite drastic).The strongest aspect of the book is the depiction of the oppression of one species over one that is thought lesser of, and the subsequent question of “What makes us human?”. While the Automae generally see themselves as perfection (some going so far as trying to wipe out the entire human race), some of them acknowledge the differences between them and humans and still try to find a lifestyle that is profitable for everyone. The whole question of “What makes us human?” is strong enough to make me, as a reader, think about it even after finishing the book. The answer isn’t as easy as “emotions” (like some Automae) think, but way more complex and is beautifully incorporated throughout both books of the series by Varela.Overall, I can’t go on without raving over Varela’s beautiful writing style. It’s melodic, poetic, dreamlike. But at the same time fast-paced enough not to bore the reader. It’s fast enough to depict amazing action-packed scenes, but also slow enough to show small, heartfelt moments between characters.The characters – and representation, for that matter – are something else. It was easy to connect with both Ayla and Crier, even though Crier is not human and often quarrels with herself and her emotions. But it is easy to see both of their inner workings, their thoughts, their reasons behind their actions. They are complex and three-dimensional and wonderfully easy to follow along. You don’t need to break your neck to see their reasonings and even if you don’t have to agree with how they act, you understand them. I’m especially proud of the representation here. There are many LGBTQ+ characters, both in the spotlight and in the everyday life you get to see throughout the chapters. Characters aren’t only she/her and he/him, but also they/them (which, in my opinion, we don’t see enough in books!) and it all comes naturally, as it should be. There are several forms of love in this book – not just the one between lovers, but also family, friends, love for culture and so much more. Iron Heart is a book of love, even if you might not see it at first glance.Overall, I deeply enjoyed reading Iron Heart. It’s a thrilling sequel and end for the duology, with amazing world-building, wonderful character arcs and a more than satisfying ending to all the loose threads. It prods you to think for yourself and question the order you know. It shows the rights and wrongs of a world that can easily be projected on our own. And most of all, it’s a queer book, not only for queer readers but for all readers. I strongly recommend this book if you love sapphic leads, good worldbuilding and overall a book that will stay with you even after you finished it!

The first book was truly a joy to read, intriguing world building, conflict and characters, complex motivations and dire consequences for failure.The second book threw all this away and became an average adventure novel(Spoiler)The characters lose their uniqueness, it suddenly turns into everything-is-good-when-the-good-guys-win story. The "dark reveal" is made irrelevant.Characters just suddenly teleport to plot points (Storm turns up suddenly saving MCs, they meet suddenly in the wilderness, they just happen to stumble across each other), and they are always there were you need them.The consequences to become irrelevant (we are lead to believe that the servant girl isnt tortured and killed when in the first book humans were killed for being suspected of rebellion), the bandits dont kill MC even tho they have no use for her alive, ect.The scyre turns from a complex, mysterious plotting antagonist to a Disney villain (he is literally described as an angry boy playing at war) with a happy ending the moment he is defeated. Seem like people just forget about the starving humans in the street, power vacuums and open traitors, not to mention the fall of central authority and the ambitious foreign monarch who isn't afraid to use violence to gain more power (at least in the first book, in this one the Queen lost all her finesse)In summary this book took a good story and made it generic, boring and not worth buying.

Iron Heart has a very different tone and pacing from Crier's War, and thank god it does. Crier's War was all about introducing us to this complex world and even more complex characters, while Iron Heart is more adventure-focused and deals head on with the events set in motion by the first book.My favorite part of Iron Heart, however, is how Crier and Ayla have a chance to grow separetely before being reuinted. They were clearly already in love by the end of the first book, but there was so much they didn't understand about each other and about themselves, and this book gave them exactly that.I will admit that some plot points were a little too convenient (their random meeting near Lake Thea, mainly), but this is a fantasy novel after all and if fate brought them together that one time who am I to complain? The world building and the plot are fantastic, but Crier's War & Iron Heart's strongest selling points are the main characters.I'm sad that this story is over and I won't get to see more of Crier and Ayla, but I'm satisfied with the way their story ended and I'm looking forward to whatever Varela writes next.

Iron Heart is the sequel to Crier's War and a great ending to the serie.The human revolution againts the Automae is on the rise. Ayla is on the run as a fugitive. Instead of killing Crier like she was supposed to, she fell in love with her. But Crier is also on the run, having learn what her father and also what Kinok truly planned to do she must run. Wanting nothing to do with this. Crossing path with Ayla once more both of them will have a lot to do to stop this and when Crier find out the truth behind the heartstone produce by the Iron Heart, she will want to find an alternate source for the Automae power source.

I absolutely adored this book. I loved it as much as the first book, if not more. It was fast-paced, filled with so many emotions, and it just... wow. It's incredible.