tl;dr sapphic enemies to lovers excellence
Premise
After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, Designed to be the playthings of royals, took over the estates of their owners and bent the human race to their will.
Now, Ayla, a human servant rising the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging the death of her family… by killing the Sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier. Crier, who was Made to be beautiful, to be flawless. And to take over the work of her father.
Crier had been preparing to do just that—to inherit her father’s rule over the land. But that was before she was betrothed to Scyre Kinok, who seems to have a thousand secrets. That was before she discovered her father isn’t as benevolent as she thought. That was before she met Ayla.
Rating
5/5 stars
Review
I loved this book! The story was so beautifully crafted, and all of the characters were so interesting to learn about, especially with their complex backstories. I fell in love with all of the characters, and I'm very excited for the next book to see how everything plays out.
The book draws on some popular YA fantasy elements (the one-bed trope, rebellion, etc) but it also introduced some very fascinating new elements with its magic system, worldbuilding, and main conflicts. It also handled power dynamics really well because Ayla and Crier are of different social classes, yet while Crier considers them as equals and sees them as more alike than not, Ayla recognizes the clear social division between humans and Made people.
This book is slower in terms of action and rather delves more into political intrigue and schemes, which I thought was very interesting. I spent much of the book trying to unravel the hints of character histories, and when things started to click together, it was really satisfying. There are definitely still some questions left to be answered, so I'm excited to read the next book!
Other Info
First book in a duology
13+
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Criers-War-Nina-Varela/dp/0062823949
Would I Recommend?
100%
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