Crier's War: An Epic Sapphic Fantasy

Author: Nina Varela
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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.

Posts about this title from The Inkborne Society

My Top 3 of the Month
⭐ 5.00 - Martyr! (Kaveh Akbar)
Martyr! was the star of this month and an absolute masterpiece. Following an orphaned son of Iranian immigrants who is obsessed with the idea of martyrdom, Martyr! delves into themes of grief, addiction, mortality, morality, family, and more, all brought to life through writing that is deeply evocative and piercing. I am still processing the last few chapters, but wow, what a book.
⭐ 4.25 - A Forbidden Alchemy (Stacey McEwan)
I ate this romantasy up!! Set in a world in which children are whisked away to the capital city to get tested for magical potential at the age of 12, a fated pair uncover a world-changing secret and are thrust into a violent class war, navigating love, loss, and devastating betrayals. This book had solid pacing, dynamic relationships, betrayals that kept me on my toes, and overall, was an exciting and engaging read. I know some people hate the love triangle, but the tension in this one was SO good and I think it's definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of the romantasy genre!
⭐ 4.00 - Assassin’s Quest (Robin Hobb)
And so, my journey with the Farseer trilogy comes to an end. Robin Hobb’s character work really brought this story to life, and by the time I finished this book, I felt like I had lived several years with these characters. While I thought the pace slightly dragged at times, overall, this was a solid conclusion to the series and I was satisfied with Fitz’s story arc.

Other Reads and Ratings:

⭐ 4.00 - The Phoenix Pencil Company (Allison King)
The Phoenix Pencil Company features a hidden and nearly forgotten magic - of Reforging pencils, bringing the memories they contain back to life. I was really interested in how this book was going to explore generational storytelling, and I loved the family saga aspect of the tale. However, I thought other elements (mostly those involving the romance) were not well-executed and detracted from the impact of the story. Overall, still a solid debut!
⭐ 3.75 - The Vanished Birds (Simon Jimenez)
In The Vanished Birds, a mysterious child lands in the care of a solitary woman, changing both of their lives forever. I really enjoyed the lyrical prose, but the book felt disjointed at times, with the first chapter feeling almost like a completely different story. That said, this is a space opera that takes readers across space and time, and I did appreciate Jimenez’s innovative storytelling.
⭐ 3.75 - Crier’s War (Nina Varela)
Crier’s War is a sapphic YA sci-fantasy book about the impossible love between two girls - one human, one Made - that could birth a revolution. I first added this book to my TBR back in November when I was looking for books like Arcane, and I am happy to report that the main character in this book did have some Cait and Vi vibes! However, this story wasn’t particularly original or memorable, and I do not plan on continuing the series.
⭐ 3.50 - Black Salt Queen (Samantha Basil)
I really wanted to like this one, but ultimately, I struggled with how flat the characters felt and the surface-level storytelling. I did appreciate the Filipino cultural inspirations and thought the story had a lot of potential though!
⭐ 3.50 - Immortal Consequences (I.V. Marie)
The premise of this book caught my eyes months ago (boarding school at the edge of the afterlife sounded so intriguing), but this is another book that unfortunately didn’t work for me because of how stale and underdeveloped the characters all felt. That said, I do think there are readers out there who would enjoy this fast-paced, plot-driven YA dark academia fantasy!

Note: June has been a very busy month for me on the personal side of things, so I apologize for the lack of activity on my Bindery. July will also unfortunately be a busy month for me, but hopefully I will have more time to post in future months. Thank you for sticking around, and let me know if there's anything you want to see!