Crier's War: 1

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Cast Full of Gay: Very full. The two main characters are both either gay or bisexual. Almost all of the fairy tale stories told involve a same-sex couple. Several other characters are involved in queer romances. There are also two characters that are non-binary or genderfluid: Erren and Wender. The distinction between humans and Automae, and the power structure based on this distinction, definitely functions as a metaphor for a number of structural inequalities like racism, sexism, classism, and any other number of -isms. A book that uses a fantasy metaphor to explore social inequality can easily come across as ham-fisted. In this case it was well-executed and it worked.

Artificial Human: The Automae are Designed and Made, given life through an alchemical process. They do not require sleep or food — it is unclear if they need to breathe — but they do require heartstone to function and are capable of sleeping and eating if they choose to do so. They view themselves as being inherently superior to humanity, but so far their culture and society is still based on the human society that preceded them. Undercover as Lovers: Ayla and Lady Crier pose as married when staying in an estate after fleeing from Rabu to Varn. Love Is a Weakness: Ayla refuses to let herself feel anything for Benjy, since she believes it will "weaken" her.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. Ayla was such a great main character to follow. Driven by revenge for her family, she’s having a hard time letting people in and her growth in the story was absolutely stunning. I loved the way she grows attached to Crier and seeing her dealing with all of these conflicted feelings, SO well done. Great Offscreen War: The War of Kinds, where the Automae overthrew humanity and took control of Zulla. Hidden in Plain Sight: Lady Crier finds Yora's Heart in her father's trophy room. Presumably, it has been there ever since Ayla's village was destroyed, but Hesod didn't recognize its significance.

However, Crier’s War did stumble at places. The setup wasn’t the most original to begin with. There was very little worldbuilding, and the sole focus on the two leads rendered most of the side characters one-dimensional and forgettable. Crier almost questioned that—it was no secret that Council-member Reyka hated everything about the Anti-Reliance Movement, including Kinok himself. But another word caught her attention. “A scandal?” she asked. “What kind of scandal?” Artificial Limbs: At the climax of the conflict, a cybernetic leg is made for Ayla after her leg was shattered.

Crier’s War by Nina Varela is the first novel in this authors debut series. Only one book has been published thus far with the second set to release September 8th, 2020. This book’s tagline is: Altar Diplomacy: Marriages for political and economic reasons are so common amongst the nobility in Zulla that Lady Crier views this as the only legitimate reason to get married at all. Despite accepting the practice in general, she is crushed to discover that this was the entire reason her father had her Made in the first place. She was never intended to be his heir, but to be a negotiating tool if there was ever a political opponent who he couldn’t kill and needed to control in other ways. Benjy kisses Ayla before they begin the mission to steal Kinok's compass. Ayla herself does not know what Benjy intended, and thinks that it felt like "closure". Readers will find themselves immersed in a sapphic story shrouded in political intrigue.[…] A lush […] fantasy debut with science fiction elements and LGBTQIA+ representation, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass.” — School Library Journal Foreign Culture Fetish: Sovereign Hesod is a supporter of "Traditionalism", so he continues many human customs and traditions even though they don't really serve any purpose for Automae. He argues that since human civilization prospered for so long there is much that Automae can learn from them. His respect for humanity itself is purely surface level, since he sees Automae as the new successors of civilization.