Crier's War by Nina Varela (Spoiler, it's gay!)

 

"For the queer readers. You deserve every adventure." - Nina Varela

Ah. The classic enemies to lovers trope. Who doesn’t love it? But let’s give it a twist. A sapphic enemies to lovers. Still not interested? What about a sapphic enemies to lovers novel that involves robots, a dystopian world, and a forbidden romance? If that’s what you're craving, then Crier’s War by Nina Varela is the perfect book for you. 

Crier’s War is set in a dystopian fantasy world where Automae, humanoid mechanical creatures, rule over the human race. While originally Made for a barren human queen, the Automae eventually revolted and started a war, a War of Kinds, which they won. Now they dominate the lands of Zulla as royalty and the superior creatures of the world, magnificent in every way. They don’t need to eat, they don’t need to drink, they don’t need to breathe, and their features are molded to perfection. The only weakness they have—if it is even considered a weakness, is redstone, a mineral that acts as their lifesource. The mineral’s only mine, the Iron Heart, is secretly hidden in the mountains, out of reach from any human. 

“It was the way their skin stretched over their hand-designed muscles and bones. Like it could barely keep all the monster inside.”

Lady Crier is an Automae, and not just any Automae. No, Lady Crier is royalty—the Sovereign’s daughter. As the Sovereign’s daughter, of course, she was Made to be beautiful. Flawless. Perfect. Which becomes a little bit of a problem when she realizes she’s not. 

Of course, that’s not Crier’s only problem. Meet Ayla, a human servant who dreams of murdering Lady Crier herself. Ayla’s vendetta isn’t personal, of course, but when your family’s dead because of the Sovereign, what isn’t the best revenge but your daughter dead at your feet? Obviously murder is bad(?), but fair.  

“Ayla wanted to see her break things, wanted to see her broken, wanted to watch her break apart, wanted to be the cause of it.”

Yikes. 

Oh, did I mention that Ayla’s in a revolution that aims to topple the Automae’s rule by finding the Iron Heart? What a perfect opportunity it is, then, that Lady Crier decides to hire her as her new lady-in-waiting. While that does mean Ayla will have to lay back on murdering Lady Crier for a while, at least it’ll all work in the end. Right?

Nina Varela weaves her readers into a soul-aching story of two people unexpectedly falling in love, embellishing the novel with a fantastic setting, a complex and intriguing plot, and ahem LESBIANS.