Iron Heart by Nina Varela (Blog Tour) ft. some amazing sapphic novels you all should read!

Thank you to Shealea and Caffeine Book Tours for making me a part of this blog tour and giving me the ARC of this amazing sequel. The opinions expressed below are completely honest and receiving the ARC has in no way affected my review.

You can see the tour schedule here. It included the other tour stops and you should definitely check out the amazing reviews they have written!

An unstoppable love between two girls—one human, one Made—both set on destroying the Iron Heart.

For too long the cruel, beautiful Automae have lorded over the kingdom of Rabu, oppressing the humans who live there. But the human revolution is on the rise, and at its heart is Ayla. Once handmaiden, now fugitive, Ayla escaped the palace of Lady Crier, the girl Ayla had planned to kill . . . but instead fell in love with. Now Ayla has pledged her allegiance to Queen Junn, whom she believes can accomplish the ultimate goal of the human rebellion: destroy the Iron Heart. Without it, the Automae will be weakened to the point of extinction.

But playing at Ayla’s memory are the powerful feelings she developed for Crier. And unbeknownst to her, Crier has also fled the palace, taking up among travelling rebels, determined to find and protect Ayla.

As their paths collide, neither are prepared for the dark secret underlying the Iron Heart.

In this stunning sequel to acclaimed author Nina Varela’s Crier’s War, the love that launched a revolution must now pave the way for a whole new era . . . and the ultimate change of heart

MY REVIEW:

In this stunning sequel to Crier’s War, Nina Varela expertly wraps up the story giving us a slow-burn f/f/ romance, sibling reunion, an uprising and perfect resolution which blew me out of the water. 

Crier and Ayla were separated at the beginning of this book which killed me in anticipation of them being reunited. I did love hearing their respective thoughts about the other in their time apart as they tried to make sense of everything that had gone down in book 1. 

Crier accepts her love Ayla and questions why Ayla wanted to hurt her. She writes Ayla love letters and also escapes her wedding to try and find her. On the there hand, Ayla is conflicted and unsure of her thoughts on Crier. She continuously reprimands herself for not being able to stab Crier. 
Honestly this dynamic killed me. I loved the tension and longing and confusion. 

The plot was also paced perfectly. It started off slowly, helping you delve into the book from where it was left off at the end of Crier’s War and slowly picked up pace leading to the climax, the confrontation and uprising. It’s wonderful pacing made it very hard for me to put it down and is also the reason I was distracted during my lecture, oops. 

Moreover, the world building is perfect despite it being just two books. Of course there are many aspects I’d like to know more about and things that aren’t completely formed but it is all understandable by the reader, which is the beauty of it. 

Lastly, I’d like to mention Queen Junn, a complex character who was morally grey and had very well kept secrets which intrigued me. She is one character I’d love to read more about and I really wish Nina would write us an amazing spin-off featuring Storme and Junn. 

Recommended if you like sci-fi and/or slow-burn star-crossed f/f romances.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nina Varela is a nationally awarded writer of screenplays, short fiction, poetry, and novels. In May 2017, she graduated magna cum laude from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with a BFA in Writing for Screen & Television. Crier’s War was her debut, and this is the sequel. She is originally from Durham, North Carolina, where she grew up on a hippie commune in the middle of the woods. She now lives in Los Angeles.

Author website || Goodreads  || Instagram ||Twitter

Some other sapphic novels you all need to read:

1. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

I can never ever recommend this book enough! It consists of an amazing adventure across the lands, featuring various characters, all of whom you fall completely in love with and dragons and a war. Moreover, it has a soft slow-burn sapphic romance which is one of the cutest I’ve ever read!

2. Tell Me How You Really Feel by Animah Mae Safi

An enemies to lovers sapphic romance set in high school? Sign me up. This book was also slow and just so lovely as the MCs get to know each other and figure out they don’t actually hate each other and then get together.

3. You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson

A really cute romance featuring a beauty pageant and bonding with an old friend and it was just so CUTE. Plus, Liz is a total Queen and I will Stan her till the end of my days.

So that’s it for today! Have you read Crier’s War? What did you think of it? Are you excited for Iron Heart? What are some of your other favourite sapphic romances? Let me know in the comments below!

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