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inkandplasma
Blog Tour post to come on September 8th: https://inkandplasma.com/2020/09/08/iron-heart/
Rating: 5 stars!
Thanks to HarperTeen and Caffeine Book Tours for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
Trigger Warnings: torture, murder, body horror, kidnapping.
I’ve been anticipating Iron Heart since before I’d actually finished Crier’s War, I loved the first book just that much. It reached a point where I was worried I was over-hyping and that it wouldn’t live up to it. But Iron Heart absolutely did not disappoint. I was swept away by the conclusion to this epic duology, particularly having had no idea what was going to happen next when I finished Crier’s War. I actually reread Crier’s War prior to reading Iron Heart, but if it’s been a while since you’ve read it, you’ll be okay. The beginning of Iron Heart gently reminds you of everything that you need to know – but who wouldn’t jump on the opportunity to reread Crier’s War?
Iron Heart is more political than Crier’s War with more of a focus on the conflict between ARM and the humans, which I really enjoyed as I had been so curious about life outside Rabu. I liked getting to see more of the world, Iron Heart delves into Thalen and the rest of Varn, which is a very different kind of world to Rabu. Seeing the relationships between Automae and humans was fascinating, as it was hinted at in the first book but properly delved into here that the way humans were treated in Rabu wasn’t the same as how they were treated in Varn. It also let Nina Varela gift us with a glorious fake dating scene that I didn’t expect but passionately, passionately loved. The titular Iron Heart is also featured, though I won’t go into detail how, and that really made me feel the depth of world-building in this story, as I had expectations in mind that were totally shattered. This is a fast paced and incredibly concluded series, with the secrets and mysteries from the first book carefully unravelled and leading to a satisfying conclusion.
And then there’s the obvious draw of this sequel. Crier and Ayla. Crier and Ayla. The end of Crier’s War was an emotional masterpiece and I couldn’t wait to see how it played out in the sequel. And oh boy, it was perfection when they collided again. I’m a sucker for enemies-to-lovers but I hate when the complex emotions between them are just dropped for love (yes, I love the yearning and the uncertainty, I’m a masochist). Iron Heart nailed it, with gorgeous conflicted feelings and so, so much yearning. Sapphics will be fed well in this one. The emotional pay off was so good, and I’m already planning on rereading the whole series the second I have my hardback in my hands.
Rating: 5 stars!
Thanks to HarperTeen and Caffeine Book Tours for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
Trigger Warnings: torture, murder, body horror, kidnapping.
I’ve been anticipating Iron Heart since before I’d actually finished Crier’s War, I loved the first book just that much. It reached a point where I was worried I was over-hyping and that it wouldn’t live up to it. But Iron Heart absolutely did not disappoint. I was swept away by the conclusion to this epic duology, particularly having had no idea what was going to happen next when I finished Crier’s War. I actually reread Crier’s War prior to reading Iron Heart, but if it’s been a while since you’ve read it, you’ll be okay. The beginning of Iron Heart gently reminds you of everything that you need to know – but who wouldn’t jump on the opportunity to reread Crier’s War?
Iron Heart is more political than Crier’s War with more of a focus on the conflict between ARM and the humans, which I really enjoyed as I had been so curious about life outside Rabu. I liked getting to see more of the world, Iron Heart delves into Thalen and the rest of Varn, which is a very different kind of world to Rabu. Seeing the relationships between Automae and humans was fascinating, as it was hinted at in the first book but properly delved into here that the way humans were treated in Rabu wasn’t the same as how they were treated in Varn. It also let Nina Varela gift us with a glorious fake dating scene that I didn’t expect but passionately, passionately loved. The titular Iron Heart is also featured, though I won’t go into detail how, and that really made me feel the depth of world-building in this story, as I had expectations in mind that were totally shattered. This is a fast paced and incredibly concluded series, with the secrets and mysteries from the first book carefully unravelled and leading to a satisfying conclusion.
And then there’s the obvious draw of this sequel. Crier and Ayla. Crier and Ayla. The end of Crier’s War was an emotional masterpiece and I couldn’t wait to see how it played out in the sequel. And oh boy, it was perfection when they collided again. I’m a sucker for enemies-to-lovers but I hate when the complex emotions between them are just dropped for love (yes, I love the yearning and the uncertainty, I’m a masochist). Iron Heart nailed it, with gorgeous conflicted feelings and so, so much yearning. Sapphics will be fed well in this one. The emotional pay off was so good, and I’m already planning on rereading the whole series the second I have my hardback in my hands.
DNF @ 12%
I received an audiobook review copy of this book from Tor Books, and while I was super, super anticipating this book, I really struggled with the audiobook. I didn't understand what was going on at any point, despite relistening to some chapters several times. To be fair, this book was great and interesting and had a really good hook at the start, I simply couldn't grasp the fairly complicated stuff that was being explained through the audiobook. That being said, I will probably try and get hold of a physical copy of this at some point, as I think I might fare better if I can read it on the page.
I received an audiobook review copy of this book from Tor Books, and while I was super, super anticipating this book, I really struggled with the audiobook. I didn't understand what was going on at any point, despite relistening to some chapters several times. To be fair, this book was great and interesting and had a really good hook at the start, I simply couldn't grasp the fairly complicated stuff that was being explained through the audiobook. That being said, I will probably try and get hold of a physical copy of this at some point, as I think I might fare better if I can read it on the page.
This book is a roller-coaster, but you know what? It's "just gay enough to work."
Rating: 4 stars
Reverie is a wild,slightly very wacky and completely heart-warming story about a gay teen trying to piece together his memories after an accident left him with amnesia. As those pieces start to fall together, Kane starts to find himself in a world of magic and super-powers, and he's missing more memories than he thought he was. Not just his teen years, but his best friend too, and nobody seems to remember her. I'm usually very iffy about amnesia in books because it's often handled poorly with things over-explained too early and eliminating the uncertainty of missing memories altogether, or with pieces of the puzzle scattered too scarcely leaving the reader as confused as the character. Ryan La Sala manages to leave enough breadcrumbs to keep a reader engaged in the story, revealing Kane's memories slowly and without masses of exposition. And I particularly loved that as Kane's past becomes clearer and clearer, there's ambiguity about whether or not the before-Kane is a good person at all. No main-character-morality armour here.
The premise of this book is one that I'm insanely jealous I didn't think of, and even when I've explained it to people at work who don't generally read fantasy at all (let alone queer YA fantasy) they've still wanted to read it. Reveries are formed from the daydreams of ordinary people, and therefore are filled with quirks and curiosities specific to that person. I loved the idea that a reverie could have been inspired by fiction or pop culture but twisted, because I was exactly the kind of awkward queer teen that spent my bus-rides to school picturing myself at Hogwarts, picturing myself an Avenger, the main character in the novel I'm most recently reading, basically as anything 'cooler' than I am. I could see my own reverie with startling clarity (and I'd be so sorry to anyone dragged into my crazy daydreams, really). The reveries made this book chaotic as hell, plot-twisting at a moment's notice and throwing the characters into a new world with no backstory, no exposition, like a cross-over fanfiction on crack. I loved it.
I don't want to delve too deeply into the characters, because Kane discovering each of the characters in this book is part of the joy of reading it, but let it be very clear that 'drag queen sorceress' does not disappoint, and she is as fierce as she promises to be. The romance in the novel is played beautifully, and I could honestly read another whole book just about the happily ever after these characters deserve, and I think this novel is the portrayal of queer friendships and relationships that I need in my life. It's a big part of the book, this book is unapologetically gay, but there's so much more to it than just that (even when Kane shoots rainbows out of his hands) and I've been waiting forever for queer books to show up that understand that queer-ness is a huge part of someone's identity but doesn't have to overshadow the whole plot of the damn book.
Rating: 4 stars
Reverie is a wild,
The premise of this book is one that I'm insanely jealous I didn't think of, and even when I've explained it to people at work who don't generally read fantasy at all (let alone queer YA fantasy) they've still wanted to read it. Reveries are formed from the daydreams of ordinary people, and therefore are filled with quirks and curiosities specific to that person. I loved the idea that a reverie could have been inspired by fiction or pop culture but twisted, because I was exactly the kind of awkward queer teen that spent my bus-rides to school picturing myself at Hogwarts, picturing myself an Avenger, the main character in the novel I'm most recently reading, basically as anything 'cooler' than I am. I could see my own reverie with startling clarity (and I'd be so sorry to anyone dragged into my crazy daydreams, really). The reveries made this book chaotic as hell, plot-twisting at a moment's notice and throwing the characters into a new world with no backstory, no exposition, like a cross-over fanfiction on crack. I loved it.
I don't want to delve too deeply into the characters, because Kane discovering each of the characters in this book is part of the joy of reading it, but let it be very clear that 'drag queen sorceress' does not disappoint, and she is as fierce as she promises to be. The romance in the novel is played beautifully, and I could honestly read another whole book just about the happily ever after these characters deserve, and I think this novel is the portrayal of queer friendships and relationships that I need in my life. It's a big part of the book, this book is unapologetically gay, but there's so much more to it than just that (even when Kane shoots rainbows out of his hands) and I've been waiting forever for queer books to show up that understand that queer-ness is a huge part of someone's identity but doesn't have to overshadow the whole plot of the damn book.
I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.
Rating: 5 stars
This book made me WEEP. After reading Circe, I went to pick this up and when the bookseller said 'it's even better than Circe' I almost didn't believe her? But it is. It so is. They're both 5 star reads to me, but The Song of Achilles tugged every single one of my heart-strings. Patroclus is exiled after he 'shames' his father and Achilles takes him under his wing despite warnings from Thetis. Watching them slowly fall in love is heart-wrenchingly beautiful, and I almost wish I knew less about Greek myths so I didn't have my own knowledge of Achilles' legend hanging over my head the whole time. That didn't impact my reading experience at all, and this is definitely going to be one of those books I keep recommending to everyone I know until they read it just to shut me up.
Rating: 5 stars
This book made me WEEP. After reading Circe, I went to pick this up and when the bookseller said 'it's even better than Circe' I almost didn't believe her? But it is. It so is. They're both 5 star reads to me, but The Song of Achilles tugged every single one of my heart-strings. Patroclus is exiled after he 'shames' his father and Achilles takes him under his wing despite warnings from Thetis. Watching them slowly fall in love is heart-wrenchingly beautiful, and I almost wish I knew less about Greek myths so I didn't have my own knowledge of Achilles' legend hanging over my head the whole time. That didn't impact my reading experience at all, and this is definitely going to be one of those books I keep recommending to everyone I know until they read it just to shut me up.
Full review: https://inkandplasma.wordpress.com/2020/03/09/the-gravity-of-us-by-phil-stamper-review/
I adored the background and world-building of this book. It was so interesting I was immediately hooked on the searches for the twenty astronaut candidates, Orpheus launches and the discourse around Shooting Stars and its influence on the astronauts and their families. I was addicted to that plot, and probably as fascinated with the space launch as anyone living in that world (except maybe Cal). It did take me a little while to understand what exactly the role of Shooting Stars was, and how the Orpheus program had developed, but once I did I was sold on it. I loved Cal and Leon, but honestly? I was so drawn into the Orpheus stuff that I forgot for a second that this was a romance story. That is the kind of immersive world-building I like.
One of the themes that jumped out from every page was the idea of private life versus public life. The Shooting Stars program put the astronauts' lives on full view, commercialising every part of their time living in Houston. On the surface, it looks like Cal did that anyway. He was streaming on FlashFame, reporting news and New York city life online. So surely he was prepared for this? Well, no. There's a huge separation in our private selves and the public face we publicise for our social media profiles. When Shooting Stars are on the scene, Cal no longer gets to choose what's for himself what's his and what's for public consumption. When he decides to take on Shooting Stars head to head, I was screaming for the little guy, honestly.
He ended up starting a viral campaign to save NASA and it was empowering as hell, reminding me of dozens of similar social media campaigns I've seen where everyone throws their voices together to share a message. I got the same feeling with Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston when social media threw its weight behind Alex and Henry. Admittedly, in the real world, social media doesn't always scream the right message at the right people, but it's empowering to read in fiction anyway - and I sure like it better than most 'unbiased' media outlets.
The romance itself was lush. It was fast-paced, but I don't hate that. Cal and Leon are teenagers, and who didn't fall in love with everyone who smiled at them? I'm aro and I still spent half my teenage years obsessing over everyone who looked at me twice. Cal and Leon are so cute. They want to support each other, thrown together in this strange new situation but drawn to each other's company, and that's really beautiful. They're in a shiny new relationship and the way they act around each other felt endearingly authentic. I don't miss being an awkward teenager, honestly.
Cal's relationships and the way he approached them was something really beautiful and relatable to me. Cal is a fixer. He likes to fix everything. So am I. No matter how much I know I shouldn't, I always feel like I should try and fix things for people when I know what they really need from me is empathy. It made me feel seen in a way I wasn't expecting to see those traits in Cal, and it was kind of an awakening for me to see him work through how he can help the people he loves without being too much about it all. There's anxiety and depression rep in The Gravity of Us to go with the #ownvoices queer rep, and it was deftly and beautifully handled. Cal was learning that he couldn't 'fix' the people he loves, his mother's anxiety, Leon's depression or Deb's money troubles. They just need him to listen, and that has to be enough for him.
I adored the background and world-building of this book. It was so interesting I was immediately hooked on the searches for the twenty astronaut candidates, Orpheus launches and the discourse around Shooting Stars and its influence on the astronauts and their families. I was addicted to that plot, and probably as fascinated with the space launch as anyone living in that world (except maybe Cal). It did take me a little while to understand what exactly the role of Shooting Stars was, and how the Orpheus program had developed, but once I did I was sold on it. I loved Cal and Leon, but honestly? I was so drawn into the Orpheus stuff that I forgot for a second that this was a romance story. That is the kind of immersive world-building I like.
One of the themes that jumped out from every page was the idea of private life versus public life. The Shooting Stars program put the astronauts' lives on full view, commercialising every part of their time living in Houston. On the surface, it looks like Cal did that anyway. He was streaming on FlashFame, reporting news and New York city life online. So surely he was prepared for this? Well, no. There's a huge separation in our private selves and the public face we publicise for our social media profiles. When Shooting Stars are on the scene, Cal no longer gets to choose what's for himself what's his and what's for public consumption. When he decides to take on Shooting Stars head to head, I was screaming for the little guy, honestly.
He ended up starting a viral campaign to save NASA and it was empowering as hell, reminding me of dozens of similar social media campaigns I've seen where everyone throws their voices together to share a message. I got the same feeling with Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston when social media threw its weight behind Alex and Henry. Admittedly, in the real world, social media doesn't always scream the right message at the right people, but it's empowering to read in fiction anyway - and I sure like it better than most 'unbiased' media outlets.
The romance itself was lush. It was fast-paced, but I don't hate that. Cal and Leon are teenagers, and who didn't fall in love with everyone who smiled at them? I'm aro and I still spent half my teenage years obsessing over everyone who looked at me twice. Cal and Leon are so cute. They want to support each other, thrown together in this strange new situation but drawn to each other's company, and that's really beautiful. They're in a shiny new relationship and the way they act around each other felt endearingly authentic. I don't miss being an awkward teenager, honestly.
Cal's relationships and the way he approached them was something really beautiful and relatable to me. Cal is a fixer. He likes to fix everything. So am I. No matter how much I know I shouldn't, I always feel like I should try and fix things for people when I know what they really need from me is empathy. It made me feel seen in a way I wasn't expecting to see those traits in Cal, and it was kind of an awakening for me to see him work through how he can help the people he loves without being too much about it all. There's anxiety and depression rep in The Gravity of Us to go with the #ownvoices queer rep, and it was deftly and beautifully handled. Cal was learning that he couldn't 'fix' the people he loves, his mother's anxiety, Leon's depression or Deb's money troubles. They just need him to listen, and that has to be enough for him.
