Crier's War Books in Order

The Crier's War duology is a young adult fantasy with science-fiction edges, set in a kingdom where human-made beings now rule over the people who created them. Fifty years after the War of Kinds, the Automae control Rabu's estates and political life, while humans live under harsh limits. The series begins from inside that imbalance, then follows the pressure building beneath it.

Ayla is human, angry, and determined to avenge the deaths of her family. She rises into service at the House of the Sovereign with one clear goal: get close enough to kill Lady Crier, the ruler's daughter. Crier, meanwhile, was designed to be beautiful, capable, and ready to carry on her father's legacy. Her planned future starts to come apart when she sees how much of it has been arranged for her.

Their first meeting changes both of their plans. Ayla becomes Crier's handmaiden, putting revenge within reach, while Crier begins to question the rules and loyalties that have shaped her life. The romance grows slowly, and the obstacle is not their queerness. It is the history of violence and power between humans and Automae.

Nobody gets to stay safely neutral for long.

Crier's War balances palace politics with a close look at its two leads. Crier has to reckon with what it means to be Made, privileged, and expected to obey. Ayla has to decide whether anger alone can guide her through a fight for freedom. Around them are rival leaders, an arranged marriage, restless human resistance, and competing ideas about whether the two peoples can ever live together.

Iron Heart picks up as the conflict becomes open revolution. Ayla is a fugitive tied to Queen Junn's effort to destroy the Iron Heart, a source of power that could determine the Automae's survival. Crier has fled the palace as well, and the two women are pushed back toward each other while war threatens to close off every easy answer. The sequel keeps the emotional focus on them, but raises the stakes from personal revenge to the future of the kingdom.

Expect a tense, romantic duology with court schemes, rebellion, and questions about who gets to define humanity. Start with Crier's War and continue directly to Iron Heart, since the second book resolves the larger story.