2.5 stars!

I'm really torn about this one! I loved the idea of this book and how it's about a retired soldier struggling with her role as a widowed mom of 2, while battling the need to pick up the sword again. The execution, however, was different from what I expected.

My expectations certainly played a big role in how I experienced the story - that and ... the writing style. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me, and the first half was where I struggled the most to get into the story - with lots of short or even half-finished sentences that, I assume, were meant to represent her distraught mind & inner conflict. Also, after a while, her inner monologue started to feel a bit tiresome and repetitive. Luckily, curiosity kept me going. The last part flowed a lot better and made it easier for me to focus on what was going on. But even so, I could never really get a feel for the main character and had a hard time comprehending her & her actions, especially towards the end.

This book has received a lot of praise and I feel like I'm in the minority here. But not every book can click with everybody ofc and that's okay. I'm still very much intrigued by this author and intend to pick up Empires of Dust soon!