I needed to take some time to properly review this book so as not to get influenced by recency bias.

There is no doubt that this book was intended to be longer. SenLinYu crafts wonderful characters set in a dark world where she focuses not on the usual hero-type protagonists in war. Instead she focuses on the people who support those heroes. The ones often forgotten—the "side characters". They are "side characters" to most, as people perceive them as playing lesser roles. Whether that is true or not is up to you, after you've read this.

I mean come one, that last line? Hello?

A book to me is often the most remembered because it took me on a journey with these characters. I've come to almost shadow them like a ghost in every turn. Like Helena we also don't know what's happened, we are picking up the pieces with her.

I love that all the characters introduced are not throw away names as each one had purpose throughout the story. I would love to read more work like this.

I would like to comment more about every minute detail but I do not want to take away from anyone's experience with this.

I will 100% recommend to readers who are not in for light fluff and stories with common tropes. There are trigger warnings! Heed them well. This was definitely for me. I love a story that until now I will compare to all the other books I've read and new books I'll read.

What a journey. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐