Here's my controversial opinion, this book is just fine, and maybe not even good. Which I found to be rather disappointing, especially after the emotionally raw character driven study, that is, Shadows of Self, which is my favorite Era 2 novel.

I feel like my main complaints with Bands of Mourning are mostly superficial, as there is no "real" reason for me to not like this book. However, I didn't care while reading this book.

Maybe it is the part of Bands of Mourning, that makes the world feel bigger but in a cheap way, as new people's are introduced, without any hints to them in any other book, making the rewards and payoff seem very shallow.

Maybe it was Treasure Hunt, which is designed to be very confusing, and go against "Lore" until you've read the side story, Secret History. But upon reading that short entry, and then rereading Bands, the mystery feels weak, and vague, the intrigue only being there, simply for your first read through.

Maybe it's the fact that this book feels the most indulgent of Brandon's. It feels like he has a couple of ideas that he wants to do, but for them to work, you really need to understand his world. More time is spent, explaining about investiture, connection, and identity than anything else. And even compared to other Cosmere Lore Dumps (Fabrial's in Rhythm of War), these conversations are rather hard to follow, and kinda boring.

Over all this book is fine, I just have several nit-picky issues with it that immensely drag down my enjoyment. Despite what is my heavily biased and personal opinion, Bands of Mourning is good. I just don't like it.