This is another book that I tried to read last year but just could not get into. Something told me though that I should give it another shot and I am so glad I did! I thoroughly enjoy Lex, she was sarcastic, funny and while yes she was incredibly hotheaded she didn't act brash. In fact most of the time she responded to situations in realistic and rational, a bit of a welcome change from what seems to be a trend in other fantasy series.

I also enjoy that Lex was a veteran. There are not too many Veterans represented in books and also the fact that Lex was a female veteran was even more surprisingly and enjoyable. It gave her knowledge and understanding that seemed practical and not just a boom she knows for reason kinda deal. The side characters were okay, although there were moments that I felt they were just there for filler, that was mostly with Lex's family.

A couple of things I did not like. First, the romance was entirely predictable and not at all setup. It was something that just kinda was there suddenly. Did it add to the story, not really besides a bit of unnecessary drama that I felt the book didn't need. Secondly, this fell into the trope of the protagonist has dormant magical power that she has never used in her life but instinctively knows how to use. It's a bit over used in my opinion by a lot of fantasy writers and it just needs to be stopped.