Thank you to NetGalley & Angry Robot for sending me an arc in return for an honest review!

A gory and violent tale following Briar, the commander of the shields and a fearsome woman not to be disregarded!

Briar is such a compelling character, she is an older woman than we typically see in fantasy, and she felt so real - she struggles and is put in tough positions but doesn’t let others (stupid men) undermine her. the main cast of characters were fun to read about, and i loved kester’s development and growth as a person

The little magic that we do see is interesting, and it’s woven in to moments of tension!! by following briar we get to experience the world and see the growing divide between the shields 

I adored the tiny romantic subplot that we did get, and i’m so happy that they got their happy ending!!