This book destroyed me emotionally and put me back together in 612 pages. Misaki was such a multi layered character. She was a mother struggling with motherhood, a wife forced to comply with tradition, a swordswoman forced to retire for her other 2 roles. This book had a slow start, but when it picked up, it moved so fast and was so action packed. The dual points of view offered insight into both characters which made this interesting from the jump. The description of the fighting scenes was vividly detailed. I felt myself holding my breath during some of these intense scenes. We also get some major character growth from the one I hated at first. I also believe this book has a satisfying ending, despite it not being the war and violence as I originally wanted lol. If you are a fan of high fantasy books, I would definitely encourage you to give this a try.