I went into this pretty much blind, as I tend to do with books once I add them to my list. I liked that this book examined the mental ramifications of war even more than the physical, while still using period-appropriate language and diagnoses. (It's clear that Arden put in a lot of research on that front.) And while the story was overall very dark and depressing, we do end with a semblance of hope. I usually struggle to get into historical fiction, and this one was no exception, but the audiobook was a great help.  I can't exactly put my finger on what was missing, but this didn't quite reach 5 stars for me. Regardless, I fully recommend. This has me looking forward to The Winternight Trilogy, the first book of which has been sitting on my shelves for years now.

Big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!