Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to view this arc in exchange for an honest review, **

TW: SA, Child Abuse, Misogyny, War

I had high hopes for this book, its just not the book for me. I loved the premise of a dark Mulan with political intrigue and a diverse cast of characters, the execution however left much to be desired in my opinion. The MC, Lara and her love interests are very thought provoking and have a passionate relationship, but their reactions to the abuse she suffers is just so messed up. After Lara is sexually assaulted, her love interests make her suffering about them. They flow between viewing her as this object that exists exclusively for their fantasies, to viewing her as this innocent, virginal being that needs constant protection from every man in the world. Also the fact every single male character wants to hook up with her for some reason and call her little one??  Alessandro and Nicola were very stereotypical "alpha men" who sexualize Lara at every chance (enough to walk out of the room to "control themselves" around her) even though their entirely aware of the trauma she's been and  continues to go through. Lara is also referred to as "little lara" for a majority of the book, which gave me the ick. One of the only positive things i gleaned from this book is the positive representation for polyamorous relationships and sex work, which were handled very well.