Wow, this book threw me for a loop. It was much darker than I anticipated, and the "heroes" start off as true villains.
First of all, the setting: it feels like an old time-y setting (no guns/tech) and the world is in the middle of a brutal war between two countries, one that follows the god of sun (Sol) and the goddess of moon (Lune). The war has been raging for decades, and most young and able bodied men are at war or dead. Women are left at home unprotected, and as different troops travel to gain ground on their enemy they take over villages and homes.
Lumen, the Lady of Fenn Manor now that she's the only one left, refuses to abandon her home and the few mainly elderly tenants who live in the village. An enemy army arrive and take up home in the manor, ransacking it for items to sell to feed their army. The general, Dominick Westbrook, says that she will warm his bed. And here lies the big problematic part of the book: consent cannot be given if it's coerced. While Lumen enjoys hooking up with the general, she isn't given a choice - at least at first. And the way he behaves is truly despicable, threatening to pass her around to his two friends. (And it's stated that he's done this before in every home/village they overtake.)
Lumen is a strong heroine not in physical strength but in intelligence and compassion. She refuses to abandon her home and her tenants, she helps and teaches the army's healer, she makes sacrifices so her tenants may get food and mercy.
My favorite character was the 10 year old boy, Colin, who acts as a spy for the army and takes a liking to Lumen.
TW: coerced sex, implied rape/past rape, child abuse, violence, (accidental) domestic violence