With Halfheart, Linden A. Lewis has crafted something special: a heartbreaking standalone epic fantasy novel which shines in many aspects, a fast-paced epic tale that also has the space to interweave two stories in the same world, playing with the own nature of narrative, all with a badass female main-character, and at the center, a story that explores grief from many perspectives while keeping the epic scale of the stakes.

Years ago, the God of War took everything from the mercenary Mordrena Halfheart: her power, her family, her homeland, and even her god; completely alone in the world, she takes the opportunity when offered, joining a coalition of Mages that aim to find a weapon that will allow them to finally destroy War. But War is not the only god in Mordrena's path, as other seems to be lurking in the shadows, trying to manipulate her in order to serve another purpose; a journey that will test our characters as they try to find the weapon that will end War, but also allowing us to understand more about them.

Part of what makes this a brilliant novel is how Lewis intertwines two stories across the way, playing with the own figure of the narrator telling us about Halfheart, breaking the fourth wall, and another one whose relevance might not be understood at the start, but which in parts, also represents something similar. In part, what is being explored by both stories is the own nature of grief, how it affects people, and how it is possible to cope and rebuild yourself after the loss.
Mordrena is a marvelous main character, a badass female mercenary who is far from her best years, still trying to process all she lost at the hands of War; somebody in a really dark moment of her life, but who still tries once she's given the needed motivation. But the rest of the cast is equally brilliant, even if they are overshadowed by the sheer force of Mordrena and Seven (no, I won't tell more because I think you need to experience it); it is difficult to not develop some bonds with the whole group.

Despite this being a standalone novel, the worldbuilding is really ambitious, a world where Gods need their stories to be told and where they can collide and destroy each other, with War in a campaign to take over the world; the overall plot just feels as a single story in a really vast world, a heavy story about grief with the conflict as the background.
The pacing is not especially fast, allowing the reader to process how heavy it might feel at points, but I found it to be the perfect choice for this novel.

Halfheart is an excellent novel, even if it's difficult to capture it in words without spoiling too much; but if you are looking for an epic standalone story that also feels like a therapy season on grief, with a superb craft, you should read this one as soon as possible. Straight to the list of favourites!