Obsidian: Awakening

I was offered a copy to judge for the Indie Ink Awards for the categories of Best Book Cover, side character MVP, and gay representation. I'm glad to say I already had bought a kindle copy because I wanted to read it anyway! Such a good cover!
This novel is about the battle of two sides of the desert. Those that want freedom to do as they please, and those that want to unite and control everything. It's less about good and evil than other stories, as both sides have things that they've done that are far from perfect. I enjoyed that it highlighted the darkness of war and struggle. 
But it's also about love, family, loss, growth, and desire. The characters are rich, with vastly different personalities and abilities. They struggle and fight and lose and gain. The world features gay characters exactly as they should be, it's just who they are, it doesn't define them in any particular way. It's definitely not something that reads as one note, which is great to see. I will say that as it has huge portions of the story just out in the middle of the desert in what are virtually tent cities, the world can feel a bit small at times, as the ability to describe the desert is rather limited, but I would love to see the world grow in follow ups. 
Most know I am not one for sexual content in books personally. This one has quite a few, and although they are not incredibly detailed, which I appreciated, most of them feature sexual violence/force. Although that certainly fits the world created so I understand, it was a lot to actually read it. 
Personally a 4/5* for me. Looking forward to a sequel.