At Scales Edge

This was an intense dystopian novel rooted in current events. Casandra, the protagonist and POV character, is a military officer and trainer for the local state academy run by a radical feminist regime called the Uniformity. Gender roles and power imbalances are reversed to reflect modern dynamics closely, while society as a whole has changed dramatically as a reaction against the old patriarchy (aka gender dynamics of today). Some good, some bad, some DARK.
Winter does an excellent job of showing us, rather than telling us about, Casandra’s mental state as a part of an internal monologue that conveys emotional experiences and conscious awareness in subtle but ultimately impactful detail. Casandra has to navigate her loyalties and values as she becomes entangled in one mystery after another. Her competence and unyielding discipline are tested to the breaking point again and again while she follows her vigilance, keen mind, and compassion.
Between spikes of dramatic escalation there are scenes of rich emotional depth, from sympathetic comfort to tense anxiety, and sensual calm to torridly erotic. But I won't spoil those for you.
The ending left me hungry for more (which is in the works! Winter has other works I have not yet read but am keen to investigate at some point), and I hope other readers find this page-turner as thought-provoking as I did.

100 years after a mysterious scourge renders most of the male population medically and physically fragile, women have taken over society as a ruling class known as The Uniformity. We meet Cassandra, a military leader in the Uniformity and daughter of a prominent socialite. When Cassandra narrowly escapes an explosion, her investigation leads her down a rabbit hole of lies, betrayal, and political rebellion that causes her to question everything she's ever known about the Uniformity and her place in it.
The novel and it's provocative premise draw the reader into a futuristic world from the first page. Is it a dystopian future? You'll have to decide for yourself, but you won't have to wait long because this story is a fantastic read and hard to put down. The action never slows and the twists and turns keep us guessing.
A great first book in a very promising series!