Stephen’s god died on the longest day of the year… cryptic killer stalks one step behind…
From the Hugo and Nebula Award winning author of Swordheart and The Twisted Ones comes a saga of murder, magic, and love on the far side of despair.
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Paladin’s Grace
By tkingfisher
This book made me realize that as much as I don’t normally love the “traditional” miscommunication trope, I REALLY love it when two disasters are blatantly in love with each other but also just think the other one is “being nice” or whatever and couldn’t possibly love them. Also, I now have a thing for paladins who have lost their god, and it’s all T Kingfisher’s fault.
This book was a delight. Perfect balance of humor/banter and a lot of heart, with some severed heads thrown in for spice. I absolutely loved it.
I love fantasy romances and this one did not disappoint. The romance was slow-burning and very sweet — up until it turned scorching — between two damaged people who desperately needed each other. Their HEA wasn’t quite what I expected, but it fit the book perfectly. In addition, there were two mystery plots that Stephen and Grace got involved in, but while they took quite a lot of the characters’ time, they were basically solved — or not solved — without them. It didn’t really matter. I loved Stephen and Grace both separately and together, and the side characters were great. The world felt real and lived in with its system of gods and their various orders. The afterword promises more books for the paladins, and I for one will definitely read them.
A heart-warming and wry fantasy romance. Self-sacrificing noble paladins to a dead god! Older protagonists! Interesting professions! The heroine is a perfumer, and the use of scent in the story is vivid and fascinating. Surprisingly cosy in tone despite all the gory murders.
I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy romance with great banter, fun moments of watching two mature people stumble towards love and passion, and a lot of severed heads. As soon as I finished I ordered the second book.
Speaking of “second”, while the protagonists were entertaining, it was the secondary characters (I adore Bishop Beartongue!) who made this novel so fabulous. You can keep YA novels, I want to read about women of a certain age exhausting mighty warriors in bed. Now, that’s entertainment!
I’ve been pushing this book (and its sequel) on everyone I talk to. Besides characters I genuinely like and a plot I’m genuinely invested in, T Kingfisher has a real skill for building fantasy worlds that feel real and lived-in. I kept thinking about it long after it was over.
In news that should surprise no one, it turns out my sweet spot is genre-mashed stories featuring romance, an abundance of severed heads, creepy magic, and funny characters.
WHO.
KNEW?
A god-touched broken down paladin coping with the death of his god whilst knitting socks and helping his fellow paladins? Yes. A mysterious perfumer who owns an adorable weasel-like creature? Please and thank you. Just severed heads all over the place? Stop, stop and take my money. You don’t need to tell me anything else.
Anyway, I loved Swordheart and this sort-of-but-not-a-sequel and I’ll now read anything set in this world and I would die for all of them, just so you know.
A wonderful cast of characters
I was fortunate enough to be recommended Paladin’s Grace by a Goodreads friend and I’m so glad to have experienced T Kingfisher’s magic. This story was entertaining from start to finish, made me laugh, squirm, sigh and shudder. The characters were original and by the end, I wanted to know them more. The mystery kept me enthralled and I was desperate to see it to the end.
While I enjoyed most parts of this story, the romance took a wee too long to get to and it didn’t really end in a heart-fluttering happy ever after. I understood Stephen’s reluctance to drag Grace into a relationship with a Berserker Paladin. These poor blokes and their guilt were a little hard to read. Bishop Beartongue’s speech was a little late in coming and her guidance could have helped Stephen sooner.
I am so glad to have tried this author’s work and I will definitely be reading more in the future.