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A review by mspilesofpaper
Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Paladin's Grace is the first book in the The Saint of Steel series, which follows the Paladins of the Saint of Steel and their life after their God died. It is set in the same world as Swordheart, so if you read it, you will meet some characters again. It is a soft fantasy romance with DnD campaign vibes and a murder/crime mystery. Based on the book's last chapter, I would presume that the murder/crime mystery is the main story arc for the entire series as the mystery wasn't 100% solved. The book is meant for an adult audience due to a few sex scenes; they aren't exactly graphic or explicitly written but it's still a sex scene. There are some darker elements to the book as well, which wouldn't be appropriate for a younger audience too.
The following review might contain spoilers.
(Please ignore potential wrong spellings of characters and places. I did listen to the audiobook, so I don't know how some characters/places are written.)
PLOT
The story follows Stephen and Grace who meet in a dark alley where Stephen rescues Grace from the Hanged Mother's priests. Following the moment, they can't really get the other one out of their mind (much to the annoyance and amusement of their friends) and meet again at a royal event where Grace presents a perfume to the Crown Prince of Charlok. Their budding romance is overshadowed by two main events (which incorporate a few minor ones): 1. a serial killer is on the loose and they leave severed heads behind, and 2. an assassination attempt/plot that is aimed at the Crown Prince. The mystery around the assassination attempt takes up most of the plot line while the murder mystery is weaved in the background but becomes of importance in later chapters.
WORLDBUILDING & MAGIC
Similar to Swordheart, the world-building is rather mild (especially compared to Nettle & Bone, which confused me partly with its world-building). The story is set in Arkenhold and only incorporates mentions of other kingdoms; mostly of Charlok as the Crown Prince plays a minor role. There are mentions of the various gods/churches and occasional background information about them.
The mild world-building makes it easy to follow the story as an audiobook because you don't have to remember tons of facts and history.
CHARACTERS
Well, as mentioned Stephen and Grace are the main characters. Each of them has a few characters on their side who act as friends/acquaintances/... who will become the main characters in the latter books. As for the returning characters from Swordheart: the Bishop Beartongue, Zale (the non-binary lawyer-priest), and general mentions of various priests of the Hanged Mother (who always act as antagonists).
Stephen is a paladin who served the Saint of Steel until the Saint was killed. The saint's death resulted in Stephen, and the other surviving paladin, struggling with their purpose in life without their god anymore. After the saint's death, the Temple of the Rat took the surviving paladins into their service. The temple houses them, feeds them, ... and the paladins work for the temple as men-at-arms/bodyguards as the majority of the Rat's priests aren't trained as warriors. Stephen is an anxious character as soon as it concerns how others perceive him and the paladins as they went into a berserker rage when the saint died, which caused a bloodbath. Aside from this, he is rather grounded, is considered as the leader of the paladins, and is often enough baffled by the Rat's priests and their lack of security concerns (especially regarding the ongoing murders). Unfortunately, as soon as he meets Grace, he becomes rather possessive in behaviour (e.g., fantasising how to kill/hurt someone because they dared to flirt with Grace), which I didn't like. I suppose that it's meant to show that he's jealous and devoted to her but I found it annoying.
Grace is a perfumer on the run. Her main character trait is being awkward and being worried. She fled her previous life as her husband cheated constantly on her and it reached a point where she couldn't take it anymore. She has an extremely well-developed sense of smell, which results in her describing a lot of scenes in scents but also it results in Grace suffering from traumatic flashbacks to something from her past. Unfortunately, she is rather stupid and trusts surprisingly easily despite her past, which made me groan often enough. She has no real ambitions aside from making enough money to survive as she considers her quiet lifestyle as necessary to avoid people from her old life recognising her by accident.
A general advantage of Kingfisher's characters: they aren't teenagers. Stephen is around 40 years and Grace is also in her (early) 30s. On average, all characters are adults who are well into their 30s - 50s. The only minor characters are side characters who are mentioned in two sentences (e.g., a messenger, a young guard, ...). By now, I'm at an age where I want characters in my age group and not teenagers with perfect banter and the ability to save the world with the help of no one.
ROMANCE
Unfortunately, I did not vibe much with the romance. Mostly because they don't have much chemistry in my opinion and I dislike romances that are mostly based on physical attraction, which is the case with Paladin's Grace as Stephen and Grace meet in a dark alley where they act as if she's a sex worker, and he's the client, to save Grace from an encounter with the priests of the Hanged Mother. Following it, they both wonder often how the other one would look without clothes. Stephen and Grace are utterly fixated on getting into each other's pants and I'm too asexual for it.
As for the sex scenes: 1.5 🌶️ - they are rather mild (compared to sex scenes in other books). Personally, I could have done without them but given that having sex was Grace's and Stephen's main goal: I suppose, the book needs them.
TWs & CWs
I will not separate the sexual content warnings from the general ones because of the mild sexual content.
graphic description of a beheading, extensive descriptions of scents (good & bad), general sexual content, general violence, berserker rage, fantasising about unusual items as weapons (ice figures, stuffed egrets, ...), toxic church (members)
TL;DR
Fluffy and soft fantasy romance with some steamy scenes, a murder mystery and an assassination attempt. Set in the world of Swordheart and the start of a series. Light-hearted and funny but with a rushed conclusion and a lack of world-building.
I would recommend the audiobook because the narrator is good. Plus, the book has phrases such as "Ohmyfuckingshitfuckshitgaaaaaaah" and actual groans that are written as "Gnnrggzz" instead of "he groaned". Might make reading the book more annoying but it feels rather natural in an audiobook.
OTHER
My favourite quotes:
The following review might contain spoilers.
(Please ignore potential wrong spellings of characters and places. I did listen to the audiobook, so I don't know how some characters/places are written.)
PLOT
The story follows Stephen and Grace who meet in a dark alley where Stephen rescues Grace from the Hanged Mother's priests. Following the moment, they can't really get the other one out of their mind (much to the annoyance and amusement of their friends) and meet again at a royal event where Grace presents a perfume to the Crown Prince of Charlok. Their budding romance is overshadowed by two main events (which incorporate a few minor ones): 1. a serial killer is on the loose and they leave severed heads behind, and 2. an assassination attempt/plot that is aimed at the Crown Prince. The mystery around the assassination attempt takes up most of the plot line while the murder mystery is weaved in the background but becomes of importance in later chapters.
WORLDBUILDING & MAGIC
Similar to Swordheart, the world-building is rather mild (especially compared to Nettle & Bone, which confused me partly with its world-building). The story is set in Arkenhold and only incorporates mentions of other kingdoms; mostly of Charlok as the Crown Prince plays a minor role. There are mentions of the various gods/churches and occasional background information about them.
The mild world-building makes it easy to follow the story as an audiobook because you don't have to remember tons of facts and history.
CHARACTERS
Well, as mentioned Stephen and Grace are the main characters. Each of them has a few characters on their side who act as friends/acquaintances/... who will become the main characters in the latter books. As for the returning characters from Swordheart: the Bishop Beartongue, Zale (the non-binary lawyer-priest), and general mentions of various priests of the Hanged Mother (who always act as antagonists).
Stephen is a paladin who served the Saint of Steel until the Saint was killed. The saint's death resulted in Stephen, and the other surviving paladin, struggling with their purpose in life without their god anymore. After the saint's death, the Temple of the Rat took the surviving paladins into their service. The temple houses them, feeds them, ... and the paladins work for the temple as men-at-arms/bodyguards as the majority of the Rat's priests aren't trained as warriors. Stephen is an anxious character as soon as it concerns how others perceive him and the paladins as they went into a berserker rage when the saint died, which caused a bloodbath. Aside from this, he is rather grounded, is considered as the leader of the paladins, and is often enough baffled by the Rat's priests and their lack of security concerns (especially regarding the ongoing murders). Unfortunately, as soon as he meets Grace, he becomes rather possessive in behaviour (e.g., fantasising how to kill/hurt someone because they dared to flirt with Grace), which I didn't like. I suppose that it's meant to show that he's jealous and devoted to her but I found it annoying.
Grace is a perfumer on the run. Her main character trait is being awkward and being worried. She fled her previous life as her husband cheated constantly on her and it reached a point where she couldn't take it anymore. She has an extremely well-developed sense of smell, which results in her describing a lot of scenes in scents but also it results in Grace suffering from traumatic flashbacks to something from her past. Unfortunately, she is rather stupid and trusts surprisingly easily despite her past, which made me groan often enough. She has no real ambitions aside from making enough money to survive as she considers her quiet lifestyle as necessary to avoid people from her old life recognising her by accident.
A general advantage of Kingfisher's characters: they aren't teenagers. Stephen is around 40 years and Grace is also in her (early) 30s. On average, all characters are adults who are well into their 30s - 50s. The only minor characters are side characters who are mentioned in two sentences (e.g., a messenger, a young guard, ...). By now, I'm at an age where I want characters in my age group and not teenagers with perfect banter and the ability to save the world with the help of no one.
ROMANCE
Unfortunately, I did not vibe much with the romance. Mostly because they don't have much chemistry in my opinion and I dislike romances that are mostly based on physical attraction, which is the case with Paladin's Grace as Stephen and Grace meet in a dark alley where they act as if she's a sex worker, and he's the client, to save Grace from an encounter with the priests of the Hanged Mother. Following it, they both wonder often how the other one would look without clothes. Stephen and Grace are utterly fixated on getting into each other's pants and I'm too asexual for it.
As for the sex scenes: 1.5 🌶️ - they are rather mild (compared to sex scenes in other books). Personally, I could have done without them but given that having sex was Grace's and Stephen's main goal: I suppose, the book needs them.
TWs & CWs
I will not separate the sexual content warnings from the general ones because of the mild sexual content.
graphic description of a beheading, extensive descriptions of scents (good & bad), general sexual content, general violence, berserker rage, fantasising about unusual items as weapons (ice figures, stuffed egrets, ...), toxic church (members)
TL;DR
Fluffy and soft fantasy romance with some steamy scenes, a murder mystery and an assassination attempt. Set in the world of Swordheart and the start of a series. Light-hearted and funny but with a rushed conclusion and a lack of world-building.
I would recommend the audiobook because the narrator is good. Plus, the book has phrases such as "Ohmyfuckingshitfuckshitgaaaaaaah" and actual groans that are written as "Gnnrggzz" instead of "he groaned". Might make reading the book more annoying but it feels rather natural in an audiobook.
OTHER
My favourite quotes:
"I fear that I am not the best possible person for this, but I am the best possible person available at this time, which is much the same thing." (Zale)
"Relief feels like happiness, if you don't know the difference." (Stephen)