T. Kingfisher

Stephen's god died on the longest day of the year... Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a 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.

Paladin's Grace

Emma Miller

Erik Horton

What a great story! Depressed berserker paladin hero and a strong perfumer heroine in a fun world. It was brilliant. I loved it. Kingfisher’s writing is always great. I laughed a lot more than expected for a story with a decent amount of severed heads. 

Megan BV

Adored this book. Such an interesting world to dive into and stephen and grace were so freaking cute. Plus such great representation, an older love story, two protagonists that were teenagers or a teenager with a man that’s 500 years old. Such a refreshing book!!

Annaliese Taylor

The tension between the two main of this characters was so so good although the romance take a lot in the story you also have a great intrigue and T Kingfisher managed to create a fascinating world ! The balance between plot, romance and some spicy scenes was nice add the fact that the atmosphere and the writing worked great. The narrator did a great job recreating the tension between the characters lol and Grace felt very much relatable

Amira BEN

Great first book to open a trilogy.

The tension between the two main of this characters was so so good although the romance take a lot in the story you also have a great intrigue and T Kingfisher managed to create a fascinating world ! The balance between plot, romance and some spicy scenes was nice add the fact that the atmosphere and the writing worked great. The narrator did a great job recreating the tension between the characters lol and Grace felt very much relatable

Petaco

Berserker? Yes. Berserker romance? Yes, please!

Berserker horror fantasy funny romance - it's like the author knows my heart.

Colleen

3.5 Stars
 
*A bizarre combination of bodice-ripping and severed heads with a delightful vein of humor*


Paladin’s Grace popped up on my Readerly recommedations. It sounded like a fun little adventure.

Stephen the Paladin has been scarred and adrift ever since the god he served died. No one knows what happened to his god, and his sworn servants are left aimless and prone to uncontrollable berserker fits. Yet Stephen and the other Paladins not claimed by madness try to find purpose in helping people. And Knitting. Knitting lots and lots of socks! But then a chance encounter puts Stephen in the path of a woman named Grace who is tangled up in a political plot far more dangerous than she knows. In addition to the political machinations, the city is also plagued by a mysterious serial killer chopping off people’s heads.


  “He wished that he could break out his knitting, but for some reason, people didn’t take you seriously as a warrior when you were knitting. He’d never figured out why. Making socks required four or five double-ended bone needles, and while they weren’t very large, you could probably jam one into someone’s eye if you really wanted to. Not that he would. He’d have to pull the needle out of the sock to do it, and then he’d be left with the grimly fiddly work of rethreading the stitches. Also, washing blood out of wool was possible, but a pain.”

It’s odd to describe this story. The tone is light with a lot of snarky humor. But the plots of political intrigue and a bloody serial killer were a strange counterweight to Stephen’s and Grace’s moony, lovelorn longings. Yet somehow, the story did manage to stick an entertaining balance between these contrasting elements.

I didn’t realize that this book is set in the same world as some of the author’s other works. It was labeled as the first in a series, so I hadn’t looked into it farther than that. There were some of the elements of the world that probably would have made more sense if I’d read the other books. But enough was explained that the story still worked as a standalone.

I knew there would be romance in Paladin’s Grace, but I wasn’t expecting it to turn into a bodice-ripper. It wasn’t overly steamy, but the story did spend a fair amount of time deliberating about how long Stephen and Grace would fight their feelings. The main characters were frustrating at times in their insecurities. There was some @gift of the Magi level of mutual martyrdom going on at times. Yet they were still endearing characters. Even if I did want to shout, “Just get on with it!” at times.


  “If we limited loving to just the sane, undamaged people, the next generation would have about three people in it and presumably humanity would die out shortly afterward.” 

It would have been more thrilling if the story had focused more on the mystery elements with the serial killer and the political intrigue. But at least those elements still got a decent amount of page time – enough to make engaging plots. So often, romance stories with intrigue only include just enough to add a dash of flavor but never actually bother having a real plot.

By far my favorite parts were the humorous conversations between Stephen and his fellow Paladins. There was a hilarious conversation when they were stuck guarding a boring, posh party and decided to debate the merits of using the swan ice sculpture as an impromptu weapon should a fight break out. And Bishop Beartongue was so awesome! I dearly wish she had had a bigger part.


  “Look, if you can't laugh about the homicidal fits that make you a menace to society, what's even the point?”

While I did enjoy the story overall, I’m not sure I’ll rush out to read the rest of the series. But I have a feeling I’ll pick them up at some point in the future when I’m in the mood for something light yet bloody.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Apiecalypse Jen

lisa roeling 

i was starting to get annoyed with ya fantasy books with horny teenagers... so i read an adult fantasy book with horny middle-aged characters lol
the smooth men terrify me
*3,5

Amani Zaha

A reader's experience with this book will very much depend on what kind of book they expect it be: fantasy with a romance subplot, or a romance against a fantasy backdrop. Now that I've read it, I know it's the latter, but for a while I felt a little thrown off-balance.

Stephen, a Paladin whose God is dead, and Grace, whose experiences have taught her to always have an escape bag prepared, lead quiet, reserved lives, both of them a little broken. When their paths intertwine, the chemistry is undeniable and instantaneous.

One thing about Kingfisher's characters is that they have so much kindness. They are compassionate and easy to love, and Stephen, Grace and most of the supporting characters in Paladin's Grace are no exception to this. I also adore that the narration in her romances explores the male character's perspective as well, especially because her male characters are often warm, considerate and respectful — while also being Strong and Manly and wielding Weapons — in a manner that is refreshing to witness in romances.

A little more than half of the story is dedicated to the exploration of Stephen and Grace's relationship. There's a lot of fluff, a bit of loves-me-loves-me-not, and a ridiculous amount of over-thinking, on top of second-guessing themselves and each other, to the point that the romance between these almost 40-year olds read like a mutual crush between two inexperienced teenagers.

Also, while the story is narrated in third-person perspective, the inner thoughts of Stephen and Grace are of course divulged through the writing. There is a lot of telling rather than (or on top of) showing when it comes to their feelings for each other:


  She stepped inside but stayed close to him. He found that he didn't mind.

I mean, We Know, and why would he have minded anyway. Details like this were often blown up, which felt repetitive and distrusting of the reader's ability to grasp the nuances in their interactions. It's a sweet romance and I did enjoy both the characters and their dynamic, but all the second-guessing and this sort of spelling out the obvious quickly became annoying.

While their romance blossoms gradually, we are allowed glimpses of a serial killer and an assassination subplot in the background. It isn't until maybe a little more than halfway through that these storylines move into the foreground and pick up speed, which is why I found the second half of the book the more engaging. Honestly, the development of the serial killer plot actually threw me for a loop: for chapters upon chapters we read about this gentle, wholesome romance and all is well, until suddenly we're staring at a macabre scene seemingly plucked out of the horror genre.

This particular scene passes within the blink of an eye, but I found it impactful nonetheless. It was chilling and fascinating, and I wished this subplot had been explored more thoroughly. Regardless, it speaks to how well Kingfisher writes horror, and I'm very excited to continue reading more of her work.

Janice Hopper

Since the second book in this setting just came out, imma re-read this one to get the setting in my head before going on to the new one! 
Later: still liked it well enough, some of it a little more annoying this pass through though.
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With all the pandemic stuff going on, I'm having a hard time concentrating. T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon) came to my rescue with this book. 

It's the story of a perfumer who think she's a mouse, but who has very good scents (lol). And the story of a paladin whose god died, and who's trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. There are a few other things going on too, just to complicate things.

It's exactly what I needed to read now. I've decided that though I'm not normally a ROMANCE reader, I CAN read some things that are uh... romance-adjacent??? It probably has more to do with whether I like the characters than if there's romance or not. I read most of this book at night when I couldn't get to sleep, and I ended up dreaming about the characters more than once. 

Okay, it's a romance mostly, set in pretty much the same world as some of her other books. It's pretty gentle, pretty light, and I'm glad I read it.

A really funny fantasy romance. We don't get enough good humor in fantasy so I was delighted with this book. The romance was sweet and relatable. I love that it felt cozy but still had some horror elements. An absolute delight!

Tonya Espy

I thought this book was incredibly charming. I fell in love with both main characters very quickly (Our hero knits socks and our heroine is a perfumer) and the whole world is so lush and fascinating. The bit about the dead God at the beginning is so powerful. Such a set up! The only trouble I had was the middle bit where a lot of the pining took place. I did want the love interests to get together and liked the ship but the middle part of the relationship did get very repetitive and a little tedious. Overall, a very enjoyable read which I will be happy to continue with the sequel. Also there is a weasel cat and I love that.

Courtney-Dale Nel

A romantic character study set against the backdrop of an awesome magic system. Stephen shirked all the usual trappings of a male main character - apart of course, from a Paladin's characteristic perpetual guilt - and the story's focus on his and Grace's mutual character arcs are two of the reasons I loved this read.

Quick, easy to read, emotional, well-constructed, and utterly human despite it's fantasy. Perfect for removing oneself from a reading slump.

Saayan

I loved this! The hero is a sock-knitting, gingerbread-scented, broken paladin. Need I say more?

The prickly heroine is independent and refreshingly career driven. She doesn’t need the hero to always rescue her and she even does some rescuing of her own! They each had their own insecurities to work through and overcome together. I enjoyed it thoroughly!

Paladin's Grace

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