Paladin's Grace

I loved this book a lot! I think the way it conceptualizes paladins is incredible, and it takes the best part of why I like werewolf romance (this person is a bit feral about you) without taking on the part I like least about werewolf romance (the feral quality is one that must be allowed to ransack or it will be unhealthy for them), but still maintains what makes paladins so wonderful to chew on (the guilt, the intense adherence to rules they think are correct).

The romance was also very sweet, really actually managed the "two broken people" concept where they are both learning to forgive who they became under Circumstances and work on moving closer to who they want to be.

I will never shut up about Beartongue. Bishop Beartongue is perhaps the first woman I've seen described as older and handsome and I would have loved her for that alone, but she also has to wrangle seven grief- and guilt-stricken paladins whose stress response is to become murderous killing machines. She does this with the air of wrangling toddlers with decent grip strength and access to breakable but replaceable objects. Have I mentioned I love her?

My one - one! - thing that I would mention about this book that I did not wholeheartedly love was that the very first chapter I think writes a slightly different check than this book ultimately cashed. It was still a good check! I am also aware that this is a series! However that first chapter implied an amount of violence and a darker tone than what I ultimately read. I think there is a darker, less healing book that could have come out of that first chapter, and I would have loved it as well.

Anyway. Very long review. Very good book. Been trying to split time between some nonfiction that is emotionally draining and some fiction that I find compelling and enjoyable, and this was it. Fantastic recommendation, thank you nasamuffin.

Please keep in mind that at least one of these stars is because of how this book hit my own personal preference.

Someone at my book club a few months ago said that in modern romance novels, you can open them to halfway and open them to 90% and instantly find the two sex scenes. I'm pleased to report that this book was actually just all pining for pretty much the whole time, even if it was a little hard to believe by the end.

The plot was engaging and charming and I'm excited to read the rest - what's the deal with smooth men!!!! And I loved the supporting cast.

Only bad part is that I listened to the audiobook narrated by Joel Richards...who read usually with the speed and enthusiasm you'd use reading a menu from the passenger seat to someone who's watching the road while they drive. I bumped it up to 1.3x and it was fine, though.

EDIT: I completely forgot to say that the personal preference part was that I think, as a survivor of abuse myself, I have a bit of a fondness for reading stories about survivors of abuse coming to terms with it (especially when the abuser gets their comeuppance). The female lead is unfucking her head as a result of an emotionally abusive and gaslighting marriage that felt similar to my own prior abusive relationship. So I was cheering for her as she unlearned the things her abuser had convinced her of, and got rid of him for good.

Normal people flirt. I think. Apparently we just exchange terrible life stories.

I think I fell in love with this book before I was even 20% in, and it never disappointed me. There's a lot going on here. Murders! Cults! Mysteries! Spies! Political intrigue! Legal drama! Also, perfumery, sock-knitting, and a domestic civet cat! Seriously, there's so much going on, but it also never gets too much, and all the plot threads and setting details get tied together wonderfully.

First and foremost, though, this is a story about healing,. The romance between Grace and Stephen was super enjoyable to read as they both grappled with the trauma from their pasts and got more and more prepared to go forward. Their love story didn't feel like a magic cure for the PTSD they're both obviously dealing with, but rather as a reason for both of them to recognize that, despite the events of their pasts, they can still work toward a happy future; that they deserve happiness, and it isn't inaccessible. 

I was deeply intrigued by the setting with all of its many gods and the concept of paladins as divine berserks—I'd love to know more about all these deities and their relationships to their paladins and priests and the world in general. I loved everything about the Rat's priests who devote their lives to helping others and fixing everything that can be fixed in the most optimistic manner possible. Every scene with the Bishop was a delight, and Zale is my favorite lawyer (also, it was really cool to see a nonbinary character just casually being themself and no one ever misgendering or questioning anything about them). In general, this book is full of loveable and interesting supporting characters: Margeurite, Grace's spy friend; all the other Saint's paladins around Stephen (Istvhan especially, because he got the most screen time, but there was also that really poignant scene with Marcus, and Shane is definitely someone I'd love to see more of, too); the more minor characters like healer Francis and that one prison guard much further into the story. Really, an amazing cast.

All in all, this book offers a wonderful mix of horror and coziness with lots of twists, turns, and genuinely funny moments that never diminish the seriousness of the issues the main characters have to contend with. 

Anyone who's been enjoying Lois McMaster Bujold's Penric novellas will probably fall into T. Kingfisher's Clocktaur world with delight and a strong feeling of familiarity. And anyone who hasn't read both should probably do so ASAP! T. Kingfisher is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors for light, readable fantasy with likeable characters and a bit of romance on the side.

I had assumed this was a sequel to Swordheart, but although it's set in the same world, and also features paladins and servants of the White Rat god, it actually features an entirely different set of paladins, plus one master perfumer who manages to get tangled up in some complicated murder plotting and a lot of severed heads.

The world remains delightful; not enough gnoles in this book but a few appearances. More about the wonderful worshippers of the White Rat, including a heroic defense by a Solicitor Sacrosanct of the temple (unlike the other gods, the White Rat has lawyers rather than paladins).

T. Kingfisher's writing style is light and enjoyable and often humourous:
"Look, if you can't laugh about the homicidal fits that make you a menace to society, what's even the point?"
"He's a paladin," said Marguerite. "They only have a couple of emotions and the primary one is guilt."
"Paladin Stephen likes you," said Zale, "And anyone that keeps our paladins happy, instead of moping and clanking and suffering nobly around the temple, is worth fighting for."

Kingfisher also does an excellent job without making a big deal of it at all in representing important things like,
- Asking and giving consent in romantic contexts
- Sincerely apologizing
- Making occasional nonbinary characters without even ever mentioning it except for using the "they" pronoun

Also, she clearly has a bit of a thing for flawed paladins and middle-aged, divorced or widowed heroines, which I am 100% on board with.

Can't wait for the sequel both to this, and to Swordheart, and many more!