Reviews with content warning for Death - Paladin's Grace

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

51 reviews

cha_len_novels's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring mysterious slow-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“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.”
― T. Kingfisher, Paladin’s Grace

What more could you ask for in a romantasy than: a dead god, gentle paladins, berserkers, a not "normal" perfumer, spies, assassins, religious fanatics, and decapitated heads? Follow two awkward middle-aged protagonists and side characters (+ a pet civet) in their profoundly funny banter as they navigate and survive the political machinations surrounding them; and fall in love.

*bonus quote
“Look, if you can't laugh about the homicidal fits that make you a menace to society, what's even the point?”
― T. Kingfisher, Paladin’s Grace

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teddie_valetine98's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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rhi_'s review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

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wandering_seal's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Loved this. Loved the quietly funny writing style. Loved the adorably awkward romance. Great worldbuilding and interesting story. All round great read.

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heytaytay12's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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ritabriar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As always, Kingfisher's main characters are kind and funny and stand up for each other when they can. I love Kingfisher's characterization of Paladins, especially these paladins, as self-sacrificing, self-blaming, and angsty to a fault. Grace is delightful, her interest in scents and perfumes fascinating and handy for solving problems. Marguerite is a remarkably well-developed character for as little as she appears on the page. As always, I love the Temple of the White Rat and all of their people. They certainly help the main characters navigate much of the political intrigue they get tangled up in.

Some things in this book happen by chance, like

finding the first dead body and various chance meetings

, but most things happen because the characters make them happen, such as

figuring out what's going on and what to do about it.

Magic is common in this setting. The magic that really digs into the plot is a bit horrifying.

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miss_berry315's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.0

I originally dnf'd this book, realized the Saint of Steel series can be read as stand-alone books, read Paladin's Strength and Paladin's Hope, started Paladin's Faith and realized I wanted more context so I went back to this one.

I dnf'd this book originally because of the scene where Stephen and Grace meet. It is fairly early in the book and I really felt like the author could have done literally anything other than have Stephen practically SA Grace.
IDC if this is a spoiler, it's really not done well and adds absolutely nothing to the story overall.
Stephen is walking back home when he hears someone running and he determines that the person sounds like they're in trouble, so he wants to help (paladin things). Grace approaches him near an alleyway and asks Stephen to help her hide. Stephen then grabs her, shoves her against the wall so she's hidden from the people chasing her, and begins dry humping her and acting as if he is having sex. She plays along with it, he's apologizing the whole time (super uncomfortable) and the people chasing her end up leaving them alone. It's important to note that this happens in an alleyway very close to this city's version of a 'Red Light District' aka a place where sex workers are known to be present and offering services. The author does not write about sex workers in a positive way. The language used is outdated, Stephen says he would 'never be involved with a sex worker' and Grace is relieved. Its just really not empowering and starts the relationship between these two off in a very uncomfortable place. Why couldn't Stephen help Grace into a crate or behind some barrels, or in a pile of trash or literally anything in the entire world that could have been realistically in the alleyway? Why did the author see the only option as borderline SA??

Other than that, the book was fairly boring in plot, characters, and romance. Grace is defined by her relationships and career. I felt like the perfume making stuff could have been interesting, but kind of fell flat. I understand it's hard to write about how someone may have a natural ability to create something and how they often will incorporate that into their lives however they can, but the way that Grace can differentiate smells within complex ones just came off like the whole 'chosen one' 'special-special' trope that protagonists often have.

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