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lunalorenne's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Things I loved:
The inner monologues were pretty funny at times ( but were maybe a bit overused)
The romance between Stephen and Grace. I loved that it was much more of a slower paced romance and the respect he had for her and letting her fight her own battles but always being there for her was just so heartwarming.
Things I was unsure about:
There seemed to be two murderous plots going on in the background at once and it made it difficult to keep track of all the pieces and to understand if they were connected at all.
Stephen was sometimes a bit too self deprecating. I get that part of his character is guilt but it became a broken record with how much his inner monologue banged it into us.
Lastly it did take a little to get into it as it was a slow start and I thought the court scene was drawn out a bit too long.
Overall though an enjoyable read with some murder mystery and a great romance! I can’t wait for more from this world.
The inner monologues were pretty funny at times ( but were maybe a bit overused)
The romance between Stephen and Grace. I loved that it was much more of a slower paced romance and the respect he had for her and letting her fight her own battles but always being there for her was just so heartwarming.
Things I was unsure about:
There seemed to be two murderous plots going on in the background at once and it made it difficult to keep track of all the pieces and to understand if they were connected at all.
Stephen was sometimes a bit too self deprecating. I get that part of his character is guilt but it became a broken record with how much his inner monologue banged it into us.
Lastly it did take a little to get into it as it was a slow start and I thought the court scene was drawn out a bit too long.
Overall though an enjoyable read with some murder mystery and a great romance! I can’t wait for more from this world.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
alainral's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, and Murder
Minor: War
rmlknisely's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Emotional abuse
page_karla's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Sexual content, Violence, Gaslighting, Death, Emotional abuse, and Suicide
danajoy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexism, and Cannibalism
ijustreallyliketrees's review
dark
funny
mysterious
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
2.0
I guess I was expecting more of the fantasy element? It was very much focused on the mystery and romance. I did like the romance between Stephen and Grace though and the other Paladin characters but other than that it didn't do anything for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Emotional abuse, Death, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer and Child death
mirandalikesbooks's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A wonderful, funny, sweet start to the series. I loved both of the main characters. Stephen has a sturdy practicality that was laced with genuine kindness. And Grace is so unique and intelligent and caring. The vulnerability of both characters made you love them. The thread of their romance - aka the main point of the novel - was my favorite part of the book. And the fact that both characters were in their 30s was refreshing! I love a book that shows that life isn't over when you leave your 20s.
The things that kept this from a 4 star read for me are just some simple style choices. The inner monologue, while oftentimes funny, sometimes was a bit too much talking to themselves. Also the poisoning plot and the beheading plot together felt like a lot going on.
Kingfisher drops lots of breadcrumbs for the rest of the series, and I'm excited to get to it.
The things that kept this from a 4 star read for me are just some simple style choices. The inner monologue, while oftentimes funny, sometimes was a bit too much talking to themselves. Also the poisoning plot and the beheading plot together felt like a lot going on.
Kingfisher drops lots of breadcrumbs for the rest of the series, and I'm excited to get to it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Body horror, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Minor: Grief, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Cursing
prismatical's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Didn't like it, but it had potential and I did genuinely enjoy parts of it (which is where the .5 comes from).
The tagline and synopsis are very misleading; this is a romance novel that happens to take place in a fantasy world, and the paladin stuff is more there as backstory than anything else. If that isn't a deal breaker for you, you should also know that the plot is pretty weak and takes a back seat to the oddly juvenile romance. A not-insignificant part of the first half of the novel is just Grace and Stephen really, REALLY wanting to fuck each other instead of developing as characters. Grace's backstory in particular feels like an afterthought.
I didn't like that the female paladins got so little focus. Wren gets ONE LINE of dialogue and a couple of throwaway lines about her, and I don't think we even learn Judith's name in this book. I didn't even realize that there were two female paladins until I looked it up. All the male paladins at least get to be introduced, if not more. That was really disappointing because rage when expressed by a man and rage when expressed by a woman are treated very differently in reality, so I wanted to see how T. Kingfisher would tackle that issue. The way she chose to handle it was to not mention it at all. If Wren and Judith don't get their own books or they have to share one book, I'm really not going to be very happy about that. It's also worth noting that Stephen mentions that he wants to stay close to his brothers in arms, but he makes no mention of sisters. Hmph.
The POV switches around too often for my taste. I'm totally fine with POV changes at chapter breaks, but mid-chapter POV changes are just not my cup of tea, especially when they happen in the middle of a scene. The POV changes made it harder to get to know Stephen and Grace because we don't get to stay inside their heads for very long before switching back. I think T. Kingfisher wanted that to line up with the nature of the murder mystery. We do a lot of headhopping, and the serial murderer is beheading people. Unfortunately, while it was an interesting idea it still doesn't add much to the story as a whole.
And finally, my biggest criticism despite not being much of a romance reader: it's actually not very romantic and I didn't believe that Stephen and Grace had a connection beyond wanting to fuck each other and finding commiseration in feeling "broken." The sock scene was very cute, but that was it. This novel also conflates romantic and sexual attraction like you wouldn't believe, which I personally found annoying. I'm too aroace for this.
The tagline and synopsis are very misleading; this is a romance novel that happens to take place in a fantasy world, and the paladin stuff is more there as backstory than anything else. If that isn't a deal breaker for you, you should also know that the plot is pretty weak and takes a back seat to the oddly juvenile romance. A not-insignificant part of the first half of the novel is just Grace and Stephen really, REALLY wanting to fuck each other instead of developing as characters. Grace's backstory in particular feels like an afterthought.
I didn't like that the female paladins got so little focus. Wren gets ONE LINE of dialogue and a couple of throwaway lines about her, and I don't think we even learn Judith's name in this book. I didn't even realize that there were two female paladins until I looked it up. All the male paladins at least get to be introduced, if not more. That was really disappointing because rage when expressed by a man and rage when expressed by a woman are treated very differently in reality, so I wanted to see how T. Kingfisher would tackle that issue. The way she chose to handle it was to not mention it at all. If Wren and Judith don't get their own books or they have to share one book, I'm really not going to be very happy about that. It's also worth noting that Stephen mentions that he wants to stay close to his brothers in arms, but he makes no mention of sisters. Hmph.
The POV switches around too often for my taste. I'm totally fine with POV changes at chapter breaks, but mid-chapter POV changes are just not my cup of tea, especially when they happen in the middle of a scene. The POV changes made it harder to get to know Stephen and Grace because we don't get to stay inside their heads for very long before switching back. I think T. Kingfisher wanted that to line up with the nature of the murder mystery. We do a lot of headhopping, and the serial murderer is beheading people. Unfortunately, while it was an interesting idea it still doesn't add much to the story as a whole.
And finally, my biggest criticism despite not being much of a romance reader: it's actually not very romantic and I didn't believe that Stephen and Grace had a connection beyond wanting to fuck each other and finding commiseration in feeling "broken." The sock scene was very cute, but that was it. This novel also conflates romantic and sexual attraction like you wouldn't believe, which I personally found annoying. I'm too aroace for this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity and Child abuse
purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Infidelity, Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
mer_randa's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Body horror, and Gore
Minor: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse