A review by wardenred
Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher

adventurous emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 
I hurt you terribly because I was trying not to hurt you terribly. Can you forgive me?

Somehow, I expected to like this book more than book 2 and at least as much as book 1. Possibly because I loved Piper so much when he appeared in Paladin's Grace and I really wanted to see more of him. Well, in this regard, at least, I wasn't disappointed; Piper's been awesome all along. I really enjoyed his dry wit and his outlook on life. 

However, the story at large was somewhat... unsatisfactory. While Piper was awesome, I can't say the same about Galen. He was fun and familiar in the first half of the story, but then he just started reverting deeper and deeper into the one-dimensional "I am very dangerous, woe is me" state and became the embodiment of "break their heart in order to save them" trope, except Piper didn't need saving and it was just all very frustrating. I mean, this is a T. Kingfisher book about traumatized paladins, I except a lot of pining and wallowing and worrying about not being good for each other! But it was just so heavy-handed here, and it didn't feel completely organic for this character. I'm not saying I didn't think Galen would wallow and worry, but I just... expected him to do it differently? Idk. 

The non-romance part was somewhat disappointing, as well. I expected a mystery with some adventure. Instead, most of the book was devoted to an escape room quest. Yes, there were some great moments, some amazing banter, some quirky worldbuilding, but for the most part... Eh. Meh. 

Despite all that, the cliffhanger it ended on basically guarantees that I will continue with the series. It was nice to see Stephen again, among other characters, and to delve deeper into the gnolls' culture. And I really can't disagree with the book's stance on cops... er, guards. 
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