Paladin's Grace

Saint of Steel Series # 1

By: T. Kingfisher

Narrated by: Joel Richards

Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2020 T. Kingfisher (P)2021 Tantor

Good story, just unexpected

This story was a bit of a struggle to get through, mostly because the synopsis was misleading. The synopsis lead me to believe there would be at least one sword fight present. There isn't. This is definitely a love story first, with a character that just happens to be a paladin in a fantasy setting, not a fantasy paladin who falls in love along the way. If you're a fan of romance novels with an interesting premise, cool worldbuilding and a bit of a twisting plot, this is a good one! If you're a fan of high/epic fantasy, give this a pass.
The rest of the series looks like it will expand a bit on the plot hooks left dangling in this book, so maybe that opinion will change as the series marches on.

Absolutely brilliant

T Kingfisher has a gift when it comes to characters. They absolutely feel like real people you know, your neighbors, your friends. They all have quirks and genuine behaviors. I love both the heroines and the male leads. I love how they meet and how they fall in love. The world is rich and glorious. The Temple of the rats is delightful a priesthood of lawyers. The intrigue in this title was fascinating with two villains to contend with. I can’t wait for the next novel and the next beyond that for years to come.
Do yourself a favor and buy all of hers books.

Enthralling and funny

I had a blast listening to this book, I was constantly laughing at all situations the characters found themselves in and their responses to those situations. Great romantasy read. I cannot wait to read more in the series .

Great Addition to a Binge-Worthy Series!

You can begin reading right here - especially if you’re looking more for romance than fantasy world building. OR you could start, as I did, with Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine. Those 2 novels build the world these characters inhabit, and they are so rich and so much fun that I highly recommend them. (Clockwork Boys ends on a cliffhanger - you’ll want both books.)

As to this novel - I love these Paladins of a dead god. What a profoundly terrible thing to happen to someone. The tight bonds of these survivors to one another is beautiful and redemptive. These are damaged people, who love one another.

I enjoyed the imperfect main characters, their courage in building new lives after disasters, and their courage in reaching for one another.

While the love story ends in HEA, the mysteries of the strange and monstrous beings, the twisting politics, intrigues, and the lives of supporting characters are all left open-ended.

For those who want romance genre details, Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine are HEA/closed door. This book is HEA/open door (but not particularly graphic.) For both, the complexities of the main characters’ characters and situations are enough to make their struggles feel real, rather than contrived. The main characters are all adults (30-45 range) with well developed histories.

I’m looking forward to the next 2 novels, and sincerely hoping T. Kingfisher writes more set in this world. I’m also hoping for more of their retold classic weird stories and fairy tales. So I’m basically just hoping they go on writing for a long time.

I’ve ended up recommending every T. Kingfisher novel I’ve read, and this one is no exception.

Endurable story, good reader.

This book had a lot of potential. I loved the world right away. The intro is gripping and I couldn’t wait to hear more. But unfortunately it becomes clear very quickly that the world-building is just a dollhouse for the romance to play out in. There’s not much interest in telling the actual story of the world, it’s just a romance novel. The male lead is interesting, the female lead is highly formulaic to the point of feeling more like fan fiction. The reader is quite good, and brought the story to life nicely. It’s an easy, fun listen, but I’m not interested in the rest of the series.

I would have liked this more if I just read it

The voices the narrator used weren't distinguished enough for me so there were a few parts I had issues following and had to go back to see who was speaking. The story was great though, always like to see a neurodivergent leading lady.

Narrator enhanced the humor

This was a really fun story. Light, but well written. And the narrator’s tongue in cheek delivery very much enhanced the humor.

A breath of fresh air

The story was delightfully funny, had excellent timing, and wonderful characters. I fell in love with the world. It has left me with the distinct feeling that fantasy could do with more humor and this book nails it.

Great story

I really like T Kingfisher’s stories and witty humor. I liked the readers voice just not with this type of story. The reader has great character voices but there overall style sounds slightly bored.

so funny and characters so relatable

enjoyed the narrator's performance when revisiting one of my fav books! especially when narrator was making the civet noises 🤣 i am so fond of grace and stephen and the paladins and i'm looking forward to listening to the next books in the series

also shout out to t. kingfisher for nb rep with an important secondary character being genderqueer and that detail seamlessly fitting into the world building (and no drama about it!) we love to see it (⁠✿⁠ ⁠♡⁠‿⁠♡⁠)