I Should Read That

Book review¹

Whilst foraging for startleflower, perfumer Grace finds herself pursued by ruffians and rescued by a handsome paladin in shining armour. Only, to outwit her hunters they must pretend to be doing something very unrespectable in an alleyway.

Stephen, a broken paladin, spends his time knitting socks and working as a bodyguard, living only for the chance to be useful. But that all changes when he saves Grace and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now, Stephen and Grace must navigate a web of treachery and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind.

I’ve said a million times that T. Kingfisher is one of my absolute favourite authors. Having discovered her while I was on hiatus from the blog, I’ve read a fair bit of her back catalogue and kept up with her new releases. However, one of the big gaps in my Kingfisher reading is the Saints of Steel series. Orbit Books generously sent me a set of their beautiful reissues of this four-book series and I knew that I had to dive in right away. Paladin’s Grace is the first book in the series and it is an absolute delight.

I’m not typically a romantasy fan, but Paladin’s Grace ticked all the boxes for me. 30+ characters? A muscular, sock-knitting cinnamon roll falling for a talented, awkward artisan? Banter and peril? Friends trying to get these two horny idiots to admit they like each other? Tick, tick, tick.

As you’d expect with a Kingfisher book, the world-building is fabulous, the banter and humour are perfect, and there’s a serious spookiness factor, but the characters are where this book shines. I’ve never read a romance-focused book from her and I was absolutely delighted. I loved that Steven and Grace have their own established lives with friends and jobs – there’s more to them than just their romance. I wanted to shout ‘just kiss, you idiots!’ throughout the book, but I never got frustrated with them – you really understand their hesitations and feelings. Grace and Steven have such wonderful depth of character and are not defined by their relationship – they compliment each other so well.

Romance is definitely the focus of the book, but Kingfisher doesn’t skimp on the story. There’s plot multiple threads that come together, from a killer stalking the night to a dangerous religious order gaining power in the city. I had an amazing time immersing myself in this world and had a great time reading this book. Luckily for me, there are three more books in the series waiting for me on my nightstand.

I loved going into Kingfisher’s backlist and reading one of her beloved series. I can see how she has grown as a writer since Paladin’s Grace originally published in 2020, however she shows that her roots have always been in clever, fun, amazing fantasy.

You can pick up the entire Saints of Steel reissues with these beautiful covers (I’m obsessed – bring back painted fantasy covers!) on 8 April.

1. A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ↩︎