Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

31 reviews

lillimariexo's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder

distilledreads's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

I went into Paladin’s Grace knowing practically nothing about the plot. I genuinely don’t think I read past the first line of the summary, but I was hooked by the premise of a paladin’s god dying and needed to read it. So, imagine my absolute DELIGHT to find out this was a fantasy romance. Kingfisher had me hook, line, and sinker the whole way through and this has become a new favourite series. 

I have seen so much praise for Kingfisher online throughout the years, but I don’t read horror, so I never had the opportunity to experience her writing for myself. I am so, so happy I was finally able to change that because I loved the characters she created in this series. 

Even though there was an alarming number of severed heads (I was always worried about the severed heads, Stephen), I found this to be the perfect cozy fantasy. I’m not sure if I was just under a rock and missed all discourse about this series, but it is an absolute travesty in my opinion that this series wasn’t dominating the subgenre during the recent surge of cozy fantasy. There is no needless subplot of stalking and sexual harassment, and the treatment of such within the book is handled incredibly well. 

Stephen, the paladin MMC, was refreshingly respectful and well-aware when his behaviour slipped from protective to creepy. Grace, the perfumer FMC, was a fierce character self-described as a grey mouse, but watching her confidence grow had me fist-pumping the air. 

I lost count of how many times I legitimately laughed out loud while reading Paladin’s Grace. The banter was perfect for me and I loved the foreshadowing that Kingfisher wove throughout the book. The world is intriguing and I can’t get enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting

jonie_rich's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense 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

4.75

This genuinely got weirdly spooky, but it also made me laugh out loud in public. A well rounded book that I genuinely enjoyed. I’m looking forward to continuing the series! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

puck_jay's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

THE PALADINS ARE ADORABLE AND I LOVE THEM. This was a good book I wish the fandom was bigger. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War

lunalorenne's review against another edition

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. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

sonatica's review

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

elly29's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This struck the right balance of intrigue, growth, and romance for me. It starts off well: first few sentences are about a god dying, and then his former paladin being adrift and broken. (I did think the romance was going to be gay paladins, but apparently that’s Book 3 in the series.) It had a lawyer, a perfumer, a spy, a prince, an assassin, a doctor, a weasel… and multiple severed heads (but they weren’t that bad? Don’t let a severed head deter you!)

The plot was fun and entertaining, and I am amazed at T. Kingfisher’s breadth.

There is some blood/gore, sexy times scenes, gaslighting, and emotional abuse. (I found them all to be pretty mild-medium, but am listing them as medium just in case.)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Gaslighting

cwerber's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

That was a very delightful read. I read through the last 25% as quickly as I could, but as luck would have it, people just kept *talking* to me, and I had to be a *normal* person. 

Seriously, though. I loved the two main characters and several of the secondary characters. I can't wait to read the second and third books. 

But I do have a question that may never be answered. How did Stephen's god die? Maybe that question will eventually be answered.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

directorpurry's review

adventurous 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror and Toxic relationship

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity