Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher

38 reviews

kaneebli's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Sexual content, Trafficking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility, Slavery, Torture, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

neleusb's review

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

if you can avoid knowing anything about the concept and characters (besides its connection to the series) before this, highly recommend

because i did NOT expect my girl to turn into a bear and there’s a fuckin bear on the cover

. madam kingfisher really batting 1000 with kinda awkward middle aged people being really adorable together. it was a little slow for me in certain bits but the ending was so fun

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, and Vomit

Minor: Suicide

sadetanssija's review

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Excrement

leontyna's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were slightly less annoying in their will-they-won't-they dynamics than in the previous book in the series, it felt like they had better reasons for their hesitation. It became a bit annoying after a while though, I would have loved a shorter slow-burn. Luckily there was enough action to keep me distracted from my annoyance.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Kidnapping

tifftastic87's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.75

What does one of the last remaining Paladins of the Saint of Steel have in common with a nun trying to track down her kidnapped sisters? A hell of a lot more than you'd think! Clara and Istvhan's quests seem to be overlapping leading them both further into danger and each other's affections. 

Following the events in Swordheart and Paladin's Grace, but not requiring or spoiling either of those books, Paladin's Strength is the same quest while falling in love style. I really like these, and I am picky about romance, for a lot of reasons. Namely that the characters are in their 30s to 40s, have body diversity, have goals other than getting in the other's clothes (though they aren't shy about having thoughts about that), and are usually pretty funny. T Kingfisher has a sense of humor that works really well for me and her worlds are both dark and humorous in a way that blends very smoothly. 

Istvhan is a large man who recognizes that he is a large man who can be imposing and that combined with his rank puts him in a position of power over Clara, a fact that he acknowledges and takes into account from the beginning. Clara is now slouch though, she's not well trained in battle but she is also a very tall and imposing woman, who can swing a hammer as good as Istvhan can swing a sword. The last third of the book made me emotional at a lot of moments, something I wasn't expecting mixed in with jokes about apple pox and being attacked by rotting bodies.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Kidnapping

rhi_'s review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, and Blood

Minor: Sexual content

turrean's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-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

4.0

A pattern of unrequited longing, a satisfying romance, a horrifying villain, lots of witty banter. Check, check, check, and check: this is by Kingfisher. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Kidnapping

jonie_rich's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

bdingz's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

T. Kingfisher is great at writing loveable characters. I’m excited to read more about Galen.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Confinement

Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, and Fire/Fire injury

ritabriar's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

5.0

I adore how Istvhan and Clara are built for each other, how their deep, dark secret flaws are exactly what makes them perfect for each other. As always, the main characters are kind and humorous. Sigrid, Galen, and Brindle are all vibrant and each charming in their own way. 

The story is a quest and a mystery braided together with a romance on a road trip. It really has everything.

We get to visit a new city, with problems the Temple of the White Rat

can't really solve, but tries to manage anyway.

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, and Panic attacks/disorders

There are gladiatorial pits and a

group of women

forcibly taken to them. Creepy dolls make an appearance, in a way, associated with the

return of the smooth men

.