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elly29's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
Overall, I liked it. I liked Isteban and Clara, and I liked the premise, and I liked that it was another romance where two older people who have been broken heal and find love.
I think I enjoyed most the continuation of the world and overarching plot from “Paladin’s Grace,” but with a different set of characters. Steven and Grace were mentioned (the former by name, the latter not so much), and perhaps we have been set up for Galen’s story, which will be book #3. But this was Isteban’s story, and we got to see his backstory and character growth.
Plus, I liked Clara’s powers.(Does Isteban call her Clare-bear?)
I think I enjoyed most the continuation of the world and overarching plot from “Paladin’s Grace,” but with a different set of characters. Steven and Grace were mentioned (the former by name, the latter not so much), and perhaps we have been set up for Galen’s story, which will be book #3. But this was Isteban’s story, and we got to see his backstory and character growth.
Plus, I liked Clara’s powers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Animal cruelty
lilbookbee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.5
Lord what am I gonna do when I run out of T Kingfisher romances to read? I will be bereft and my long commutes will become unbearable. I will simply have to perish. 😮💨
In the meantime though, I'll be thoroughly enjoying The Saint of Steel books. T Kingfisher doesn't MISS, and this book is certainly no exception. With her brilliantly interesting story telling, and wit that makes me laugh out loud fairly often, I cannot resist the pull of these books. They are so well written, so fascinating, such lovely fantasy stories with romances that are just delightful. I cannot speak highly enough about the body of work in general, but specifically this book.
As much as I adored Grace and Stephen, Istvhan and Clara hold my heart. Their witty banter, kind hearts, and eventual ass-over-tea-kettle type love just had me swooning. I knew I was going to love Istvhan based off his appearances in Paladin's Grace, but it didn't prepare me for just how much I would love him. And Clara, sweet Clara, was just such a perfect match and able to go toe to toe with him in all the best ways. I wanted to SWOON every time he called her "Domina" and I give Clara all the credit in the world for not doing so herself. And getting to get glimpses at Galen, and knowing he is the main paladin in Paladin's Hope was perfect. I have a feeling he may become my new favorite!
I cannot finish this review without singing the praises of the audiobook narrator. He did narration for the two Saint of Steel books I have read, and I've learned he does narration for the third as well. He does a magnificent job giving voice and personality to these colorful cast of characters. He really made an amazing story somehow better.
In the meantime though, I'll be thoroughly enjoying The Saint of Steel books. T Kingfisher doesn't MISS, and this book is certainly no exception. With her brilliantly interesting story telling, and wit that makes me laugh out loud fairly often, I cannot resist the pull of these books. They are so well written, so fascinating, such lovely fantasy stories with romances that are just delightful. I cannot speak highly enough about the body of work in general, but specifically this book.
As much as I adored Grace and Stephen, Istvhan and Clara hold my heart. Their witty banter, kind hearts, and eventual ass-over-tea-kettle type love just had me swooning. I knew I was going to love Istvhan based off his appearances in Paladin's Grace, but it didn't prepare me for just how much I would love him. And Clara, sweet Clara, was just such a perfect match and able to go toe to toe with him in all the best ways. I wanted to SWOON every time he called her "Domina" and I give Clara all the credit in the world for not doing so herself. And getting to get glimpses at Galen, and knowing he is the main paladin in Paladin's Hope was perfect. I have a feeling he may become my new favorite!
I cannot finish this review without singing the praises of the audiobook narrator. He did narration for the two Saint of Steel books I have read, and I've learned he does narration for the third as well. He does a magnificent job giving voice and personality to these colorful cast of characters. He really made an amazing story somehow better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Animal death, Sexual content, and Animal cruelty
kmtaylor002's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
abhss's review against another edition
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
narya's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Si ya me encanto el primero, no sé cómo es posible que el segundo me haya gustado aún más. Los protagonistas son un rayito de luz. Comparten dificultades y construyen sobre ello, ayudándose, conociéndose y siendo absolutamente idiotas. El misterio del libro anterior continua y no me podria haber engamchado más.
Personajes a los que adoras sin darte cuenta, giros que no ves venir ni de lejos y todo haciendo un libro precioso. Muchas ganas de leer el siguiente.
Me habria gustado saber más sobre el juego político detrás de la ciudad donde está el coliseo y sobre la misteriosa muner que recluta a Istvhan en su celda.
Personajes a los que adoras sin darte cuenta, giros que no ves venir ni de lejos y todo haciendo un libro precioso. Muchas ganas de leer el siguiente.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Sexual content
maryellen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
My God, but I love this series so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Murder, Sexual content, Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Death, and Kidnapping
astropova's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Grief, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
elle_e_d_light's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
4.25
I may have liked the first book just a bit more, but I still really loved this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Vomit
nimeneth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Gore, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide and Kidnapping
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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? Yes
5.0
Clara is on the trail of her abducted sisters, and Istvhan is tracking a very strange pattern of headless corpses. They meet abruptly when Clara helps Istvhan navigate a cross-cultural social situation with the potential to go very badly for everyone involved. It turns out they need to go in roughly the same direction, and Clara joins Istvhan's traveling party while she tries to get word of her sisters. Most of the story revolves around the various obstacles in their journey, and the growing rapport between the two of them. The interactions are complicated at times as they're not sure how interested the other person is or how far they can be trusted. Clara, especially, has a lot of reason not to trust anyone with her secrets as they're not hers alone.
Istvhan was a secondary character in PALADIN'S GRACE, and his mission is related to the murderous and undead-adjacent "smooth men" Stephen encountered briefly there. This serves to wrap up that storyline, possibly completely, but it remains to be seen whether there will be further related incidents in later books. I enjoyed the brief anecdote from Istvhan as to more developments in Stephen and Grace's relationship. There's a new storyline related to Clara and her kidnapped sisters of St. Ursa, as well as the romance between Istvhan and Clara. This isn't the last book in the series, but because it appears that each book with have a different protagonist, it's pretty wide open as to what might be open enough to be picked up later. The one thing I can say for certain is there are five more paladins of the Saint of Steel who can be protagonists, and that the White Rat will continue to be relevant. Beyond that, these books are gradually filling in a whole world, and it's open enough that it doesn't feel like anything in particular was left for later, other than the march of time and that people will continue to need help that can be given by broken paladins of a dead god with their shiny swords.
Istvhan feels like he did in the first book, albeit having been filtered through Grace and Stephen's perceptions of him. Clara is an entirely new protagonist. Istvhan and Clara both have secrets they're keeping, and good reasons to be concerned that the other person might not want to stick around once they know. The romance is a slow burn, as even after they start to be physically intimate they don't know if the other person will stay interested once they know more of what's going on.
This would make sense to someone who started here without reading any other books in the world of the White Rat, let alone in The Saint of Steel series particularly, but the loose collection of the White Rat are building a world with each new story, and a few side details will be more impactful for someone who has already read PALADIN'S GRACE, in particular. Sometimes these little details double as updates about characters met elsewhere, other times they just contribute to the reader's growing knowledge of their shared setting. However, the main story and most of the side threads will be understandable and have much of their poignancy for someone who picks this up without knowledge of the other books.
I love the gladiator sequence towards the end. It's a tangle of plans, interruptions, and hoping things go well long enough for them to pull off something just shy of a miracle under terrible conditions.
Istvhan was a secondary character in PALADIN'S GRACE, and his mission is related to the murderous and undead-adjacent "smooth men" Stephen encountered briefly there. This serves to wrap up that storyline, possibly completely, but it remains to be seen whether there will be further related incidents in later books. I enjoyed the brief anecdote from Istvhan as to more developments in Stephen and Grace's relationship. There's a new storyline related to Clara and her kidnapped sisters of St. Ursa, as well as the romance between Istvhan and Clara. This isn't the last book in the series, but because it appears that each book with have a different protagonist, it's pretty wide open as to what might be open enough to be picked up later. The one thing I can say for certain is there are five more paladins of the Saint of Steel who can be protagonists, and that the White Rat will continue to be relevant. Beyond that, these books are gradually filling in a whole world, and it's open enough that it doesn't feel like anything in particular was left for later, other than the march of time and that people will continue to need help that can be given by broken paladins of a dead god with their shiny swords.
Istvhan feels like he did in the first book, albeit having been filtered through Grace and Stephen's perceptions of him. Clara is an entirely new protagonist. Istvhan and Clara both have secrets they're keeping, and good reasons to be concerned that the other person might not want to stick around once they know. The romance is a slow burn, as even after they start to be physically intimate they don't know if the other person will stay interested once they know more of what's going on.
This would make sense to someone who started here without reading any other books in the world of the White Rat, let alone in The Saint of Steel series particularly, but the loose collection of the White Rat are building a world with each new story, and a few side details will be more impactful for someone who has already read PALADIN'S GRACE, in particular. Sometimes these little details double as updates about characters met elsewhere, other times they just contribute to the reader's growing knowledge of their shared setting. However, the main story and most of the side threads will be understandable and have much of their poignancy for someone who picks this up without knowledge of the other books.
I love the gladiator sequence towards the end. It's a tangle of plans, interruptions, and hoping things go well long enough for them to pull off something just shy of a miracle under terrible conditions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Murder, Gore, Body horror, Suicide, Sexual content, Grief, Blood, Death, Confinement, and Child death
Moderate: Mental illness, Torture, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Medical content, Cannibalism, Vomit, Genocide, Pregnancy, and Slavery