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maryellen's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
astropova's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
elle_e_d_light's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Vomit
natcat's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Murder
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Torture, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Slavery, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy
wilybooklover's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Grief
Minor: Infertility and Abandonment
epsyphus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Edit for reread: I love this world so much.
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Violence, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty
bethanycrowepowell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This second installment of The Saint of Steel series stands alone while delivering on the premise of the first. Istvhan is seemingly the most well-adjusted ex-paladin, and he's leading a group on the trail of the weird serial killer creature discovered in Paladin's Grace. When he accidentally "acquires" a woman while settling a debt of honor, he's just relieved to help her get on her way. But their roads are more parallel than they expect. And while Clara is sure this troupe is doing more than proving escort to some expensive barrels, she's also hiding a lot about who she is and what exactly she's heading toward.
But as their paths continue to run with each other it seems that honesty, both about the attraction that they're ignoring as a complication and their true aims, might be worth trying.
I liked decisive, unembarrassed Clara, who in this book is powered by rage but also love, and the way her insecurities and strengths were matched by Istvhan's.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Sexual content, and Blood
Minor: Animal death
notthatlibrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Slavery and Fire/Fire injury
buttermellow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Body horror and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit