Book Review: Paladin’s Grace
Paladin’s Grace (Saint of Steel Book 1) by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon)
TL;DR
Paladin’s Grace is a lovely fantasy romance dripping with character and narrative voice. It is worth a read if you are even slightly interested in romance.
Spoiler Warnings and Caveats
Spoilers: I will not touch on any specific plot spoilers beyond the premise and some details from the early chapters. There will be some general discussion on the character arcs and the overall plot, but I will avoid specifics. If you like going in completely blind, just know that I highly recommend the book.
Caveats: I am not a huge romance reader, so this book was a change of pace for me. I have read/seen enough rom coms to recognize the formula, but if you want a nuanced take on how this fits into the fantasy romance canon, I simply don’t have it.
Review
Alright one more caveat. I prefer to do more of an impression than a star rating. Everyone interprets rating scales a little differently (the classic example being 5/10 vs 7/10 for something mediocre.)
Summary
Paladin’s Grace was a blast. The characters and world come alive in a way that makes it all feel so real. The whole cast has their own motivations and backstories which weave together beautifully. The two point of view characters, Stephen and Grace, have their own traumatic pasts to work through, and a touching romance where they help each other work through those issues. That sounds a little forced, but it manages to feel largely organic.
Characters
Stephen
Stephen is a berserker paladin whose god is dead. That’s a hell of a pitch for a character in a cozy romance, and it really does deliver. Understandably, he has scars from such a traumatic event, but he does the most human thing possible, just keeps on living. I found Stephen relatable throughout the whole story, especially when he was overthinking his every move and chiding himself for thinking Grace might be interested.
Grace
Grace is one of my favorite characters. Ursula Vernon must have put an obscene amount of research into perfuming for this character, because I fully believe Grace when she dissects the ingredients of a scent, or complains about how overused certain perfumes are. The way she responds to her past traumas seems so grounded and watching her overcome them is a delight. And best of all her narration is hilarious. The dry humor alone makes this book worth reading.
Supporting Cast
The secondary characters fit into this book like a snuggie. They each felt memorable and were fully realized characters with their own personalities and motivations, despite limited time on the page. I took a few week long breaks from this book and I never forgot which character was which.
Worldbuilding
Everyone has jobs! It seems like such a small thing, but there is such a clear picture of how this world works and what a normal day looks like, it is wonderful. When there are several days of rain, the city actually floods and the world reacts. There is a legal system in place (however rudimentary) and everyone’s motivations feel quite grounded in the reality of their world.
The use of point of view is handled expertly here. I don’t recall any info dumps pulling me out of the story, and things the characters wouldn’t understand aren’t explained. It always felt like I knew exactly how much I needed to for the story to work, which is impressive in and of itself.
Plot
Any fantasy romance has to balance the character arcs, the romance plot, and in this case a mystery subplot. Paladin’s Grace did this wonderfully and almost everything felt natural and well constructed. I did feel one particular element felt a touch contrived near the climax, but I can overlook such a minor complaint for everything else fitting together so well.
Conclusion
Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book. As long as you are not anti-romance novels, I think you will find something to love in here, particularly if you like strong character voices and some dry wit.
P.S. I would love to pick up another book from Ursula Vernon, so I welcome any recommendations from her catalog.