Paladin's Grace

Saint of Steel Series # 1

By: T. Kingfisher

Narrated by: Joel Richards

Stephen's god died on the longest day of the year....

Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind....

From the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Swordheart and The Twisted Ones comes a saga of murder, magic, and love on the far side of despair.

©2020 T. Kingfisher (P)2021 Tantor

No way I should have enjoyed this book…but I did

After picking up another book by Kingfisher without knowing it was a genre I normally avoid, then liking it, I picked this up, again finding it was a subgenre I avoid even more! But again very real characters and bright sparkles of humor kept me reading. Even scenes that made me cringe (my skin crawls when people are falsely accused of something, sadly no one includes trigger warnings for that) I endured for the rewarding wry absurdity and wit. Recommended, particularly if you think you know enough about the book to believe you won’t like it.

Great Story, Lovely Narration

I usually prefer duet narration, but this book was great. The narrator managed the women's voices well (no cringe!) and the male voice felt very appropriate for the story. There was some lovely world building, and an adorable meet-cute, and a slow burn romance that helped the plot along. The plot of headless bodies is an overarching one that carries into book 2, while Stephen seems to find his HEA (or at least HFN) in this book making the minor cliffhanger more of a hook (and less of a hang).

The bishop slayed me

I honestly had to hold in laughter so many timea during this. The characters are simply amazing.

so funny and characters so relatable

enjoyed the narrator's performance when revisiting one of my fav books! especially when narrator was making the civet noises 🤣 i am so fond of grace and stephen and the paladins and i'm looking forward to listening to the next books in the series

also shout out to t. kingfisher for nb rep with an important secondary character being genderqueer and that detail seamlessly fitting into the world building (and no drama about it!) we love to see it (⁠✿⁠ ⁠♡⁠‿⁠♡⁠)

Fun Story to Get Lost in

T. Kingfisher has become one of my favorites. The story is great escapism, which is what I want when I commit to a book. I laughed out loud more than once as the story unfolded. Yes, as someone else said, it is a formulaic romance, but hey, what’s wrong with that? It is entertainment and a fun story.
The narrator seemed a bit flat at first and I don’t know if he got better or I just got used to his style.
The world building that goes on in Kingfisher’s writing is wonderful.
Give this a try!

Simply Fantastic

Great story and a perfect balance of humor, romance, and action. I love this entire series!

LOVED IT

I usually read dark romance when I go for romance books BUT this narrator was amazing and Stephen is probably my favorite MMC. He's such a doll. So strong and yet so sweet. Grace is also so good at not just being a damsel, but actually caring about taking care of herself and having those tough conversations.

cute and funny

I don't normally enjoy romance, but this story is rich with humor, adventure and a sprinkle of mystery that keeps you invested the whole way through. I found it very lighthearted and fun and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

The geninue humor and likeable characters.

The reader was interesting enough. he kept the story moving. although at times I felt the story plotted along and the narration didn't help.
Overall I would listen to another book from this universe.

Brilliant!

Great start to the series! I'm absolutely hooked. And I really loved the narrator. I can't wait to read the next one!