Paladin's Faith by T Kingfisher Series: The Saint of Steel #4
on December 5, 2023
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 517
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Marguerite Florian is a spy with two problems. A former employer wants her dead, and one of her new bodyguards is a far too good-looking paladin with a martyr complex.
Shane is a paladin with three problems. His god is dead, his client is much too attractive for his peace of mind, and a powerful organization is trying to have them both killed.
Add in a brilliant artificer with a device that may change the world, a glittering and dangerous court, and a demon-led cult, and Shane and Marguerite will be lucky to escape with their souls intact, never mind their hearts…
Paladin’s Faith is the four book in the the Saint of Steel series and it was phenomenal. T. Kingfisher has done a great job with all of the all of her books with Paladins in them. I love that she leans into the trope that they have a tendency to take blame for everything, feel guilty for things they shouldn’t and the general martyrdom they feel. I have found Paladins in the past to be one of my least favorite tropes but with this view of them it completely works. The Saint of Steel series follows a set of Paladin’s whose god has died. They have been left adrift after the death of their god an now serve the Temple of the White Rat who took them in. Shane, is special in that he lost two gods in his life, not just one and so he can be extra broody about it sometimes.
Shane wondered if there was a term for feeling guilty about not feeling sufficiently guilty.
We met Marguerite in Paladin’s Grace. She is a high caliper spy, and is currently trying not to get killed by her sometimes employer and sometimes enemy, the Red Sail. It seems that some of them have it in their head to kill her. She needs to borrow a few Paladins to help her find an artificer who has built a contraption that will destabilize the Red Sail enough that Marguerite is not in danger anymore. The job is simple, get the the Court of Smoke, gather intel to figure out where the artificer is and get to her before the Red Sail. Also, don’t die in the process. Marguerite is in more more than she expected though with two Paladins in tow and a building lust between herself and Shane.
The Court is a dangerous place. Subtle intrigue is not really what Paladins train for but Wren and Shane are doing well enough under Marguerite’s tutelage. Shane can’t help but like almost everything about Marguerite and it is so distracting to him. He is dangerous without his god, all the Saints of Steel are with nothing to guide him when he goes into a Berserker’s rage.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Which, in most other men, she would have taken as a brush-off, but in Shane was probably nothing more of less than the truth
“Physically of emotionally?”
“Errr…” He had to think about that. “I was mostly worried about physically. You, um…don’t seem very vulnerable emotionally.”
What I love about this series is that there is the greater arc of how did the Saint of Steel even die, I mean he was a god and who can kill that, but it is also the stories of how each of the Paladins who lost their god find a way in this new world. I especially liked that not only did we get time with Shane, but also Wren to see more of the love and dynamic between the survivors. They are siblings and Shane might make mistakes while trying to help his little sister, but it is always well meant and sweet.
I would say that this is probably my favorite of the series since Paladin’s Grace and with the set up for Judith’s book which I assume will be next, I will try to wait patiently to see what T. Kngfisher’s plan is for her. T. Kingfisher has a humor I love and great moments between flawed characters. I always enjoy the stories she tells.
“Shane,” she said, turning to look at the paladin, “when a woman is lamenting that she doesn’t feel attractive, you’re supposed to tell her she’s beautiful. Not that you’re honored to kill people with her.”
He looked at her blankly, then said, “Oh.”
| Rating Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Plot |
|
| Writing |
|
| Characters |
|
| Dialogue |
|
| Overall: | |
Friend me at Goodreads.
- How to Steal a Galaxy by Beth Revis @bethrevis@dawbooks@BerkleyPub @SnyderBridge4 - December 2, 2024
- 🎧 Surviving Skarr by Ruby Dixon #RubyDixon #HollieJackson #MasonLloyd @TantorAudio #LoveAudiobooks #KindleUnlimited @SnyderBridge4 - November 25, 2024
- 🎧 Two Lies and a Lord by Eloisa James @eloisa_james #FelicityFoster #BrillianceAudio#LoveAudiobooks @SnyderBridge4 - November 23, 2024
This is another author I need to read. I think there are some YA books too? Great review, and I love the cover of this one.
T. Kingfisher is an autobuy for me. She has some fun Middle Grade and then these Romantasy. I completely love the world she has built that these books are in.
If I was going to suggest where to start to totally fall in love with her (or not) I would say read Swordheart, still my absolute favorite.
This author! Now I need to read this one.