I seem to be on a fantasy kick but also specifically a T. Kingfisher fantasy kick. 

Last year, V.E. Schwab was my go-to author. And they still are (though I've read all their books so until they have more...). I think this year, T. Kingfisher has won me over. I've talked about Nettle & Bone. And I've talked about A Sorceress Comes to Call. And now I need to talk about Paladin's Grace, because it was nothing like the last two books and I think that's what makes it so good. 

Similar to V.E. Schwab, who says that none of their books are written for the same audience, T. Kingfisher's books are for different audiences as well. Nettle & Bone was for fans of fairytales and subtle feminist commentary. A Sorceress Comes to Call was for fans of witchcraft and mystery (with a side of supernatural). And Paladin's Grace is for fans of murder mysteries and dungeons and dragons. 

The book starts off by introducing Stephen, our Saint of Steel paladin, whose god died. What happens to a paladin when their god dies? 

Violent fits of rage, apparently, described as "the tide" and going berserk. 

From there, we learn there's a handful of things happening in this city:

Which is how we're introduced to our second main character, Grace. Grace is a perfumer --as in, she creates and sells perfumes. But to create these perfumes, she has to collect her ingredients from places like cemeteries. Where the Motherhood watching and waiting to accuse people of being witches. And so Grace and Stephen meet because she's being chased for witchcraft and Stephen is sworn to protect the innocent and they...pretend to be a prostitute and a John to get Grace away from the Motherhood.

Except Grace is tiny, awkward, and a bit weird. And Stephen is alarmingly charming, very confused, and also hates himself (as most paladins do). So this encounter is not sexy by any means and it's actually a fantastic introduction to romance.

From there, Stephen and Grace only interact a few more times by chance, and each time is just wildly uncomfortable because Grace refuses to admit she thinks Stephen is hot and Stephen hates himself and doesn't want to be even a little attracted to Grace because he's afraid he'll kill her if he succumbs to the tide. 

The story continues with the introduction of a handful of fun characters --Marguerite, a spy. Istvhan, another paladin. Tab, a weird weasel creature that makes several appearances. And the Bishop, who is in charge of the paladins and absolutely wants all of them to chill the hell out. 

The way the story is written is through changing POV's, switching between Grace and Stephen. It's a great way to get pieces of information from both sides --Stephen, who sees most things objectively and to the point, and Grace, who has no idea what to make of half the things going on because she's a civilian. I found the switching of point of views very well good and it transitioned well between the two. 

The world building is also very well done. While we only stay in the main city, we learn about cities that are nearby when we're introduced to the visiting prince. The city is open to different gods --there's the temple of the Hanged Mother and the temple of the Rat specifically, which are the two main groups. The Rat is who takes care of everyone; they provide shelter and lawyers and anything the people may need. The Motherhood handle witches and poisoners and are constantly accusing others of such. And again, they hate everyone and everything. However, the creation and introduction of these temples is fantastic --they're interesting, they're mysterious, and they serve an actual purpose to the story.

The romance is also very well done. It's an excellent example of two people who have lost so much and are afraid of losing more coming together with one another. Stephen's self-loathing and fear of hurting Grace is touching and frustrating, but there's no lack of communication. He says something that hurts her and apologizes soon after. Grace is straight up with Stephen when she begins finally giving into her feelings. There's no "will they, won't they" because you know they will because they both want to. It's not an issue of them not wanting to --it's an issue of working through their own flaws to get there. Also, the smut is good. There's no shame in this; Grace tells Stephen she doesn't like something and he immediately listens to her. It's well written, it's tasteful, and it's not over exaggerated smut. It's good.

I did find it a bit frustrating when so many things were introduced --there's someone cutting off people's heads, someone is trying to kill a visiting prince, Stephen is constantly trying to not give into the tide, and Grace is accused of a crime. Some of these things happen in the start of the book, but some of them are introduced halfway through, and I was getting concerned that all of these things wouldn't be wrapped up by the end of the book.

However, by the end, everything but the heads being cut off and the concern of the tide are wrapped up in a solid, satisfying way. The decapitations, however, continue on and the paladins are still trying to prevent themselves from giving into murderous rages. Turns out --this is not a standalone book but a series. So I am very excited to not only find out more about the decapitations, but also to learn more about these characters and the world that has been created in this book. 

Also, listen. I just really like paladins, okay?