‘Stephen’s god died a little after noon on the longest day of the year.’

I had to start this review with the opening line, as it immediately hooked my interest and drew me in, and from there I could not put this beautiful book down. I’m spending my Easter Sunday morosely eating chocolate like I’m going through a bad break up, because I finished the book yesterday and I miss it so much. As soon as I finished Paladin’s Grace, I went straight onto the Waterstones website and reserved the next three, and I’m hoping I can go and pick them up tomorrow.

So, what was it about Paladin’s Grace that had this profound affect on me?

‘He was looking at her like she was a drink in a dry land.’

Stephen is a paladin whose god died three years ago, leaving his order, the Saints of Steel, bereft in murderous rampage. When the black tide finally receded, those broken paladins left were taken in by the charity of the Temple of the White Rat, and have been working to repay their kindness ever since, whilst living in fear under the shadow of the berserker tide returning.

Grace is a perfumer, scratching a new life for herself from the ground up having escaped an abusive past. She has her civette, Tab, and her friend/landlady Margueritte, and her journals of perfume notes and recipes. She has a most keen sense of smell, which triggers memories and emotions; her perfumery is everything, it’s her life.

The two meet coincidentally (and hilariously) enough, but from this chance encounter Kingfisher gently builds a burgeoning romance that I simple couldn’t turn away from. This book has a serial killer leaving decapitated heads around the city, a corrupt and dangerous order with extreme political machinations, assassination attempts, poisonings… but all that fell by the wayside for me; I was entirely invested in this scatty woman and gentle cinnamon-roll of a man getting it the hell on already. Now, I can’t stress this strongly enough; I am not a romance reader. I usually find them highly cliched and predictable, and never actually a realistic portrayal of true-life romance. All that went out the window with Stephan and Grace, which is why I think I was swept up so strongly. There was so much about their emotions (hurt people can’t possibly be good enough for others) that was so believable, written in such a respectful and convincing manner. It was cosy and sweet, in Kingfisher’s own words, ‘fluffy’… but when the heat kicked in it packed a punch.

‘A woman like that is a terrifying glory.’

Second to the romance and the characters involved in such, was Kingfisher’s world. I love it when an author has a fully realised world in which they then think up stories that take place in it – as opposed to books that start with a plot which an author then creates a world for. Paladin’s Grace most definitely features the former, and I’ve been very relieved to hear that aside from the four Saints of Steel novels, Kingfisher has other books set in this world too. It explains a lot. There is such an ease to this story, and it all stems from the fact that the events take place in a world which, for the author, pre-exists; Kingfisher navigates her narrative smoothly and with confidence. I’ve often said it’s a mark of a truly excellent book when you can imagine the characters’ story still unfolding once you’ve finished the last page – but what was exceptional in this instance was that I felt I hadn’t begun at the start of the story for these characters, that I was meeting them and they’d already lived rather full lives. I think this is the first time I’ve had this feeling, at least whilst not feeling like I’ve missed a step/book in the story.

I’ve only ever read one other book by T. Kingfisher, Thornhedge, and I jumped at the opportunity to read another of hers on the merit of that. It’s sometimes a risk, picking up a book after loving just the one other by an author and having high expectations from it… but Paladin’s Grace far surpassed them. I was hoping for a whimsical, easy read. I was gifted a story full of joy and hope, darkness and hurt, adorable characters, romance and frank discussions on love, laughter and tears. Kingfisher wraps up a modern love story in fairy-tale prose with a charming and unique voice. She’s a firm new favourite.

Paladin’s Grace and the whole Saints of Steel series, are available in beautiful new covers from Orbit. You can order your copy HERE