I fell head over heels in love with this book, and now I must read the next ones! I've never read T. Kingfisher before, but I 100% will now because this was wonderful. It was cosyish, with dark themes of murder and headless bodies and A KNITTING PALADIN.
I loved the mystery throughout and how it was solved, some things really surprised me and I couldn't wait to continue!
Also the romance was sooooo good!!!

Highly highly recommend to Terry Pratchett fans, Cosy fantasy readers and people who love a good mystery to dive into,

T. Kingfisher, where have you been all my life? I’m the newest-biggest fan.

Stephen is a broken Paladin after the death of his God. Grace is a perfumer running away from a dark past. One chance encounter and their paths become intertwined. A savage killer stalking the streets, a royal visit and an attempted murder. Stephen doesn’t want anyone yo rely on him and Grace doesn’t want to he saved but they may have no choice.

Oh my god this is so good. Whimsical, funny, a touch of pastiche and full of joy and good humour. There was absolutely nothing I didn’t like.

Grace and Stephen are 30+ which is sooo refreshing. There is a bit of steam but no one growls and he has a bit of dodgy back.

The story and the world is epically and easily constructed, which is a feat given the layers and complexity behind it. It does feel a bit like it starts in the middle but bear with just for a bit and you’ll be rewarded.

T Kingfisher is amazing at describing senses and her world is grounded and full of absurd and glorious details (Stephen’s love for knitting anyone?!)

I will be returning to this world!

A joyous triumph. Thank you to #netgalley and #LittleBrownUk for my free ebook

Thank you, NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Looking at the old cover and the title, I guess I expected this book to be way more high-fantasy-like than it actually was. I’m not entirely mad about it. Perhaps a little bit though.

Especially the writing was great. It was very easy going and simply hilarious. Some people might be put off by the use of quite modern phrases, but I liked it. Some fantasy books need fancy language and proper speaking to build the right atmosphere. This one just didn’t care about all that at all. The language therefore didn’t really fit into the medieval setting, but it is fantasy. People are allowed to speak however they want. And it was fun, so who cares.

I would’ve liked more plot though. For the first quarter of the book, I felt like there was no plot at all except for the budding romance. And it was an adorable romance, so nothing against that, but this is still supposed to be fantasy, not romance. Or so I thought. And while we did get some fantastic elements, there was no plot. Also, barely any world building, which nailed down the feeling that this was simply some kind of historical romance. I really wanted to see more of the berserkers. I loved the concept and we barely got any. Also, what about the other orders? The Motherhood was very much painted like the bad guys. But who were they actually? What did they do except for bully people? What about the gods? Stephen’s god died and that’s it. But there are still others. Do they… do things? Please. More world building in fantasy novels. I would've been perfectly fine with adding some 50 pages just for that.
A plot did appear at some point, and it was fine. I enjoyed what we got, but it still didn’t really play a big part. Unfortunately, this led me into a small slump right before the grand finale, because there was nothing going on and the main characters barely did anything actually relevant.

The finale itself was also fine. There was way less excitement than I would’ve liked and some parts simply frustrated me, because honestly, the main characters only had themselves to blame for some bad things happening. Also, I wasn’t really surprised by any of the twists. It was entirely obvious who the bad guys were and the naiveté of especially Grace just annoyed me.

As for the characters – it was a bit of a change to read a novel about a character named Stephen, but it was definitely refreshing. Same as the fact that the main characters weren’t teenagers or barely out of their teens, but actual adults in their late thirties. One of whom had already been married before.
I don’t mind reading books about teenagers, but this was certainly enjoyable. Unfortunately, Grace still needs to learn how to be an adult, so take my praise with a grain of salt. Most of the time she did behave like a teenager. Also, while I appreciate not only having absolutely badass female characters, could Grace have been at least a little bit badass? Please? I’m not sure if there was even one scene where she managed something on her own, without Stephen or someone else having to rescue her. But Stephen was pretty neat.
A minus for the insta love. They barely spend five minutes talking and were immediately obsessed with each other. But the romance was still cute.

On that note, I love the title. Without having read the blurb, I didn’t realise the word play, but when I noticed, it was great.

Usually I’m not a fan of too much religion in books. In this case, there is quite a bit of religion. The gods are called “Saints” and Stephen is the paladin of such a god. He lives at a temple and there are nuns and priests. Fortunately, there wasn’t that much of everything. The characters didn’t really pray, or seemed especially faithful (perhaps due to the fact that Stephen’s god is dead). So I was perfectly fine with this.

Overall, this book was completely different from what I would’ve expected, but it was fun. I might also read the next one and now that I know what to expect, I’ll probably enjoy that one even more.
While each book in the series moves around a different paladin, the plot follows through all the books. So I am hoping that there will be more plot in the next one and I’m looking forward to getting to know another paladin better.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this arc.

i am not usually big into cozy fantasy, but i decided to give this book a try for the cover. i really love that vintage design, and the illustration is very pretty. (that's not to say i don't like the other covers, because those are beautiful as well.)
what i really loved about this book is the maturity level of it. i am tired of all the very special 18 year-olds, and it was refreshing to be reading about actual adults, yet still keep the fun in the banter.
this is my second t. kingfisher book, and i will definitely read more by them.

The story of a perfumer, Grace, and a paladin, Stephen. Sinister events are happening in their city, and due to various circumstances the pair find themselves entwined in each other's lives.
The characters were loveable, the insecurities they have felt very real, and I really enjoyed the banter. The reason the story worked well for me is because of how much I cared about them.
I loved all the bits to do with Grace being a perfumer and her ability to smell things more keenly than others, especially as this was also so crucial to the plot.
I will definitely be picking up the rest of this series in due course.

Flew through this in a day. Absolutely adored it, exactly what I wanted from a book right now. I loved Grace and Stephen. It was great having both POV in a romance book, I love hearing from both parties as they fall in love and T Kingfisher got it perfect. I laughed, I cried and felt all the emotions alongside them. Having thirty-something year old protagonists with messy pasts is something I want to see more of in fantasy/romance. I now need to read all books in the Saints of Steel series.

T Kingfisher has quickly become one of my favourite authors and I had The Saint of Steel series on my radar for a while. So, when I saw they were being re-released with stunning new covers I knew now was my time to finally read them, especially upon receiving this ARC.
Paladin’s Grace is the first book in the series, it had all the things I have come to love from this author. The story is/has:
• A cosy slow-burn fantasy romance, which still has some dark / horror elements,
• Found family,
• An element of mystery.
Reading this was so much fun; the romance had me invested, the mystery elements had me intrigued; so, although this is a fantasy romance, it is also felt like so much more.
When I reviewed Nettle & Bone back in 2023, I described the characters as resilient, fallible and endearing; this also holds true for Paladin’s Grace. I loved the main characters of the story, Stephen and Grace, but many others too. Stephen is a sock knitting paladin trying to understand his place now his God is dead; Grace is a perfumer also carving out a place for herself after escaping her past. Both had me rooting for them individually and as a couple, it felt like a story about their personal healing too. Then there is the camaraderie between the paladins (I want all their stories), the hilarity of Bishop Beartongue (some of the exchanges with the paladins had me cackling), and of the course the mystery of Marguerite.
Then there is the world, which is gritty and interesting – I am left wanting to learn more but not due to lack of information. I have not read anything from The World of the White Rat, but I am now intrigued and will head to the other books in the connected series and standalones. But first I am looking forward to continuing this series and follow more of the paladins (I may have ordered the Broken Binding hardbacks already!).
This book would be a great next one to pick up by T Kingfisher if you enjoyed Nettle & Bone and enjoy fantasy romance.

I’m going to start putting books in a category I’ve never used before: fantasy comedy. Because there’s no other category morefitting for this book. It’s not an epic fantasy, not strictly a romantasy, not a cozy fantasy. But it’s ridiculously funny so fantasy comedy it is.

The story was hard to grasp at first, and I’m glad I didn’t gave it up early because this was actually a gem. Stephen is one of the remainung seven Saint of Steel Paladins, since they lost most of their brothers and sisters after the Saint was dead. There’s no actual explanation for this, and I’m curious about it, but it didn’t really affect the story.

Moving on! Then there’s Grace, a master perfumer who’s not actually a master despite her competence, but who’s gonna doubt her? Stephen & Grace accidentally met in dire but funny situation, and you can say that it was attraction at the first sights for both of them. And of course they tried to ignore the feeling and make excuses to avoid acknowledging it.

They got tangled up in weird & mysterious occurrences of beheaded head that’s been going on around AND the case of poisoned prince. This book was serving a duality: serious dangerous problems but then there’s amusing characters and hilarious interactions. Amazingly, those elements combined really well and I was thoroughly invested both to the mystery solving and the romance. I wasn’t annoyed when one of the problem hadn’t really solved by the end of the book, because I’m actually excited to read more of this world and its delightful characters. Can’t wait to read them when I get the chance!

4.5*
I changed from the kindle to audio as I was struggling eye reading this one but once I did I loved it
The book had me laughing out loud so many times the characters were great the story was interesting the world building was good and I visualised it well
A brillaint story I recommend
I should also note the struggle was with me I was enjoying the story on kindle as well just struggled with eye reading

Thankyou Netgalley for this eArc!

Oh my gosh, hello STEPHEN!! I WISH I had picked this series up sooner, but I am glad I read the Clocktaur Wars and Swordheart first.

I love a world with interconnecting books/series and this does not disappoint. The story, the laughs, the romance, the mystery - chefs kiss! I always find myself just giggling and kicking my feet when I read a T Kingfisher novel and I think I did it even more than usual with this one.

I loved learning about the paladins (shout out to Dan for 'you don't need a paladin, because I'm your Pal Uddin') and the stakes in this were brilliant for all the characters. It did stress my out a bit towards the end but I knew deep down it would be okay (probably!). Stephen and Grace were a lovely couple and Tab was such a cute little friend for Grace to live with hehe! This is another one where the inner monologuing makes the book perfect and I wish more authors did this.

I am so excited to carry on this series!

I don’t usually reach for romantasy, but Paladin’s Grace was such a welcome surprise. After reading T. Kingfisher's Nettle and Bone, I definitely wasn't expecting something like this from her. I needed something lighter with a romantic core, and this delivered—with a little murder and political intrigue on the side.

The romance was my favorite part. It’s rare to see such a believable slow burn where the character's actions actually make sense. Their insecurities, awkwardness, and emotional baggage felt real and endearing. It was also so refreshing to see that both characters were older and more emotionally mature.

The balance between romance and fantasy did shift throughout. The beginning felt very romance-forward (which I loved), but then the fantasy plot took over, which was still engaging, just not what I was primarily invested in. That said, the two threads do intertwine nicely, and the external conflict never feels like filler.

T. Kingfisher’s writing style is witty, warm, and full of personality. The third-person POV worked so well—giving just enough of their internal thoughts to stay connected without being too heavy.

If you’re looking for a fun, heartfelt fantasy with emotional payoff, tender moments, and a dose of murder mayhem, this is one to pick up.

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK for providing an eARC for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A wonderful book with an interesting plot and fun characters. As always with T. Kingfisher the sole fact that we’re dealing with actual adult characters makes the story so much better. No overly mature teens or children, but actual adults who have enough experience to deal with these hardships in a believable manner.

We have a compelling slow burn romance and a mystery based plot that makes this a page turning read. Easy to read, well written with just enough worldbuilding to enhance the story, but not so much that it bogs down the plot.

Stephen is a broken paladin. His god dead, he's trying to find purpose - and to prevent the berserk rage overtaking him, because with the Saint of Steel gone missing, Stephen is afraid he'll lose control and commit mass murder.

The rest of the time, he knits socks...

Grace is a perfumer. A Woman with Secrets, she's already lost everything - twice - and is desperately afraid it'll happen again.

So when Grace is chased through a graveyard by malevolent priests, and literally jumps into Stephen's arms to put them off the scent, she's being practical, not looking for an offer of rescue, still less for romance. And Stephen's too afraid of letting go and losing control to admit the feelings Grace stirs in him.

And yet. And yet...

Paladin's Grace is a fun fantasy romance. Kingfisher's setting - a medieval-ish town crammed with feuding priests, plotting diplomats and, as the toll of bodiless heads mounts up, murderers - is well realised without being over-serious. Stephen's, and Grace's, sensitivities, are well drawn. Their respective drives to resist romantic entanglement war with natural feelings - STRONG feelings, my goodness, as Kingfisher makes clear - but both, of course, are too embarrassed, not to say confused, to explain to each just what they're going through.

And in any case they have no time. There are murders to solve!

The two protagonists are interesting and fun - Stephen may sound from my description above as though he's stepped out of a D&D adventuring party, but he's an intelligent man, not just an arm with a sword, and a complex one at that, trying to navigate his way in a world he never expected or wanted to live in. Grace is a resourceful and determined woman who's suffered appallingly at the hands of entitled men, and is determined not to fall into any man's power. Her profession as a perfumier gives her an ambivalent place in society, allowing access to privileged circles while not being part of them. (As becomes clear when her secrets, and her life, begin to unravel, her foundations in her profession are shaky too).

Through all this, a developing plot concerning poisonings in diplomatic circler, as well as those unidentified heads, adds tension, putting both Stephen and Grace in danger and driving the story towards a violet conclusion.

While I might, perhaps, have hoped that this violence would come on a little sooner - we know it's coming, don't we? - the anticipation mirrors, er, another kind of anticipation that's building of course in our protagonists. Will they or won't they? Well, fair reader, I don't deal in spoilers, you'll just have to read the book.

All in all, great fun and - I understand - a standalone adventure in a wider world that this author is currently developing with more volumes to be published shortly. I'll be watching for them.

This feels very much in the same style as Swordheart and Clockwork Boys duology (it is the same world, after all) an despite some of the gruesome details this is very much a fantasy romcom – and despite not usually liking this sort of story, I’m here for it! It looks like the others in this series follow the other paladin’s, and I can’t wait to carry on. This is so cozy, light and fun, with witty dialogue and some entertaining supporting cast from start to finish!

Thank you Netgalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK | Orbit and T.Kingfisher for the eArc of Paladin's Grace.

With the launch of these beautiful covers, I was really excited to have this arc. I have read and enjoyed The Sworn Soilder series and a few of her standalone gothic horror novels and really enjoy her writing style. Im not really one for reading Fantasy Romance but this book had such a wonderful balance between tropes.

Our main characters, Stephen, a Paladin ( a knight, yes I had to google it! ) who's God got killed and has lost his way and Grace, a humble perfumer who has a few secrets of their own. Having literally bumped into each other in a street and Stephen saving Grace from the guards. These two strike up a slow burn friends to lovers relationship. I just loved the POV of both these character's Told from 1st POV, you get such an in-depth characterisation that you can't help but love them both. The plot line just doesn't revolve around the romance. It has intrigue, mystery, murder, adventure. And I can promise you, it will take you on a ride of emotions, feelings, the light and the dark. I just didn't want it to end, but when you come to the end, it's a good one.

The audiobook is narrated by Joel Richards who was perfect for this book.

4. 5 stars for story graph. 5 stars for other review sites.

https://lynns-books.com/2025/05/05/review-paladins-grace-by-t-kingfisher-the-saint-of-steel-1/
4.5 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Loved It. Want Much More

Paladin’s Grace was such an easy book to read. I can’t seem to get enough of this author at the moment and the books seem to be coming fast and furious which is a real bonus.

Paladin’s Grace is the first in series. It’s a romantasy, cosy in many respects but also with the author’s usual touch of darkness, bordering on light horror.

As the story begins we meet Stephen, a former paladin, brought low following the death of the God he dedicated his life to. Stephen is one of only a few remaining paladins. Most died on that ominous day and the rest live in disgrace, (after their God died the paladin’s were overcome with a beserker rage that led to bloodshed). Stephen wants nothing more than to live his life serving others and helping his brothers live out their days in peace. Well, that wouldn’t be much of a story would it? So, in a chance encounter, one evening, he makes the acquaintance of a perfume maker called Grace. Following this chance encounter the two find themselves, much against their will, thinking of each other often and innocently bumping into each other on a number of occasions.

I don’t want to go much into the plot. This is a very entertaining story with spies, assasins, over zealous religious types, a serial killer who removes people’s heads, a threat against royalty and two people becoming rather smitten.

What I really liked about this. Just everything to be honest. The story has a lovely pace, there are without doubt some darker elements, but for the most part I loved the dialogue and the characters and put simply I was rather smitten myself. I certainly didn’t guess the direction that this was going to take.

Stephen and Grace are very easy to engage with and actually were refreshingly original. Stephen is the epitome of knightly behaviour – when he’s not knitting socks or overthinking his feelings. Grace is a bundle of indecision with an excellent ‘nose’ who is about to become caught up in something of a dilemma. Grace is running from her past, Stephen is also scarred by his past and the two are undoubtedly broken but, put the two together, and as well as the chemistry there is definitely hope for both their futures – if only they can see it. These two are great. They undoubtedly made me laugh.

I also really enjoyed the supporting cast, Stephen’s brothers in arms – all needing a bit of a group hug themselves and at the same time ready to rush into the fray at the drop of a hat to protect their friend. The Monks who try to keep the paladin’s alive – in spite of the paladin’s themselves and Grace’s friend Marguerite – a spy who seems to have fingers in many pies.

To be honest I don’t think I can say much more. A cosy romantasy, with darkness and death but also a big splash of hope, an intriguing murder mystery and an assassination attempt – all mingled together. I loved reading this and can’t wait to read the next.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

It was a really nice fantasy romance. It wasn't focused on just romance, there was a lot of plot and I look forward to reading the rest in the series.

I'm obsessed, give me the whole series right now. THIS is the cozy fluffy romance fantasy I have been searching for, T Kingfisher never lets me down. I loved this from beginning to end, the intrugue, the mystery, the romance, was all delectable.

If Terry Pratchett had turned his hand to writing romance, he might have produced something not too far away from this: funny, witty, with acute and deftly rendered insight into how cities work and how *people* work. Even and especially the ones who aren’t human. And it’s sweet, and sexy, and there’s also an exciting murder mystery unfolding…

When Stephen, a paladin coming to terms with the death of his god, is forced to rescue a woman in entirely absurd circumstances, he could never dream that they’ll be thrown together again. But as political drama, religious intolerance and mysterious, savage murders begin to rack the city, they’ll have to work together to uncover the truth - and to survive. But is their fledgling attraction even safe for them to pursue?

Absolute delight to read. A little spice but it’s mostly about the slow burn.

Thank you to T. Kingfisher, Little, Brown Book Group UK | Orbit, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The first book in The Saint of Steel series, Paladin’s Grace is a (almost fluffy but with more decapitation) cozy romantasy about a paladin and a perfumer. The first 25%-30% is a little slow but the characters are unique and the plot is excellent. I was so happy to see two protagonists in their late 30s rather than 17 year olds attempting to banter (again). Fingers crossed the sequels have twice as many gnoles.