I have been loving this Saint of Steel series and so happy to jump into Paladin’s Strength. Plus you can never go wrong with a book about secrets. This one feels like a connected sequel to Paladin’s Grace with the mystery. Keep reading this book review of Paladin’s Strength for my full thoughts.
Summary
He’s a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She’s a nun from a secretive order, on the trail of the raiders who burned her convent and kidnapped her sisters.
When their paths cross at the point of a sword, Istvhan and Clara will be pitched headlong into each other’s quests, facing off against enemies both living and dead. But Clara has a secret that could jeopardize the growing trust between them, a secret that will lead them to the gladiatorial pits of a corrupt city, and beyond…
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Continuing with the thread from Paladin’s Grace, Paladin’s Strength has readers trying to figure out the murders wracking the land. Istvhan is on the case and ends up running into Clara and her own quest. Paladin’s Strength feels a bit more action packed than the first as we have two quests. Istvhan’s feels the most connected to the first, whereas I was personally drawn more to Clara’s. In some ways, I was more drawn to Clara’s quest and her story. I do think her character arc was developed more than Istvhan’s though. It wasn’t as balanced as I felt in Paladin’s Grace.
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Secrets abound in Paladin’s Strength. My favorite side characters have definitely been the gnoles, so I love that we keep seeing them in this series. I will say that I liked the parallels between Istvhan’s beserker side and Clara’s secrets. In terms of writing, I appreciated the foils within their characters and some of her nun friends were hilarious. In Paladin’s Strength, there are so many things I’d love to chat about which are major spoilers, but I’ll just say that it discusses what we would do for love and to be surrounded by the ones we love. While I didn’t fall in love with this one as much as the first, I loved Clara! Find Paladin’s Strength on Goodreads, Storygraph, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.