Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher – A One of my Twitter friends who gives excellent book recommendations, recently put me onto this author and I’m so grateful (thank you Aarya!). I listened to the first book in the series, Paladin’s Grace which was also fantastic, which I reviewed for AudioGals. And then I bought the ebook of this one because I wanted more.

There is a story arc over the two books about people’s heads getting chopped off but the main characters are different and there’s a romantic HEA for a different couple in each book. Still, I do recommend reading (or listening – the narrator is wonderful) to the first book first to get the most out of this book.

Istvhan is a Paladin for the Saint of Steel (who is a god but something got lost in translation regarding the name use for him) who died some 3-4 years earlier. This obviously sent everyone who served the Saint into a tailspin and left the Paladin’s bereft – those who survived at any rate. Paladins for the Saint of Steel are berserkers and it was only the god’s influence which stopped them from killing innocents. There are only 7 Paladin’s left now and they’ve been taken in by the Temple of the White Rat – a church which is all about serving people and not so much about telling them how to live their lives and making restrictive rules.

Clara is a lay sister in the Order of St. Ursa. All of the Sisters of St. Ursa have a particular ability which leads them to the order (there’s a hint in the name and on the cover too). Her convent has been burned down and her remaining Sisters have been kidnapped. She’s on a mission to find them and rescue them if she can. Continue reading