CBR15Bingo: On the Road (a lot of this book takes place on the road)
I continue my slow progress through this trilogy, having read the first one about a year ago and loved it. I then got the next two for either Christmas or my birthday last year and then they sat on my shelf waiting for the opportune moment to strike and whisk me away to a delightful fantasy-romance-mystery realm. Well, last week was the time and I zipped right through this one. Honestly, I think I liked this book even more than the first one, because Istvhan and Clara stressed me out less than Stephen and Grace. They still had the communication errors and self-esteem issues to work through, but it seemed less all-encompassing and distracting for them. I also appreciated that this volume was able to hit the ground running since the basics of the world are all fleshed out, so it felt like it moved at a very rapid pace. Galen remains my favorite background character and there was a lot more of him here, so that added to my enjoyment. I’m excited to see that the third book of the trilogy is all about him, and I’ve already started it (I am sad it is half the length of the other books, but what can you do).
Paladin’s Strength follows Istvhan as he tries to figure out the mystery of where the smooth men are coming from and what they are. He is doing so while pretending to be leading a group of mercenaries guarding a caravan, and while en route he and Clara end up meeting via a complicated fantasy Balkans honor killing scenario that Clara helps him navigate. From the beginning, Clara is such a great character and she and Istvhan bond over being very large people in a world made for small people. The simultaneous mysteries of the smooth men and Clara’s problem are well intertwined and the whole book really goes down so pleasantly. For being about some pretty grim topics and about dealing with residual trauma, there is a very safe and sweet tone that makes it soothing to read. I was on the train and somehow I read almost 300-400 pages in a day, entering some sort of fantasy fugue state. This series really is such a delight and I’m grateful to CBR for alerting me to it.
Warnings for: violence, murder, body horror, maiming, slavery, sexual content