Yay, this series is all about pairing off those paladins! Well, of course it is, their god is dead, they are still traumatized, they need good things in their lives.

Thus Istvhan the paladin meets Clara the nun (lay sister - not sworn to celibacy – what a relief). They are sort of kind of compelled to travel together, while Clara is on the trail of her kidnapped sisters. Isvhan doesn’t really have time for this, he is hunting the supernatural mass murderers from the previous book, but...
“And if he did not turn aside and help a nun, his maternal relatives for nine generations would rise from their graves and come to his dreams to box his ears, with his mother at the forefront.”

Look, it’s instalove! Usually, I’m allergic to this kind of thing, but Kingfisher makes it cute and makes it work. But they shouldn’t! They have secrets! This is not the time! Let’s be very silly! Mwahaha, said the omniscient and experienced reader. (I do wish Istvahn would stop thinking about FMC’s breasts, though, I lost count of all the times he thought about them ;) Also, the “they keep getting interrupted” trope showed up way too many times – once is enough.)

Bandits show up.
“Protect the nun!” roared Istvhan, yanking his sword free. “Protect your own damn self!” Clara roared back.
Then she finds herself a weapon. So, she is a warrior nun! Yes, I know, it’s “lay sister”. It just doesn’t sound as cool. Clara’s secret is pretty awesome (This kind of thing only happens in a Kingfisher book, I tell you).

Interactions between Istvhan and Clara when Clara is … um …. her other self are hilarious.
Their “regular” interactions are entertaining as well.

“Making a bit of a mess of things, he observed internally. “Keep talking though. I’m sure you can make it worse.” Me: chuckle, chuckle, chuckle. Here is some excellent relationship advice, by the way: “Don’t assume she knows what you’re thinking.”

I make it all sound hilarious and fun, and it is. At the same time, this book is much darker than the previous one. There is a lot of grief and trauma, and the story behind the decapitating killers is dark, tragic and really sad.

The latter part of the book is full of adventure and danger, desperate battles. sacrifices and desperate escapes. The ending gets a thumbs up (naturally). ( )

4.5 stars!

So, I had no idea the Paladin books were going to be a series and therefore this was a lovely surprise. I enjoyed everything about Istvhan and Clara- from being privy to their inner thoughts, to their attitudes. I particularly enjoyed reading about Istvhan's reactions in certain circumstances regarding Clara and the care and effort he put into it being consensual. While more heartbreaking than Paladin's Grace, I enjoyed every single part of this novel and I'm now panting for Galen's story.
( )

I like that the heroine was kinda hefty, and had an impressive shift. And I generally liked this couple together, though the doubting on both their sides was excessive. Overall I'm pleased I read it. ( )

Paladin’s Strength is the second volume of T. Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel trilogy. It is a sequel to Paladin’s Grace. Istvhan is a berserker working for the temple of the white rat. He is leading a team hunting for the serial killer identified by Grace and Stephen in the first novel. But first, he has to rescue a nun whose whole convent has been kidnapped. Since I want to avoid spoilers, I just say that the nun is not as helpless and chaste as she seems. And, yes, romance ensues. 4 stars for this stylish mix of action, romance, and magic. ( )

There were pieces of it that felt a little forced, and really they needed to use their words with each other, but at the same time, being a reticent person I could see that most of it fell within the realm of possibility.
It was so refreshing for the female character to not be tiny compared to the male character and that a lot of the reticence was stuff in their respective pasts and scars that are still in place rather than being in the past.
It's not an easy romance and occasionally they get interrupted, to comic effect and a raising of the heat between them; but with two quests going on that lead to the same place, its a story where their cooperation is important.

I really really enjoyed this read and found the characters to be delightful. While it makes more sense if you have read the first book in the sequence, it would work alone. I enjoy the sarcasm and attitude of the characters and can see the motivations quite clearly. There's ongoing trauma that isn't handwaved away and secrets that have consequences if they're revealed. It was a great read that kept me nicely distracted when I needed it. ( )