Lucie

It was a fun read, I laughed out loud a few times and I had a great time following the story of our two protagonists. I liked the setting of the book, the various references alluded to by the author as well as the side characters that were for the most part quirky and funny. However, even if I enjoyed my read, I didn't connect with Cecilia and Ned as much as I hoped to, if Cecilia was quite well developed and I enjoyed her personality, I can't say I felt the same about Ned. He is handsome, charming and funny and that's about it. He lacked substance in my opinion. Their relationship was not developed enough to my liking as they were immediately drawn to each other. Despite all that, if you want a light read with a gang of old pirate ladies, flying houses, a villain with horrible poetry tastes and eccentric side characters, I think you might like it.

Imagine a cute romance between two awkward grown adults who both have been through a lot in life. Throw into the mix a fantasy setting, hilarious secondary characters and a pinch of murder and mystery et voilà! You have Paladin's Grace. I loved it, I laughed out loud several times reading it, as well as shed a tear or two at some points. This book was something I didn't realize I needed and I loved every second of it.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I read it in two days and had a great time doing so, I found it entertaining and loved the initial setting. But despite everything, I found it a bit lacking in character development. I would have liked to know more about the main and secondary characters, their way of thinking, their feelings... While there are a few glimpses of them in this book, I would have enjoyed more of them. I found Kitty relatable, but not really endearing, in that she was rather obnoxious towards certain characters. While I sympathized with her and her situation, it was harder to really like her, even if she was kind of redeemed in the course of the book. The male protagonist was much more sympathetic and endearing to me, in terms of his relationship with his family or his traumas, although, again, I would have liked to see more. The ending also left me wanting for more; it felt rushed and not a whole lot as climactic as I thought it would be. Overall, it was a fun but also a tad disappointing read for me.