Paladin's Faith

Of the four (so far) in the series, this one started out as my least favorite. But I enjoyed it still as the characters were familiar and as it went on the story grew on me, and then the last 20% of the book really takes a interesting diversion and sets up what I hope is another book in the near future.

Kingfisher does it again! As always the romance was on point and delightful. Marguerite is a delight to read, and honestly strikes me as much more???open, I guess? Than the previous protagonists. Which is funny given her line of work, but she read as the one with the least to hide, and was most willing to acknowledge her own feelings and the feelings of others. 
And then there is Shane. I was not entirely expecting this storyline for him, but I am IMMENSELY pleased with and delighted by how it went. His connection to the Dreaming God was mentioned in passing in previous books, but now that I know how deep that connection goes, and what the loss of both that connection AND the connection to the Saint of Steel did to him, well??? I mean, is it any surprise that his self-doubt runs VERY deep? This facet of his personality plays a lot into his dynamic with Marguerite, and makes for some admittedly squee-worthy moments between the two of them. 
Wren is also a delight and a darling in this one. There is an entire subplot going on with her that in some ways was more enjoyable to read than Shane and Marguerite???s, largely because while the beats for the Shane/Marguerite romance were more or less familiar and unsurprising, Wren???s subplot was less predictable. 
Speaking of the Dreaming God, it was fun getting to meet more of his paladins! I kind of hope some of them will get books of their own eventually, but given that there are still three more paladins of the Saint of Steel to go before the current series is finished, I suspect it???s going to take a while. And honestly, I???m more interested in seeing more paladins of the Forge God; they seem pretty cool, based on the few glimpses Kingfisher???s shown of them in previous books in this series. 
I was also delighted by all the throwbacks to the Clocktaur War duology! Readers who???ve read those books are going to be in for a TREAT, given how many nods and mentions are made in passing to characters and events that happened in that series. 
Since there???s a rather heavy Dreaming God presence in this book, it shouldn???t be any surprise that there are demons at play, and the one featured here is VERY interesting. Won???t say more to avoid giving out spoilers, but I think a lot of readers are going to be fascinated by this one - and by the implications that particular plotline has for a whole lot of things in potential future books in this series and in others set in the World of the White Rat. 
Overall, this was a great continuation of the series, even if the connection to the bombshell ending of Paladin???s Hope isn???t as direct as some readers might???ve wanted. Then again, that???s been the pattern for this series all along, with each book able to function almost as a standalone and instead lightly referencing previous books instead of being direct sequels. Still, that plot thread in Paladin???s Hope is picked up in this one, though in a highly unexpected way that might leave some readers feeling a bit rabid about the release of the next one.