Dreams of swords and honor!
Paladin by Sally Slater
Great new female hero. Slater's writing reminds me a tad of Sarah J. Maas with a dash of Tamora Pierce.
A tried and true theme with a difference. Young woman (of noble birth) wants to be a Paladin, lives for sword fighting, and definitely doesn't want to be married off to decorate someone's holdings and birth the required heirs.
Disguising herself as a boy, Sam (Samatha) heads off to paladin headquarters to try her luck.
(I've got to say that all that breast binding and then hiding how the the 'call of nature' impacts differently for women would wear me out, let alone holding my own in sword fighting against a hulking successful Paladin. How did she get away with it? Privacy would not be the first thing on the travelling Paladins' minds).
She succeeds. An unforeseen circumstance--her co-trainee Braeden is a half demon. Her trainer, her hero from her past, Paladin Tristan Lyons, First of the Sword.
Training, fighting demons, following the High Commander's bidding, and the continued battle to disguise her gender do take a toll, as does entering the enclave of a rival organization, The Uriel. It is feared that they seek to oust the Paladins. Sam and her team find more than they'd bargained for. Frighteningly more! The Paladin are in trouble!
Well written, Sam's story exercises such a pull that you soon find yourself deep into the action and just snarl at having to face the day's busyness. A feisty young woman who won't settle for any less than she feels driven to do. Translate that drive to today's young women and here's a message for all to follow their dream. They can come true!
A NetGalley ARC
Great new female hero. Slater's writing reminds me a tad of Sarah J. Maas with a dash of Tamora Pierce.
A tried and true theme with a difference. Young woman (of noble birth) wants to be a Paladin, lives for sword fighting, and definitely doesn't want to be married off to decorate someone's holdings and birth the required heirs.
Disguising herself as a boy, Sam (Samatha) heads off to paladin headquarters to try her luck.
(I've got to say that all that breast binding and then hiding how the the 'call of nature' impacts differently for women would wear me out, let alone holding my own in sword fighting against a hulking successful Paladin. How did she get away with it? Privacy would not be the first thing on the travelling Paladins' minds).
She succeeds. An unforeseen circumstance--her co-trainee Braeden is a half demon. Her trainer, her hero from her past, Paladin Tristan Lyons, First of the Sword.
Training, fighting demons, following the High Commander's bidding, and the continued battle to disguise her gender do take a toll, as does entering the enclave of a rival organization, The Uriel. It is feared that they seek to oust the Paladins. Sam and her team find more than they'd bargained for. Frighteningly more! The Paladin are in trouble!
Well written, Sam's story exercises such a pull that you soon find yourself deep into the action and just snarl at having to face the day's busyness. A feisty young woman who won't settle for any less than she feels driven to do. Translate that drive to today's young women and here's a message for all to follow their dream. They can come true!
A NetGalley ARC
Comments
Post a Comment