Teaser Tuesdays - Blackthorn

 

It's to this place I now return, having fled twelve years ago after my mother's death.

Or murder. Depends on who you ask.

 (page 5, Blackthorn by J.T. Geissinger)

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their  TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Paladin's Grace - Book Review

 

Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel #1)

by T. Kingfisher

What is it about:

Stephen's god died on the longest day of the year…

Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind…

From the Hugo and Nebula Award winning author of Swordheart and The Twisted Ones comes a saga of murder, magic, and love on the far side of despair.

What did I think of it:

I loved Swordheart, so I decided to give The Saint of Steel series a try as well. 

First pleasant surprise: this series is set in the same world as Swordheart! 

Second: the heartwarming coziness of this book.

Yes, this book totally made me cry not even one page into it, but overall it's so nice and cozy in its mood while still being suspenseful as well.

I really loved Stephen and Grace, was intrigued by and curious about some of the other characters, and kept reading to see what was going on and if Stephen and Grace would catch on quick enough to save the day. I also fell even further in love with this world, so you bet I will read the other books in this series as well.

Why should you read it:

It's a cozy yet suspenseful Fantasy Romance

Favorite Reads from 2025

 

I wanted to show you our absolute favorite reads of 2025 before trying to get back in regularly reviewing. (I've got a backlog of books I need to review still, so enough to review for the next few weeks.)

I did leave out rereads, so in months where a reread was my favorite book I picked the next best read.

In January A Sorceress Comes to Call by T, Kingfisher was my absolute favorite read.

In February it was more difficult to say which was my favorite, so I'm just listing both The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst.

The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn blew me away in March.

April was a tie again:

Enchantra by Kaylie Smith and The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher.

We didn't read a lot in May, so Resisting the Wicked Orc by Chloe Graves won from the two other books in the same series Voodoo Bride read that month. (Vexing the Grumpy Orc is her favorite, btw, but she read that one in March.)

Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert won by miles in June!

(I will confess to having read earlier versions before June, but in June I finally got to hold and read the real thing, so it counts!)

Love is a Warsong by Danica Nava was our favorite read in July.

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo was probably our favorite read in August, but it might be Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher, which I think I finished at the end of August, but as I might have finished it in September, and had a slow month in September I listed it as the September favorite.

In October it was The Glass Slide World by Carrie Vaughn.

A Court of Sugar and Spice by Rebecca F. Kenney was our favorite read in November. Voodoo Bride might have gone on a bit of a binge and read 4 other books by Kenney after finishing A Court of Sugar and Spice.

For December it was difficult to pick again, so I will list both Paladin's Hope and Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher.

And I'm leaving out lots of other cool books, but to list all 76 books we read is a bit too much work.

Happy reading, everyone! 

My 2025 reading according to Goodreads

 First let me wish you all a wonderful 2026 filled with good books!

On this first day of the new year I want to share some of the graphics from Goodreads recap of my reading in 2026 just for fun.

All in all I had a great 2025 when it comes to reading.

Here's to lots more 5 star reads in 2026.