Paladin's Strength (The Saint of Steel, #2)
by T. Kingfisher
A little disappointed on the romance front tbh! I thought Istvhan's relationship with Beartongue from the first book was going to be the focus, or at least get a lot more page time, but no, Istvhan/Clara is basically a repeat of the last book's couple. (Clara's huge chest and her attitude about it made me close the book and offer up a moment of silent gratitude for general anesthesia and top surgery!!!) This is a purely functional romance novel - certain tropes expected and delivered. I liked Clara and Istvhan fine, but Beartongue is way more interesting.
Plot was again enough to keep me interested and was a nice vacation from my brain. There was a lot of killing guards and other NPCs and not really caring, which is not my favorite thing, but is realistic for the world (D&D campaign fantasy with more interest in local politics) and the kinds of people Istvhan and Clara are.