Cleric, so confusing

This book would have benefited from being an actual novel and giving some time to the world and character building. Trying to do high fantasy in such a short span was a bit too ambitious I fear. Giving two stars to the writing itself which I did enjoy! I listened to the audiobook and I don't recommend it as I'm under the impression it might be easier to understand a physical or ebook due to the formatting. So audiobook only if you're planning on immersive reading I guess? Some books don't work well as audiobooks but it's a shame and feels like a minus point when it comes to accessibility. Like many others I'll also link to 🔗the very thoughtful and thorough review by @ruiconteur which goes into how it mishandles Chinese culture, something very important to mention but that I don't have enough knowledge on to pin down in a review.

What an intense, edge-of-your-seat ride this book was! For as much as I love gory, horrific, disgusting horror books, I also enjoy a great psychological horror and that's precisely what this was.

What started as a mystery slowly built to dread and horror. With the story being character-driven, I was pleased that each character was unique in their own right. While just every day, ordinary individuals, the characters stories were their own. I normally struggle with so many characters and POVs, but Armstrong did a fabulous job sticking primarily with two, with brief forays into the other characters' POV. I do wish that we'd gotten a little from the Bartender's POV, but he was certainly verbal enough that you got a pretty good idea of who he was/what was going on in his mind.

As for the plot itself, I don't want to reveal too much but the monsters in the book were favorites of mine and goes back to the psychological. The ending was fantastic and my heart was racing those last two chapters.

Kelley is a favorite author of mine, and she did not disappoint with this one. I would absolutely recommend to everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an eARC.

Another super fun read from T. Kingfisher! I'm bummed it's over and honestly want to reread Swordheart now.

I adored the characters of this book, and I am continually amazed by the author's ability to charm me with her characters. Our bookworm MMC was so very kind and sweet, and it was very fun to see him all grown up from the Clocktaur Wars books. He was the exact perfect balance of caring and learned. Our stabby sword MMC was so endearing as well, and I really can't decide which of the two I like better. Their relationship was complex and some serious dark stuff to work through, and it made for a strong romantic connection.

I really missed gnoles of the Kingfisher world and I loved this book's gnole. She was a much needed balance of common sense to silly boys, and she was such an important part of the journey. Large Francis, our isopod queen, is one of my very favorite Kingfisher characters, which is saying something. T Kingfisher is so adept at using interspecies dynamics as social commentary, and I was laughing and nodding along to these non-human girls quite often. Previous books' character cameos were not overindulgent in my opinion and really pulled together the whole world of the White Rat, but I could read a million books in this world.

I read this book in two days because it was so gripping and entertaining. I have genuine fun reading Kingfisher, and her strengths were really put to good use in this book. The humor was handled so well amongst some dark trauma, and the story pulled at my heartstrings more than once. The romantic relationship between the two characters could have been a little more drawn out in my opinion, but they did have excellent chemistry.

Recovery from very traumatic and extensive torture is a large part of this book, and it is a bit graphic at times. You do not have to read the Clocktaur Books or the first in this series to read this one, but you'll get the references if you do. If you liked Swordheart or Paladin books by T. Kingfisher, I think you will like this book. I can't wait to read the next in the series (and everything else Kingfisher writes)!