I really enjoyed the book 2 in this series, great follow up. I like the writing style, the characters and the plot is exciting with a very good pace.
Thanks a lot Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly don’t know what is it about this series that I absolutely adore. I mean, this is as grimdark as it can get – well, okay, maybe not as much, but you know – and most of the characters aren’t exactly nice, or loveable. And still. Here I am, trying to gather my thoughts and coming up with something to criticise. I’m afraid this will be one of those unbalanced reviews where all I do is gushing. I guess I need to have those every once in a while. I’ll keep this review spoiler free, unless you’ve not read Priest of Bones yet. You might get spoiled then.

I think I’ve mentioned in my Priest of Bones review, that at first I found the writing a bit annoying. I didn’t understand why his editor(s) let him get away with this and not drenching manuscript in bloodred ink. I’ve been thinking about this while reading Priest of Lies too, and concluded, that Peter McLean in fact is a genius. The War for the Rose Throne is not the story of McLean, but it’s Tomas’. Since Tomas grew up in a poor family, he didn’t get much education except learning how to read and write. So of course he won’t tell his own story in a highly educated manner. And that’s exactly what makes this series so damn enjoyable. Because we read everything from his POV. He is what he is, you can say a lot of things about him, but one thing’s for sure: he is always true to himself, and his personality shines through the writing too. You can argue about whether Priest of Lies has weaknesses – probably it has – but who cares? For me it’s more important that this series has an awesome cast of characters and they make the whole book come alive. Do I agree with some of the decisions McLean made regarding the plot? Nope. Do I care? Absolutely not. When you can make me root for a guy who’d be a villain in most books, then you can get away with almost anything. But then, you have to be as good as Peter McLean. Good luck with that. I’ve a feeling that with the next book McLean will get his name written up on my favorites list.

Priest of Lies starts about halfway later from the events at the end of Priest of Bones. Despite Ailsa’s wedding gift, things aren’t as peacful in Ellinburg as Tomas would like it. Bloodhands tries to get every opportunity to seize the power, but of course Tomas has a word or two to say about that. And those words usually bring blood in their wake. To make things worse, there is unrest in the Pious Men as well – not everyone is happy about some of the events, and especially the decisions leading to them. There are some seriously jaw dropping twists in this book, and you can be damn sure Tomas doesn’t shy away from hard justice when it comes to it. And it does come to it, rest assured.

I liked the parts set in Dannsburg, as it was completely different from the already familiar Ellinsburg. The city itself, the society, the games the nobles are playing. Tomas, of course is totally out of his element, but that doesn’t make him stop from making some enemies – and some allies. We also get a glimpse into the dephts of the Queen’s Men, though I suspect there is more to that organisation than McLean let it on so far. The chapter with the dinner was just pure brilliance, which made you wish never to cross path with the leader of the Queen’s Men. Also, a dinner which is 6 hours long is a torture in itself, and this was just the least of poor Tomas’ troubles that night.

Ailsa and Tomas’ relationship is still not all sunshine and happiness, as you can have imagine. For all they are very similar in some aspects, they are also too different to see eye to eye. Tomas might be a ruthless gangster, but he still cares about his people, no matter what. McLean put us through a real roller coaster ride there, as my feelings kept changing as the story progressed and as Tomas’ feelings did. Though, to be fair, she never really grew on me. Still, McLean managed to drive in a punch to the gut with her and I’m still enraged about that – damn, I hate spoiler free reviews in times like this. I want to rant about this so much!! One thing’s for sure, she didn’t play small or left everything to faith. One thing I’m still mad about is how McLean treated Jochan. That was… equally awesome and enraging, and I’m sure I muttered “you bastard” a few times while reading Priest of Lies.

I was kind of right about Billy the Boy, who is still my favorite character. He did get a bigger role to play in the grand scheme of things, and probably he got some of the bloodiest scenes. Poor kid, McLean doesn’t really gives him a moment’s respite. As the book had ended, I’m sure he’ll have some more hard time coming. He forms some interesting friendships and still can be quite creepy. I don’t know how McLean does it, that you just can’t help loving these flawed, broken, far from perfect characters and root for them to finally get a better turn of events in their lives.

“People are weak, as I have written before, and the poorer and more oppressed they are, the weaker they become – until they just refuse to take it any more. Then they will rise up, and the gods help their oppressors.”

Even Priest of Bones didn’t shy away from bloodshed or violence when it came to it, but Priest of Lies turned it up by a notch. The War for the Rose Throne series with this addition really deserves to be mentioned amongst grimdark’s finest. Priest of Lies has an awesome cast of characters, political intrigues, gore and twists that’ll make you blinking in surprise. If you love the genre, then you absolutely must read it!

Peter McLean delights again!

Many thanks to the author and the publisher for providing an ARC via Netgalley.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Book 1 and was thrilled to learn that Book 2 does not ruin the fun but expands the story further.

The author does an amazing job with the way he delivers his story. It has quite a unique ring to it. It feels like the author is telling you the story sitting accross the kitchen table. There is some rhythmic repetitiveness, pace and colloquialisms that make this read quite an enthralling experience. I ended up gobbling it in one sitting (during a conveniently times long-haul flight).

What is it like? There are plenty of comparisons out there... But for my tastes, it brings together the best from The Godfather by Mario Puzo and fantasy fiction by Joe Abercrombie.

I absolutely loved it and encourage others to discover (or continue) this series as well ;)

The best books are those which feel alive. Those with a vivid voice, an engrossing story, and characters who feel so real that they jump off the page. Books that go beyond being just words on a page, and become an experience.

For me, Peter McLean’s Priest of Bones was one such book. If The Lies of Locke Lamora embodied the spirit of classic heist movies in a fantasy novel, then Priest of Bones did the same for the spirit of “gangster media” such as Peaky Blinders.

But for any sequel of a fantastic book, the question is always gonna be: “Does it live up to the first book?”. For Priest of Lies, the answer is yes. Emphatically, yes.

Tomas Piety picks up where he left off at the end of Priest of Bones. The city is pretty much aflame with the war on the streets, and the much more secret war going on behind closed doors. We see a little bit more of the latter this time around, but Piety still manages to get his hands dirty enough for us to roll around in the muck of the former.

There is a tonne of violence here, including the kind that is fun to read about and the kind which is… not so fun to read about. There are a few mentions of sexual assault and child assault, but these are thankfully painted as despicable acts by the characters and the narrative. Despite being a horrible man in some respects, Tomas Piety has a conscience and a strong sense of right and wrong.

It’s contrasts like this which fascinate me as a reader, and Piety is no exception. He has surprising depths for a character who can seem a little simplistic on the surface, and this complexity helps make these books a more rewarding read.

If you’re a fan of low fantasy, gangster-like stories, and haven’t read Priest of Bones yet… go and do that now. If you have read it and you’re waiting for the sequel, I can tell you that it’s well worth the wait.

Priest of Lies is an enjoyable book, and one that would perhaps have been more enjoyable if I'd read book 1 in the series but I've seen quite a bit of excitement for this book, and it became a bit infectious, which is why I went straight into Book 2 when it became available on Netgalley.
The writing is good, the character of Thomas Piety is bold and executed well, and yet for all that, I just didn't quite enthuse over the story. The premise is both unusual and also quite predictable, and I always knew there was going to be a big showdown at the end, and there was, so I wasn't disappointed in that. There are a few story arcs that felt a bit too superflous for my liking, and Thomas Piety has an annoying tendency of glossing over some details that I would have quite like to be expanded upon, and then going into detail regarding matters that I wasn't interested in.
Overall, I enjoyed the story of Thomas Piety and I'm sure it will please fans of the series, but I just don't think it's my sort of thing!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

Priest of Lies es una continuación perfecta de Priest of Bones, ya que sigue el mismo camino ya trazado por el autor en la primera entrega de la serie, pero aprovechando para ampliar tanto el escenario como el número de personajes y su profundidad.

Los recursos que utiliza Peter McLean para esta novela siguen siendo una primera persona muy creíble, en la narración de Thomas Piety, líder mafioso de la ciudad de Ellinburg. Se siguen tratando temas como los problemas mentales de los supervivientes de la guerra, pero en lo que más se ahonda es en la trama de espionaje y luchas de poder, cosa que me parece muy acertada. También conoceremos algo más del pasado de algunos personajes que no habían recibido la atención del autor antes, probablemente por falta de espacio. Aunque la construcción del mundo es bastante clásica, no por ello deja de ser atractiva.
Lo que resulta todo un acierto es la forma en que el autor utiliza los primeros capítulos para recordarnos lo acontecido en la novela anterior, sin tener que recurrir a un resumen, integrándolo de forma muy adecuada en la propia narración. El Dramatis Personae también ayuda, claro, pero realmente lo he consultado muy poco una vez que la lectura iba a avanzando, porque los nombres y los personajes son los suficientemente únicos como para distinguirlos unos de otros.
Uno de los problemas de esta primera persona tan acentuada son ciertas repeticiones en la forma de hablar, algo típico en el relato de una sola persona ya que todos tenemos muletillas. Sin embargo, creo que se podría haber suavizado este extremo, que en ocasiones resulta cansino.
Como novedad respecto a Priest of Bones durante una serie de capítulos cambiamos de escenario hasta la capital del reino. En este momento las intrigas cortesanas comienzan a tomar mayor relevancia y aparece un personaje que sin duda resultará muy relevante en el siguiente libro, una suerte de Eminencia Gris al que me gustaría se hubieran dedicado más páginas.
Aparte de estas tramas más políticas, las luchas de poder entre las bandas rivales también tienen un componente de violencia desatada muy en la línea con lo que se espera de unos mafiosos que luchas por controlar las calles de la ciudad. McLean no duda en representar esa crueldad inherente a la guerra sucia e incluso se regodea en ello, con el castigo a una tración relatado pormenorizadamente, por ejemplo.
Me gustaría hacer referencia al tratamiento de las relaciones homosexuales, de forma natural e incluso respetuosa, aceptada por todo los personajes.
Siento verdadera curiosidad por la siguiente entrega de esta serie y espero leerla cuando esté disponible.

I absolutely loved being back in Ellinburg. Well. I say "loved". It's a dark world, and one were even a hint of weakness will be exploited until the person breaks. But the narrative is so addictive that it just sucks you in, whether you want to or not. Some of it is not easy to read, and it definitely falls on the dark side of grim (couldn't resist).

"Vengeance is mine, sayeth Our Lady, and I am Her priest."

Six months have passed since book one ended, and our narrator, Thomas Piety, leader of the Pious men, is beginning to realize that prior events have consequences he didn't consider. And someone definitely has plans for him.

"Everyone has a lever that moves them, and everyone has their weakness too. If you can't find the lever to move someone, then you find the weakness, and you take hold of it, and you squeeze until they break."

There is more of what made the first book so great: the writing is intriguing, the comradery between the soldiers, the magic, the intrigues, and the still unanswered questions: where is this going? What are those mysterious plans someone clearly has for Piety and his city? Just who is the mysterious Queen no one has seen, but everyone risks everything for? I can't wait to return to this series and find out!!!