Paladin and Necromancer

I was drawn to Paladin and Necromancer because of the strong Dungeons and Dragons vibes it was giving off.
It centres on Kass who is a Paladin of Five and Silver who is a Necromancer. Five hates anything to do with undead and as such dislikes Silver. Kass feels his God’s disapproval of Silver as his wife.
The way they develop as characters and in their relationship is done so well. Their relationship is heartbreaking at the beginning, but I enjoyed Kass’ journey to understanding and accepting Silver as she is.
I love how you get flashbacks to during the war and would love a prequel to this with Melina, Derek and the rest of Kass and Silver’s friends. I also really want a follow up to find out what happens next.
Amaya, Allen and Andrea were great supporting characters and again would love to find out more about them….😂 basically I just want more of everything!

Spoilers ahead! Thank you net galley.

I've played a few D&D games over the years so I know that divine doesn't mix well with the undead. Married to it? Ha! What a recipe for divorce. But this book pulls out all the stops. The intense philosophical debate over faith, divine, and humanity is the center of the story -of course- but you've got to love a good necromancer tale. Part murder mystery, part fantasy campaign, Paladin and necromancer is the best of both worlds. Can't wait for the next installment (though please come up with a better title). Do they ever meet 5th's avatar? Will Silver ever free her friend? Does Andrea keep their faith?

Warning, Spoilers Ahead:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gave me a lot of Dungeons and Dragons vibes and fleshed out its setting without being exhaustive. I enjoyed seeing more mature characters working through their individual issues and trauma, but wish there was more acknowledgement at the end of the story for the pressure Silver puts on Kass. He often acknowledged how he has pressured her and reflected on it quite a bit by the end of the novel, but didn't go both ways as much as I was hoping for.

One thing that stuck out to me a LOT was the similarities between this story and Dragon Age: Inquisition (the video game). This wasn't a negative for me and I liked the parallels, but it made me wonder if it was coincidence or if the author is a fan of the games. Between the rifts, the bald mage ending up as the antagonist, and the names Pride and Anders appearing in the book there was quite a bit of nostalgia for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for reviewing it!

Full review to follow later

First impression review:

"I just finished a really cool book!
It's called Paladin and Necromancer and it's exactly what it says on tin: the struggles of a paladin (whose deity disapproves of undead) being married to a necromancer, as well as both of them struggling with the psychological effects of surviving a war on demons/monsters in their backstory and dealing with a new slew of demonic invasions. It's inspired by D&D, and character-driven but with a good plot, definitely not just vibes.
(be warned: it's a part one, that took me by surprise. It works pretty well as a standalone, though.)
Also, the necromancer is physyically disabled from backstory war injuries. I don't know how good a disabled rep it is, but the text shows her struggles while still making her an integral party member that goes on all of the travelling and quests, so I liked that."

4.5 ⭐️
Thank you netgalley for giving me ARC access!

I loooved this book!! I think seeing the other side of a whirlwind war romance is such a fun and interesting slant to a fantasy romance novel, and following the lives of characters who lived through hell and are now trying to rebuild is my jam.

Loved the imagery, the depth of emotions we could feel in the MC, everything felt vivid and true to real human emotions. I cried, I laughed. Very satisfying ending and finale arc even with setting up a series and I am very excited to see what comes next in this series.

Okay for some loving feedback and the reason it's a 4.5 instead of a 5, there were a good amount of editing mistakes throughout and especially in the back half of the book, that just need to be gone through one more time before final printing (which I'm sure it will). This is so silly but three of the side characters we see a lot of in the book all have names that start with A and it just made life harder than it needed to be for me 😭 I think Amaya to Maya and Andrea to Drea would be simple and help keep characters a bit more distinct when we're first meeting them and in scenes with a lot of action and movement. Also, the title doesn't do it justice it sounds like it's going to be a silly dnd supplement and this book is a beautiful journey of what love truly means to the point of following someone through the multiverse. I have no recommendations for a better title I just think it deserves one.

Okay this book is great and I will be purchasing a physical copy when it releases and I am requiring all my friends who love fantasy and tragic romance to read it as well.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it was a fun read and a unique take on a fantasy setting. The world feels like a DND campaign in the best way and relies on an interesting take on different planes and magic to make the world feel fun and engaging. I particularly liked how paladins worked, and the necromantic spells, and how these very powerful evocations had logical and reasonable limits. I also liked the disability representation and how the romance aspect played out, showing a relationship on the rocks now that the stress of war is gone. Over all a great read and I'd love to see more from this world

Kass is a ptsd ridden divine Paladin, and Silver is a necromancer left wheelchair bound after the war. This book was unlike anything I’ve read before, in a good way! The war and conflict has already come and gone, and the world is fractured. Kass and Silver married after falling in love on the front lines, and now, years later, they are struggling to keep afloat. The FMC is disabled and disillusioned after she gave everything to end the war. The MMC is a soldier who is struggling between faithfulness to his god, and his love of his wife. When someone sends demon assassins through the multiverse to target war heroes, Kass and Silver have to work together to save the realm again.
This book has a bit of everything I love to see, and so many new elements that really sucked me in. The LGBTQ rep, disability rep, second chance romance, marriage in trouble, multiverse, mental health rep, and the theological debates were all well done and handled gently.
I took off one star from my rating because I felt like the end of the book (which has a fantastic plot twist) was left a little rushed and open. I think if this book ever gets a sequel I would give it 5 stars! I just need a bit more closure at the end.
Overall I was thrilled with this book. I’m definitely going to be reading more from this author!

A rift travelling mystery with romance wrapped up in magic. Reeling after brutal years of war, the country is slow to rebuilding. Forced apart by their choices, and their magics Silver and Kass live a love of avoidance. But demons, murder, and attacks force both of them together to face truths that have been haunting them.

Silver is an example of how strong representation is. An ambulatory wheelchair user, in a magical world, who is actually happy to enjoy life. A character who doesn’t have a disability as some sort of yoke or a curse. She just has it.

I can’t describe how healing it is to read a quote like this

“Silver loves life. She may have a messed-up pair of legs and a fucked-up arm, and a voice that doesn’t work properly. But she can still do the important stuff, like watch the sunset and eat a good meal. She will never give up on her powers, not when they are the only thing between her and the abyss. The world is still broken, and it probably always will be.”

Rifts ripped through the fabric of the universe show glimpes and gateways into hells and havens. Demons poured through them, a war of decimation that humanity only just survived. Three years after the war ended in victory - or rather three years after the attacks stopped - demons appear in Old Noll.

Ragtag crews are always my favourite, and I think this is a favourite of favourites. Setting out to undercover the source of these demons, who sent them, and why. Kass, a paladin with ptsd whose god has beef with his disabled wife; Silver disabled Necromancer who is one the most powerful mages in the realm, and whose power is hated by her husbands god; Amaya -
Autistic codes investigator who knows her stuff
And two baby faced squires who are way in over their head.