Sally Slater

Paladin by Sally Slater is another Wattpad success story. It currently sits at…wait for it… 11.4 million reads and 258K votes and has now been published. It has over 840 ratings on Goodreads - not bad for a book that was published in May this year.

Lady Samantha Heywood, daughter of the Duke of Hayward is a young woman whose life is laid out before her – duty and marriage. Samantha knows she wants more in life, but isn’t sure what “more” is. After witnessing the murder of her mother by a demon and narrowly escaping the same fate, Samantha decides to change the course of her life. After training in secret, Sam Heywood joins the Paladins, an order of knights whose role is to protect the kingdom from demons and other threats – of course they don’t allow women in their ranks.

This is a familiar story line, but you forget that and simply enjoy it, as it's well executed. Slater manages to create engaging characters with emotional depth. Sam is fallible and her character evolves throughout the course of the novel, as do those of the two main male characters.

Here we have a teen who feels trapped and rails against her future, yet doesn’t initially know what she wants – this might be a fantasy novel, but right there in the first few pages is something many in the YA core readership will relate to. (We know almost immediately what is at stake for our heroine. Structure 101- I wish I read more manuscripts that got this right so quickly.)

I like the fact that Slater's heroine has to work hard for what she wants, is not perfect and confronts and often overcomes sexism. On the adventure side of the story, she also faces human and demon adversaries; there are some excellent battles. None of her trials are without cost. There is an emotional cost in terms of her life choices and family as well as a physical cost to her battles. She does not magically defeat her enemies as if she were invincible – she is battered, bruised and nearly killed but doesn’t give up.

What I dislike supremely in fantasy novels is romance dominating the plot entirely (geez people when this happens – just call it a romance, please) and Slater does a very good job of balancing the romance aspect of this story with the action. The reader is presented with the golden haired stereotypical hero and the dark “bad boy” as Sam's potential love interests, however what I liked is that the relationship that Sam finally chooses has been based on a friendship that has developed into something more. It is also a relationship based on mutual respect. There are all the requisite “sparks” and "sizzle" but not at first sight - thank goodness.

Slater has written an excellent, fast paced, YA fantasy novel. To her credit she has provided her readers with a heroine who succeeds in following her dreams, despite many difficulties, and who finds romance without having to compromise her own ideals or career choice - bravo.

This is a rollicking adventure and a great weekend’s escapism - I thoroughly recommend it.

Four Stars.… (mer)

I was drawn to Paladin mainly because I am a huge sucker for stories about girls disguised as boys. And while it’s certainly a fun read, it just wasn’t quite polished enough to meet my expectations.

Paladin starts off as a training saga highly reminiscent of The Song of the Lioness. But then, through a series of strange time jumps, most of the characters’ training is either completely glossed over, or abruptly cut short when they’re suddenly sent on a journey across the kingdom. This shift in direction was jarring, but I managed to roll with it.

What was more difficult for me to get past were the clunky fight scenes (and there are a lot of them). In every battle, our heroes seem to be grossly outnumbered by demons, but, thankfully, these slavering monsters just wait patiently for the characters to finish their witty banter and then attack one at a time. It wasn’t just the fight scenes that were amateurish; in general, the writing could have been a lot more fluid throughout the novel.

On the other hand, Paladin wasn’t all bad. The heroine, Sam, is both feisty and vulnerable, and I enjoyed rooting for her. Braeden is also a compelling, multi-layered character and a great love interest. I really liked how he and Sam developed a solid friendship before the romantic angle even came into play. It made their relationship not just believable, but also surprisingly touching. Moments of humor interspersed here and there brought a lightheartedness to the story, making it a pleasure to read even in spite of its flaws.

Overall, Paladin had all the components of a really good fantasy adventure - unique premise, strong characters, decent plot - but the execution just fell a bit short. The pacing dragged during the second half, making the story feel longer than necessary. I also wish that the demon mythology was more fully explained. It’s arguably the most interesting element of the worldbuilding, but I still have no idea what the demons are exactly, where they come from, or why they’re there. Since I’m mildly curious to find out, I may consider picking up the sequel when it’s released. We’ll just have to wait and see.… (mer)

Dreams of swords and honor!

Great new female hero. Slater's writing reminds me a tad of Sarah J. Maas with a dash of Tamora Pierce.
A tried and true theme with a difference. Young woman (of noble birth) wants to be a Paladin, lives for sword fighting, and definitely doesn't want to be married off to decorate someone's holdings and birth the required heirs.
Disguising herself as a boy, Sam (Samatha) heads off to paladin headquarters to try her luck.
(I've got to say that all that breast binding and then hiding how the the 'call of nature' impacts differently for women would wear me out, let alone holding my own in sword fighting against a hulking successful Paladin. How did she get away with it? Privacy would not be the first thing on the travelling Paladins' minds).
She succeeds. An unforeseen circumstance--her co-trainee Braeden is a half demon. Her trainer, her hero from her past, Paladin Tristan Lyons, First of the Sword.
Training, fighting demons, following the High Commander's bidding, and the continued battle to disguise her gender do take a toll, as does entering the enclave of a rival organization, The Uriel. It is feared that they seek to oust the Paladins. Sam and her team find more than they'd bargained for. Frighteningly more! The Paladin are in trouble!
Well written, Sam's story exercises such a pull that you soon find yourself deep into the action and just snarl at having to face the day's busyness. A feisty young woman who won't settle for any less than she feels driven to do. Translate that drive to today's young women and here's a message for all to follow their dream. They can come true!

A NetGalley ARC… (mer)