Oops, I did my thing of accidentally reading out of order. I was doing the audiobooks and went by the listing on Scribd (now Everand), which had them listed out of order. So I read book 2 first.
I don’t think that changed my opinion of anything. I think I see why this series, much as I love T. Kingfisher, won’t be completely my thing—the paladins are so self-sacrificially noble, and there’s nothing I love more than a good squirrelly amoral motherfucker. (At least this one has a paladin who knits, though!)
This still worked a lot better than Paladin’s Strength for me, mostly because the length is more succinct. All the in-depth info on fragrance and the perfume trade was amazing. The narration by Joel Richards remains excellent. And these covers are a treat.