I just finished reading The Shadow Saint, by Gareth Hanrahan, book two in his Black Iron Legacy series.
I liked this one more than the first book in the series, The Gutter Prayer. It focused on a new cast of characters that work to give us a much clearer picture of the Godswar that was present in the background of the last book, and also focuses a lot on Eladora Duttin, a character from the first book who didn’t get a lot of attention back then. She’s the timid, nervous, history-obsessed cousin of the tough and rough Camilla They, and by the time the novel ends I have to say she’s much more interesting than Camilla. Eladora’s character arc through these two books is the best part of them, and I really love that she was given so much detailed attention here.
The new characters introduced in this story were also fantastic additions to the world. There’s one character from each of the biggest two combatants in the far-off Godswar, and their experiences serve to show us what that war is actually about, and understand why the city of Guerdon is so important to it. It really helps make the plot feel more grounded, now that we have the right context for it.
You need to read the first book in order to get to The Shadow Saint, but I think it’s worth the trip.