Madison (madinotmaddiereads Coleman's Reviews > Lady of Steel and Straw

ok wow!!

a three musketeers inspired fantasy with one of the most interesting magic systems i’ve ever come across in the genre. the guardians are magic infused scarecrows partnered with worthy human counterparts to lay unsettled spirits (or wraiths) to rest. after a dire misfortune befalls the kingdom, the guardians were locked away and for ten years, their human partners have been left alone to fend for themselves against the wraiths…until the current time of need calls for them to awake again!

charlotte’s brother was next in line to be partnered with a guardian but his opportunity is taken away too soon, leaving charlotte as the heir apparent to take on this role. together, they must join forces with an unlikely team to stop the Cardinal, Her Eminence Loraine the Pure, from wiping the guardians existence as part of her plan to use them as an easy scapegoat and seize more power for herself.

charlotte is a spitfire of an fmc! she’s dedicated, fiercely protective but still a young woman and i loved that her youth wasn’t compromised for the daunting quest she finds herself on. piggybacking off of that, the relationship with her guardian was so wholesome, almost fatherly and unexpectedly really funny as the two were quite the comedic duo.

the cardinal (who i tried so hard to picture as a beautiful young woman but could only see as female tim curry sryyyy!) sends Captain Luc Montaigne to oversee the execution of her plan but his previous ties to charlotte from their childhood continue to still his hand. his anguish and inner turmoil from his convictions are so clearly felt in the writing and i found myself rooting so hard for him to ditch the red and run! i really enjoyed his pov chapters and get the feeling that parts of his development are being purposefully withheld for the next book so i didn’t feel too frustrated with some aspects of his character being left in the dark.

i was livinggggg for the tension between the two leads and will always love a yearning mmc! i’m really excited to see where their story goes after that ending! knocked off a star for some slower pacing at times but overall, i devoured this!

thank you so much to the team at peachtree publishing for my digital arc!