Paved with Good Intentions
On sale
19th June 2025
Price: £22
Genre
Eline is a mother, a wife, and a survivor. But her life is about to change dramatically. Following an act of horrific – if righteous – vengeance, Eline is blackmailed into the service of the Queen’s Men. She knows it will be a hard life of violence and fear. But Eline will do what it takes to survive, and to protect her children . . . and if she’s lucky, she won’t die in the process.
But the Queen’s Men aren’t just asking her to risk herself. They’re asking her to risk everything she knows and loves. And if she fails . . . civil war and the deaths of everyone she loves will be just the beginning.
A stand-alone novel set in the world of the War for the Rose Throne, perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Alex Marshall, featuring an incredible and unforgettable female anti-hero.
But the Queen’s Men aren’t just asking her to risk herself. They’re asking her to risk everything she knows and loves. And if she fails . . . civil war and the deaths of everyone she loves will be just the beginning.
A stand-alone novel set in the world of the War for the Rose Throne, perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Alex Marshall, featuring an incredible and unforgettable female anti-hero.
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Reviews
A bloody ballad of a book with a wonderfully drawn central character. McLean develops a world where wider politics are always at play, but not always within the grasp of his characters. In Eline he's created a woman more capable than she believes, and much more capable than the people she finds herself working for could ever imagine. McLean has a wonderful ear for the poetry of spoken language, and he deploys it here alongside his trade-mark mayhem and magic.
A charismatic and very more-ish book with solid prose and a strong voice. Priest of Bones is a story of organised crime with shades of the Godfather. It sounds grim and dark . . . and it is . . . but our priest of bones is quite the humanitarian for a ruthless crime lord. With high-tempo action it's just very fun to read
Priest of Bones can be effectively summarised as "gangsters in fantasyville". McLean manages to combine two of my most liked elements in fantasy - a quick-moving plot and characters with realistic relationships. Fans of Daniel Polansky, Mark Lawrence or, dare I say, Blackwing will most appreciate this book
Peaky Blinders with swords
