The Emblazoned Red by Dawn McCullough White

About the Book

Once, in another world—a dark world, the world of Faetta—there lived paladins and pirates, tyrants and scallywags, vampires and the undead. In this world a revolution is brewing. The royalty of Sieunes are in chains, and those priests and paladins who follow the holy word of the gods are under attack. In the west, the kingdom of Kellerhald receives the fleeing priests in their temples of the paladins of Silvius, god of the Sky. Here, a young woman has just passed her tests to become a paladin. A pirate crew raids along the Azez Sea. An undead creature, wielding great power, roams the graveyard of Yetta. And a lost soul, crying out from beyond the veil, seeks out a pure hearted warrior to hear its plea.

Amid the turmoil of the revolution, Ilka’s mettle is tested. Rescued by pirates, she ends up with an unlikely ally: the pirate captain himself. The newly trained paladin finds herself collaborating with the undead, working with a vampire, and worst of all, longing for revenge against the man who has ignited the revolution in Sieunes: Francois Mond…

 Death of an Innocent. Rise of a Paladin.

Ilka' s first mission leads to disaster. Continued by angry revolutionaries determined to kill all the clergy and paladins. Life is no longer safe for her people. After a mob attacks her and some other people in Shandow, Ilka finds herself at the mercy of a pirate. Nate knows he has to figure out how to keep the crew away from her and cons a ruse that benefits them both though she is unaware. Battered and bruised Ilka knows something is wrong but his kindness seems to work is way into her thoughts and as get closer to get home, she discovers the truth about the captain. 

I liked the chemistry between Nate and Ilka, though he's a little old. He's not all bad and he becomes important to helping her cope with her grief. This story has supernatural aspects with vampires, zombies and the magic of Ilka' s people. She has the ability to communicate with the dead but it costs her. I think this book is about Nate and Ilka mostly but I find myself confused about what transpires in the rest of the book. It ends nicely but it's left open for the next book because there are many things unresolved. Overall, an okay read about grief and love with a bit of paranormal in the mix.