Paved With Good Intentions by Peter McLean

Timy reviews Paved with Good Intentions, Peter McLean‘s standalone grimdark fantasy novel in the War for the Rose Throne universe.

An eARC was received by Arcadia via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Possible fit for The Sound of Madness Reading Challenge 2025 prompts:

Joker prompt that goes with anything: Freed from Desire

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 Rose Throne, perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Alex Marshall, featuring an incredible and unforgettable female anti-hero.

“Life was not fair and it never had been, and that was the simple fact of the matter.”

Paved with Good Intentions was one of my most anticipated new releases in 2025. I loved the War for the Rose Throne series, so this was an absolute must-read for me. I need to stress that Paved with Good Intentions is a standalone novel, so you don’t need to read the series to understand what’s going on. Although, if you did, you might meet a few familiar names. I really wish I could say I loved this book, but the truth is, I walked away with some mixed feelings, and I’m not sure if it was due to the book, to me, or the mix of both.

It’s been a while since I last read Priest of Crowns, the closing novel of the main series, and in all honestly in the past couple of years I haven’t read as much dark fantasy as I used to back when I started blogging. I’m saying this for context, so bear with me. I remember that I had a bit of a hard time getting into Priest of Bones as well in the beginning, so that also might contribute to my general feelings regarding Paved with Good Intentions. Because I struggled with it for a good while. The War for the Rose Throne series is written in first person as we follow Piety, and once it clicked in my head that it was his voice McLean wrote in, it worked wonderfully. This one follows Eline, and it’s written in third person. What threw me was that Eline’s voice wasn’t all that different from Piety’s, and I think I expected it to be. Plus, I prefer first person to third. But that’s neither here nor there. The point is, I could never connect with Eline, not really.

The first thirdish of Paved with Good Intentions felt a bit…wonky? Like, it took a while for the story to find its feet and to establish Eline’s character and storyline. There were some repetitions and a kind of detachment from her character on my part. But also, since I read an ARC, some of those things might have been corrected along the way. But as Eline started to discover more and more about herself and the world, I really started to get into the story. It was interesting to follow her transformation as she found her strenghts and learned to use them to her own advantage, putting even some men to shame. She is certainly a fascinating character, although I’m not sure if a likeable one. Then again, Piety wasn’t exactly a nice character either, and yet… But I need to stop comparing them, because this isn’t his story. And because Eline is a person on her own right.

I liked the mystery aspect to the plot with Eline taking charge on an investigation, basically – but then I’m a sucker for mysteries so no surprise there. I also appreciated that we’ve got a bit of a glimpse into the religion of the world and how one can become Our Lady’s follower. That was a nice touch and also character development.

Paved with Good Intentions is a dark tale about how far a mother would go to keep her children safe and finding her true self along the way. If this is your first foray into McLean’s world, be warned, it’s not for the faint of heart. And if you are here because you loved his previous work, I can assure you that Paved with Good Intentions has his signature style of driving his characters to the edge in a gritty world that knows no mercy. It might take some twists and turns, and certainly not everyone will survive, but that’s what Our Lady wills.