We follow Eline, a woman who kills her abusive husband and gets recruited or rather blackmailed by the Queen’s Men, a shadowy organization that deals in secrets, blood, and politics. She’s supposed to carry out one assassination, but nothing goes to plan.

The strongest part of this book is definitely Eline herself. She’s messy, raw, angry, and determined to survive—whatever it takes. You really feel her struggle to protect her kids while being thrown into this violent, unfamiliar world where the stakes just keep going up. I liked watching her figure things out on the fly, even if some of her moves felt a bit too quick or too convenient.

The plot moves fast at the beginning and end, but honestly, the middle dragged for me. A few scenes felt like they were just there to delay things rather than develop them. And while the world is great and the politics are interesting, it did feel like we were only scratching the surface.

Still, if you like your fantasy with grit, spies, moral compromise, and a heroine who learns to weaponize both her rage and her softness—this will be right up your alley. Would I read more about Eline? Absolutely. Does this book stick the landing 100%? Not quite. But it’s a damn solid ride anyway.

Peter McLean makes a welcome return to the world of The War For The Rose Throne in this standalone novel with a brilliantly realised central character.

Eline is a wife and mother who lives with her abusive husband. One day she has enough. She snaps and kills her husband. This brings her to the attention of The Queens Men who gives her the task of assassinating a local brothel owner suspected of killing a wealthy patron.

In order to do this, Eline must become a prostitute herself in order to ingratiate herself with the madam. However, there is one problem! Madam is constantly guarded. In her attempts to carry out her mission Eline finds the strength to change who and what she is. Unfortunately, this leads her into a web of intrigue and the game of politics.

Paved with Good Intentions is a slick, hard boiled fantasy crime novel that follows Eline as she moves from a victim of circumstance to being a master of her own destiny.

As is the case with the excellent War For The Rose Throne series, Peter McLean creates a vibrant and vivid world that draws the reader in immediately. Eline is a fantastically rich character as is the supporting cast around her.

The plot moves at a fast pace and immediately embroils the reader in the events that take place on the page.

There is a welcome return of some characters from the original series that fit well into the story. However, it is the newer characters such as Nama who take centre stage
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Paved with Good intentions was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and my goodness, it did not disappoint. If you haven’t read any of Peter McLean’s books, they are highly recommended.

I loved returning to the world McLean has created with its morally grey characters and no-one being who they seem. It’s like coming home.

This book shifts focus to a new character, Eline, and this does make it feel like a slightly different book than the first four with their Peaky Blinders inspired story. I liked Eline. From the very beginning when she snaps and kills her abusive husband, she held my attention and I was enamoured with her throughout the entire book as she is pulled into a dark world full of death and violence.

I still love this world. It’s dark, violent and anyone can die at any time. It’s a very atmospheric setting for the story and I love it.

The story just kept managing to up the stakes. It starts with murder and ends with an all out battle and I loved watching Eline grow as a character as she dealt with all the obstacles thrown in her way. She is initially hired by a Queen’s man to kill a brothel madam who he believes murdered someone but that isn’t even close to being the whole story. It just keeps twisting and turning as Eline finds out more and more about the world she has been drawn into. It’s very good.

I also enjoyed the other characters. They all interact well with each other and you never know who Eline should trust or who is going to stab her in the back. The story ends in a way that her story can continue in other books and I would love to read more of Eline and what she gets up to.

An absolute whirlwind of a book! When I was accepted on Netgalley to review this book, I immediately read the Rose and Thorn series and had an absolute blast with them.

Paved with Good Intentions, for me topped it! In terms of originality this is the book that stands out, in terms of character development (which I absolutely loved how our main character became transformed by the end of the book), and in terms of the lasting impact (some scenes won't be leaving me for some time).

The worldbuilding was minimal as it was done in the four previous books, but what I did particularly like was how this book fitted so well in the events of the main series. It was very interesting seeing the other side of the events that happened in the main series.

And to top it off, this book still had the gritty, action packed, fast pace, moreish story that is now expected from any War of the Rose Thorne book.

4.5 stars rounded up because who needs more plot than "badass woman stabs her way through political tensions", really.

Back to the murder and political intrigue over the never-ending war for the Rose Throne. You don't need to have read the stories about Tomas Piety and his crew (although why wouldn't you, they're awesome), because this takes place several years after the events of his adventures. There are lovely nods to several characters, but they aren't crucial to the plot in my opinion.

Paved with Good Intentions then, centers around a new heroine, Eline, who starts by murdering her abusive husband and is offered a deal by the mysterious Queen's Men who seem to run everything: kill someone for us or you die, and while we're at it, we'll kill your children, too. But she soon proves herself smarter and more dangerous than anyone, even she, had thought...

I really loved watching Eline come into her own, she is a lovely character to root for, and I would love more adventures with her!

The only thing I would say is that when you have a strong badass heroine this awesome, it seems a waste to leave this as a standalone? It would be so much fun to watch her stab (I'm saying stab a lot, aren't I?) more people while exploring more of the intricate political power struggles im this world, just saying...

Brilliant return to the world with one of the strongest female characters I've read about in a while!

I didn’t realize how much I had missed the world of Dansburg, Ellinburg, and now Drathburg until I started reading this new Peter McLean novel. The War for the Rose Throne is a favorite series and this novel (and, I hope, more from this world) will be quickly added to that list. Eline and Nama have become two favorite characters and this story was excellent.

McLean creates a situation from the beginning where one person is easily brought under the control of the Queen’s Men (with some returning characters included from the Rose Throne series), but this person might be smarter than they’ve given her credit for. A wonderful continuation of the darkness, violence, and political intrigue of the original series. I hope McLean continues to write stories in this world that includes his wonderful characters.

Highly recommended!

Paved with Good Intentions is a new installment set in the same world as Peter McLean’s War for the Rose Throne series.
It follows a woman named Eline, who after committing a rash act, is conscripted into the Queen’s Men and given a mission to fulfill.
I love fantasy novels that have a mix of action, politics, good characters and great world building.
McLean has all this and more in this book.
His characters were well rounded and real. The city was moody and lived in.
McLean has a great touch to his dialogue, as well. Casual conversations sound just that.
On a personal note, I would like to thank Mr. McLean for his restraint. There are two things I do not like in a book, badly written romance and sex. For a book that takes place in part in a brothel, he played that situation very low key. I appreciate that.

This is the fifth installment in the War for the Rose Throne series by author Peter McLean. I could not put this book down. The politics and intrigue were expertly written. This book could actually work as a standalone, but there are characters and facts from the earlier books that make this story even better. There are definitely some heavy moments in the story, but overall, this is a dark, yet humorous, violent book with a strong ending.

Paved with Good Intentions begins a new, thrilling era in The War of the Rose Throne saga.

Eline is a common wife and mother who kills her abusive husband in a desperate act of self-defense. She is offered a choice: hang for murder or use her newfound skills and go undercover at a brothel to murder a high-value target.

Choosing between a life of whoring and killing, or hanging in the town square, is no real choice at all. But Eline gets swept into a much deeper, darker web of lies, conspiracy, and death than she ever dreamed, and she must adapt quickly or face consequences even worse than her own demise.

McLean deftly weaves some old characters and locations into this story, as well as provides a bit of aftermath of Tomas Piety’s story. You don’t need to have read the Priest books to follow this story, but there is enough crossover to delight the attentive reader.

Eline is a fascinating protagonist who learns wisdom through hard experiences. Her story is a story of transition, adaptation, and using all her faculties to fake it until she makes it.

As the story progressed, Eline started to resemble Tomas in several ways: figures of speech, alcohol preference, and treatment of peers. I’m not sure if this was an intentional message of “this is who you need to become to survive in this world,” but it felt a bit too close to Tomas Piety’s story, which detracted from Eline’s characterization.

Yet that is a small gripe in an excellent book overall. It is sharply written, with tight, efficient prose and brilliant pacing. I hope this story isn’t just a one-off, as there are many exciting paths it can follow.

For fans of McLean, this is a must-read recommendation. For those new to his work: if you enjoy bloody violence, escalating mysteries, and black humor, this story will have you glued from start to finish.

I have listened to all the Rose Crown books and enjoyed them immensely, safe to say I also thought this was a great addiction to that world, I will be buying the audiobook as soon as it’s released

I am a huge fan of Peter McLean's War for the Rose Throne series, so I was excited to learn he'd written a new book set in that same world.

I enjoyed this book, but I really wish it had been longer: I wanted to spend more time in that world & see more of Eline's journey.

This was such a powerful book! Not my usual genre but very exciting nonetheless. I greatly enjoyed Elaine’s story and how she stopped at nothing to protect her children and fight for justice. Highly recommend