What really impressed me about The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath was the characters, there’s a real heart put into these characters, particularly Flore the captain and mother and the 3 cadets, Yselda, Cuss and Petron, There is a really strong female voice in this book, something which you don’t find often enough in male written fantasy, or rather women are too typically just one thing. Flore is warrior, she’s brave, she’s a badass with gauntlets, she’s considered a legend, but she’s also a mother, a wife and is maternal and caring to her cadets. As a protagonist she has a range that makes you enjoy every scene she’s in.
Then there’s the cadets, aged between 13-15, brothers Petron and Cuss, while apart in the story, tell a beautiful story of love and family, and Yselda that of a young woman trying to find her way. Essentially these 3 are children forced into an adult situation and yet there’s a very clever line between showing their innocence and bravery and they you feel the, grow on the page. You really root for these characters, they’re incredibly endearing.
The only minor criticism is that occasionally elements are introduced quite long before they are properly explained, for example Ashbringer or the principles of Skein and the tattoos - the former character’s narrative was a little confusing and out of the blue before she was properly explained and interacted with the main characters. It’s a minor criticism though because you catch up with yourself eventually and it may just be that I personally need more help!

This is a wonderful debut with exquisite world building and action scenes, beautiful writing and all with characters you fall in love with. Thank you NetGalley for the review copy, I look forward to the next instalment

"The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath" pretty much has everything you'd expect from a fantasy book (gods, monsters, action, etc.), and far more than you'd expect from a debut author. Above everything is one woman's quest to rescue her daughter, and it was hard not to become too emotionally invested in General Floré's journey - in fact, I've started using "rotstorm" as a curse word. I hope we get to return to this world (and the author's great writing!) at some point in the not-too-distant future.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.