Review of A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace by Emily Skrutskie

I wasn’t sure what to make of this book when I first started, and I love when books surprise me. A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace, while not without its rough edges, is a very cozy fantasy novel about life at the tail-end of a war and figuring out to do when you’ve survived against the odds. Emily Skrutskie writes with humour, depth, and compassion. I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Kat is a spear-bearer in the Third Century of the kingdom of Telrus. She fights alongside her shield-bearer and lover, Emory, as well as eight other members of her decade. Together, their army has waged a war to repel the invasion of demons from Hell. The book starts with the final battle of this war, and then most of the book concerns the aftermath, as the Third Century embarks on a road-building campaign.

Skrutskie’s characterization is deft and deep, with even many of the side characters taking on distinctive personalities. The camaraderie within Kat’s unit truly comes alive as a result. I loved hearing about each character’s hopes and dreams now that the war is over, from Kat and Emory’s list of culinary experiences to other characters’ hopes of settling down and starting a life or a business. Indeed, though I just opined in my review of The Incandescent that if a book has romance I want it to be sapphic, Kat and Emory’s romance is a great demonstration of how a good writer will make me make an exception. They are totes adorbs.

I’m also a sucker for stories set after the final battle and defeat of the Big Bad—this was the premise that initially drew me to the book. I love how Skrutskie lays out all the challenges that come during the aftermath. There are the bigger, political questions—but there are also so many personal ones, such as, “Do I stay in the army or do I take release?” When it turns out Kat and Emory might have slightly different aspirations, this creates an entirely understandable conflict. Suddenly, the bonds forged during battle and the impending threat of death might not last into peace.

Finally, throughout it all, this is Kat’s story of self-actualization in a world that grants privilege to those who can channel “angelic power.” I love how Skrutskie provides frustratingly little exposition into the angels, heaven, hell, demons, etc. They just are, and this is just the way the world is, and Aurean gold is just a thing. Deal with it! In less capable hands, such actions would have me complaining a heck of a lot. Yet Skrutskie makes me believe. She shows how this world works without giving me a ton of backstory, and it keeps the novel light and charming.

I hesitate to label A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace as “cozy” fantasy. There is a lot of conflict, a lot of fighting, and some death. Yet if it is not cozy, then it is definitely cozy-adjacent. This book delivers exactly what the title promises, and I think fantasy fans who like some romance and some humour and a glossy, stylized approach to high fantasy dipped in sword-and-sorcery will enjoy this a great deal.