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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
This review is based on an ARC provided by Netgalley
Reviewing A Taste of Gold and Iron is quite the task as I am not a fraction of the writer the author is and so its quite hard for me to find the right words to do justice.
On the surface, A Taste of Gold and Iron does not seem to be a super-original work. It's about intrigue and plots, of a prince trying to figure out where the threat to the crown is coming from with the help of his guards. But it’s also so much more than that.
The principal strength of this book lies in its characterization and general quality of writing. Our two principal PoV characters are Kadou, the prince and Evemer, his bodyguard. Kadou is a shy, diffident person who balks at having power. He is kind hearted, always looking to do good, and chronically anxious. Evemer is the opposite. Superbly trained, absolutely certain and confident in his abilities and the principles he believes in, he is haughty, unbending, and not the most open minded. But, that is where the story starts from. And the way it unfurls is like a tightly wound ball of fabric opening out into this gorgeous tapestry, as little by little all the facets of these two characters and their fascinating interplay is held up to the readers. The writing is lush, glorying in its beauty and never shying away from evoking emotion. One aspect I greatly appreciated was its depiction of anxiety and how it can take a constant toll on the life of a person. This is also a romantic book and the gradual painstaking birth and development of that relationship is what the book builds itself around. For those readers who prize characterization and inter-character relationships above all, this book is an indulgence.
However, that is not the only praiseworthy part of this book. The worldbuilding deserves special mention. The book embraces queerness, with multiple genders existing and being accepted into the everyday social fabric. With that comes different ideas about marriage, childbirth and kinship, of inheritance and “claims” on a child. Women can have children with a body-father who is not a husband and who may not necessarily have the same status, and this is not a matter of shame or illegitimacy. I also liked the idea of the kahyalar, a cohort of guards who are more than guards, sworn to loyalty, trained in every aspect of rule, so that they may also become ministers, generals and officials. I really appreciated how economics was touched upon and integrated into the magic system. Basically what I appreciated the most about worldbuilding was how organically it was done. There was no clumsy exposition or infodumps, there was gradual revelation, and often just hints were given and the reader was allowed to decide for themselves.
In the end, A Taste of Gold and Iron is a superb story about two people finding each other and themselves, set in a richly imagined world. I rate it 10/10 and 5 out of 5 stars for Goodreads.
Reviewing A Taste of Gold and Iron is quite the task as I am not a fraction of the writer the author is and so its quite hard for me to find the right words to do justice.
On the surface, A Taste of Gold and Iron does not seem to be a super-original work. It's about intrigue and plots, of a prince trying to figure out where the threat to the crown is coming from with the help of his guards. But it’s also so much more than that.
The principal strength of this book lies in its characterization and general quality of writing. Our two principal PoV characters are Kadou, the prince and Evemer, his bodyguard. Kadou is a shy, diffident person who balks at having power. He is kind hearted, always looking to do good, and chronically anxious. Evemer is the opposite. Superbly trained, absolutely certain and confident in his abilities and the principles he believes in, he is haughty, unbending, and not the most open minded. But, that is where the story starts from. And the way it unfurls is like a tightly wound ball of fabric opening out into this gorgeous tapestry, as little by little all the facets of these two characters and their fascinating interplay is held up to the readers. The writing is lush, glorying in its beauty and never shying away from evoking emotion. One aspect I greatly appreciated was its depiction of anxiety and how it can take a constant toll on the life of a person. This is also a romantic book and the gradual painstaking birth and development of that relationship is what the book builds itself around. For those readers who prize characterization and inter-character relationships above all, this book is an indulgence.
However, that is not the only praiseworthy part of this book. The worldbuilding deserves special mention. The book embraces queerness, with multiple genders existing and being accepted into the everyday social fabric. With that comes different ideas about marriage, childbirth and kinship, of inheritance and “claims” on a child. Women can have children with a body-father who is not a husband and who may not necessarily have the same status, and this is not a matter of shame or illegitimacy. I also liked the idea of the kahyalar, a cohort of guards who are more than guards, sworn to loyalty, trained in every aspect of rule, so that they may also become ministers, generals and officials. I really appreciated how economics was touched upon and integrated into the magic system. Basically what I appreciated the most about worldbuilding was how organically it was done. There was no clumsy exposition or infodumps, there was gradual revelation, and often just hints were given and the reader was allowed to decide for themselves.
In the end, A Taste of Gold and Iron is a superb story about two people finding each other and themselves, set in a richly imagined world. I rate it 10/10 and 5 out of 5 stars for Goodreads.
A Taste of Gold and Iron is a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy novel where princes can touch-taste precious metals with their fingers, myth runs side by side with history and a diverse cast of characters keep you engaged from the first page. The story follows two unlikely heroes, Prince Kadou and his bodyguard Evemer, as they team up to save Arasht from financial ruin if secrets are let out. The writing is sharp and witty, and the characters are well-developed and relatable.The LGBTQ+ representation is well done and reads organically with an enemies to lovers/slow burn trope. If you love fantasy and romance, A Taste of Gold and Iron is going to be an instant favorite. Also, don’t let the page count scare you, you’ll end up flying through it because it is so well written.
Thank you TorDotCom for gifting me a copy.
Thank you TorDotCom for gifting me a copy.
4.5 Stars
This book in five words
Fantasy: good
Romance: good soup
I'm definitely more of a fantasy reader than a romance reader, but the romance is undeniably what makes this story. The fantasy elements are perfectly fine, and the first half of the book actually feels more like a fantasy book than a romance book, but the fantasy mostly exists to serve the romance and ultimately gives way to it entirely, which I am NOT complaining about.
I would rate the first half of the book 4* and the second half 5*, as that's where the romance really kicks in, and it's great, there's so much hilarity and so many stupid situations which is all I want from this kind of story. Heads up for anyone who wants smut - this is definitely more steamy than smutty and while nothing is fade to black, there's also nothing particularly graphic (perfect for me personally! Maybe disappointing for others, LOL).
My only negative for this book is that, while the romance is a delightful slow-burn, I could have had slightly less of the first half of the book and a bit more of the ending. Sequel please?
Anyway, shout out to Tadek and Tenzin for being great secondary characters that made me laugh out loud on several occasions. There were lots of other awesome secondary characters too, but they were my favourites. Especially Tadek as I found him annoying at first, and I love when a character forces me to do a 180 on them.
Ultimately a super fun read and veryyyy close to being a 5*. Depending on how I feel about it later this year, I might bump it up.
This book in five words
Fantasy: good
Romance: good soup
I'm definitely more of a fantasy reader than a romance reader, but the romance is undeniably what makes this story. The fantasy elements are perfectly fine, and the first half of the book actually feels more like a fantasy book than a romance book, but the fantasy mostly exists to serve the romance and ultimately gives way to it entirely, which I am NOT complaining about.
I would rate the first half of the book 4* and the second half 5*, as that's where the romance really kicks in, and it's great, there's so much hilarity and so many stupid situations which is all I want from this kind of story. Heads up for anyone who wants smut - this is definitely more steamy than smutty and while nothing is fade to black, there's also nothing particularly graphic (perfect for me personally! Maybe disappointing for others, LOL).
My only negative for this book is that, while the romance is a delightful slow-burn, I could have had slightly less of the first half of the book and a bit more of the ending.
Spoiler
I wanted to see the REACTIONS, goddamit! I wanted to see Zehila react! And Evemer's mum! And everyone else! The whole of the country!Anyway, shout out to Tadek and Tenzin for being great secondary characters that made me laugh out loud on several occasions. There were lots of other awesome secondary characters too, but they were my favourites. Especially Tadek as I found him annoying at first, and I love when a character forces me to do a 180 on them.
Ultimately a super fun read and veryyyy close to being a 5*. Depending on how I feel about it later this year, I might bump it up.
There he was, familiar and comfortable. That’s what it felt like. Like his heart, or whatever part of him it was that yearned for someone worthy to serve, had recognized the person he was meant to follow. The person he was meant to die for. There he was.
I don't usually have this many faves in the month of January, so I'm really feeling very #blessed. This is my favourite thing I've read so far this year, and it's a very strong contender, I think, for my favourite book of the year, because it encapsulates so much of what I want out of romantic fiction. I feel like I could hold this book up as a prime example of the things I love seeing in fiction and romance: loyalty, devotion, longing, pining, protection, bodyguarding. I loved this wholeheartedly. A few things that I would change or fix, but the types of things that pale in comparison to how much I adored the rest of the book.
Broad strokes: fantasy world, inspired by the Ottoman Empire, some magic. Kadou is second in line to the throne to his sister the Sultan, and a series of mixups and misunderstandings ends in a deadly confrontation. As part of his punishment, Kadou is assigned a new head bodyguard, Evemer. This is a romance, taking place amidst a counterfeit plot and the conspiracy in the city, and it is molasses slow and wonderful, dislike-to-utter-devotion, absolute pining perfection. I love bodyguard stories, I love bodyguard romance. But this, in particular, leaned hard on loyalty and devotion, which is the thing that really sets my brain on fire. The fact that it takes a long slow hard road to get there, the fact that there is so much pining and longing on the way there, the fact that there is this implicit D/s undertone running through the entire thing... Like I genuinely can't explain how much this ticks every romantic box that I could even conceive of having. Kadou and Evemer are perfect for each other, and they make themselves perfect for each other. Characters like Evemer on my catnip, people who are just looking for their north star, for a sun to orbit around. It kills me. It's so good. HE'S SO DEVOTED. A PROFESSIONAL, STOIC SIMP. It's romantic in a storybook way, a way that is discussed/acknowledged. Like, the terror and joy of putting your life in someone's hands, of WANTING to do so with your whole heart... ahhhh!
“You have a great well of power to draw upon should you wish it, but I have strength enough to match you. Use as much of your power as you like— you will not move me from your side.”
This entire cast had my heart. There are certain tropes that are neatly avoided with Tadek, and I really appreciated that. There were tough conversations to be had about moving on from a past lover, getting to know each other again as friends, and it's the type of thing that you wouldn't really think to see in a book where the romance is with another person, but I just love that that was part of the journey for both Tadek and Kadou. Lots of other great side characters as well. Tenzin appeared for like two seconds and stole the entire show. Melek, my beloved. I loved all of Evemer's moments with the baby, and everyone's moments with the baby. Zeliha was strong and fierce and wonderfully imperfect and I enjoyed her relationship with Kadou so much. Lots of great friendships, and I do adore that Kadou is someone who really cherishes the people around him, cares for them, and staunchly believes in reciprocity. That's another thing that made the romance all the more sweeter to me. Single-minded devotion, but going both ways? My entire heart!!!
Also, uh, is Eozena single?
Overall this was good. The ending definitely helps. But most of it felt like a slog for some reason? And I don’t know why because the writing and plot are interesting enough. Maybe just too slow of a burn? But I like slow burns so I’m not sure.
I had fun with the world and the characters (Tadek!!), and would read a sequel too. But it just didn’t spark complete joy.
I had fun with the world and the characters (Tadek!!), and would read a sequel too. But it just didn’t spark complete joy.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Light on plot and slow to get into but suddenly I couldn't put it down.
I fell in love with the cover and am so glad the book lived up to it! Beautiful, swoony, heartwarming fantasy romance. Ive already pre-ordered the HB and can't wait to reread it!
I will love and protect Kadou and Evermer with all my heart until the end of my days.
this just HIT and made my heart sing. Patiently waiting for my turn
this just HIT and made my heart sing. Patiently waiting for my turn
