Scan barcode
amy_in_the_city's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'll admit I struggled a bit to get into this book for the first 100 pages or so, but once I was in, I was IN. The main couple had me kicking my feet rooting for them. I loved all the characters in this book and thought they were wonderfully developed. They could have made Tadek a villain or dreadfully boring, as the romance genre tends to do with exes, but they made him so fun while still giving him depth and complexity. I like his friendship with Kadou, and I can't wait to read his book! I want to be Commander Eozena when I grow up, and Zeliha was an awesome badass ruler.
The romance in this was such a delicious, angsty, slow burn. Evemer was so stoic and reserved, which made it all the more fun to see him fall so hard for Kadou. I appreciated the anxiety representation with Kadou and that it didn't make him any less of a badass. He still defended Evemer whenever needed, and I loved seeing a prince also defend his bodyguard. A big theme in their relationship is reciprocity, and I love when couples feel like a real partnership.
There was enough action to keep the plot fun and exciting, but I do wish the villain wasn't so obvious from the start. Also, while this was a fantasy, the fantasy elements are used very sparingly. The ending felt a little bit rushed, and I do wish we got to see a bit more of Kadou and Evemer together as a happy couple. My overwhelming love for the romance and the characters overrides any of these quibbles though, and I know this is a book I'll come back to for rereads.
The romance in this was such a delicious, angsty, slow burn. Evemer was so stoic and reserved, which made it all the more fun to see him fall so hard for Kadou. I appreciated the anxiety representation with Kadou and that it didn't make him any less of a badass. He still defended Evemer whenever needed, and I loved seeing a prince also defend his bodyguard. A big theme in their relationship is reciprocity, and I love when couples feel like a real partnership.
There was enough action to keep the plot fun and exciting, but I do wish the villain wasn't so obvious from the start. Also, while this was a fantasy, the fantasy elements are used very sparingly. The ending felt a little bit rushed, and I do wish we got to see a bit more of Kadou and Evemer together as a happy couple. My overwhelming love for the romance and the characters overrides any of these quibbles though, and I know this is a book I'll come back to for rereads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Gore
Minor: Pregnancy, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Classism, and Death of parent
vivavia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Kidnapping, Chronic illness, Classism, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual content, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
cait's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Classism, Alcohol, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Death, and Kidnapping
cassimiranda's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Kidnapping
purplepenning's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Fascinating characters, beautifully built world, exquisite slow-burn pining, a plot that could use a little more substance
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Animal death and Sexual content
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Alexandra Rowland’s A Taste of Gold and Iron follows Kadou, a shy prince who finds himself embroiled in political intrigue after a hunting accident ends in disaster. Now he’s trying to win over his sister, the Sultan and prove his loyalty by taking on an investigation involving counterfeiting.
Evermer is a newly trained and recently promoted guard who’s first new assignment is as guard and protector of Kadou. Having heard about the hunting incident, the stern Evermer finds himself disliking the prince. But after a violent altercation brings the pair closer together, they manage to uncover a conspiracy which could destroy to their kingdom’s financial standing and bring ruin to their country.
This was a really well developed and well written LGBTQ+ romance and I loved how normalised LGBTQ+ relationships snd gender fluid pronouns were. It is set in a world surrounded by politics and royals but the way in which royal adjacent events such as arranged marriages were handled was really intriguing (and it’s not all cis-het marriages either.)
The world building is incredibly detailed and utterly vivid which I loved, though it is pretty light on the fantasy aspect—some characters can sense “taste” different metals as well as rare individuals who know when people are lying; but aside from this there’s no other fantasy elements which I was a little disappointed by. As such this reads more like a political/ mystery romance than fantasy so do bare in mind if you do pick this one up.
That being said I did really enjoy it, the extraordinarily detailed world building and the deliciously slow-burn, bodyguard romance were treated too.
Kadou was such an endearing character and despite trying to deal with severe anxiety and near violent panic attacks almost single-handedly;his unwavering loyalty to his friends and loved ones (even in the face of danger) made it virtually impossible not to love him. He definitely goes on journey throughout the novel but it’s a good one.
Kadou’s attempts at befriending the stoic Evermer were absolutely adorable and I enjoyed watching Evermer’s perspective (and negative opinion of Kadou) slowly thaw into an utterly swoon-worthy romance—trust me the chemistry between them is literally off the charts!
I was also swept away by how much I loved the supporting characters—specifically Eozena, Tadek and Evermer’s mum who I’d absolutely loved to see more of.
The mystery behind the conspiracy and the person responsible was rather easy to guess but, there were still a few twists amid the action filled scenes I definitely didn’t see coming which I very much enjoyed.
Overall, a really fun, heartwarming LGBTQ+ bodyguard romance that political intrigue and mystery lovers are bound to enjoy.
Also, a huge thank you to Blackcrow PR and Tor books for the arc.
Evermer is a newly trained and recently promoted guard who’s first new assignment is as guard and protector of Kadou. Having heard about the hunting incident, the stern Evermer finds himself disliking the prince. But after a violent altercation brings the pair closer together, they manage to uncover a conspiracy which could destroy to their kingdom’s financial standing and bring ruin to their country.
This was a really well developed and well written LGBTQ+ romance and I loved how normalised LGBTQ+ relationships snd gender fluid pronouns were. It is set in a world surrounded by politics and royals but the way in which royal adjacent events such as arranged marriages were handled was really intriguing (and it’s not all cis-het marriages either.)
The world building is incredibly detailed and utterly vivid which I loved, though it is pretty light on the fantasy aspect—some characters can sense “taste” different metals as well as rare individuals who know when people are lying; but aside from this there’s no other fantasy elements which I was a little disappointed by. As such this reads more like a political/ mystery romance than fantasy so do bare in mind if you do pick this one up.
That being said I did really enjoy it, the extraordinarily detailed world building and the deliciously slow-burn, bodyguard romance were treated too.
Kadou was such an endearing character and despite trying to deal with severe anxiety and near violent panic attacks almost single-handedly;his unwavering loyalty to his friends and loved ones (even in the face of danger) made it virtually impossible not to love him. He definitely goes on journey throughout the novel but it’s a good one.
Kadou’s attempts at befriending the stoic Evermer were absolutely adorable and I enjoyed watching Evermer’s perspective (and negative opinion of Kadou) slowly thaw into an utterly swoon-worthy romance—trust me the chemistry between them is literally off the charts!
I was also swept away by how much I loved the supporting characters—specifically Eozena, Tadek and Evermer’s mum who I’d absolutely loved to see more of.
The mystery behind the conspiracy and the person responsible was rather easy to guess but, there were still a few twists amid the action filled scenes I definitely didn’t see coming which I very much enjoyed.
Overall, a really fun, heartwarming LGBTQ+ bodyguard romance that political intrigue and mystery lovers are bound to enjoy.
Also, a huge thank you to Blackcrow PR and Tor books for the arc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Mental illness
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Minor: Alcoholism and Emotional abuse
sunbirdbooks's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A compulsively readable fantasy where personal challenges balance with dynastic stakes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Alcoholism
MC has to deal with an emotionally fraught dynamic with his family member and their partner who are unsupportive of his struggles with anxiety, which he tries to conceal out of shame and occasionally sublimate with substances
More...