Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - A Taste of Gold and Iron

Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

66 reviews

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.

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cinnamonandpancakes's review

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adventurous emotional fast-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

I am unsure if this book would rate higher if I'd read it as a physical book. I kept picking it up and putting it down, which I don't think helped. This book needs to be read all in one go.

I loved Kadou and Evemer, especially Evemer, and their romance. It was very sexy and compelling. And Tadek was a lot of fun. But I found a lot of the other characters less interesting. Siranos, in particular, seemed to change personality depending on what the narrative needed him to be and that made his plotline quite unsatisfying in my opinion.

The world building was amazing, however, and I loved the focus on material culture. It felt very much like a world that people lived in.

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heather667's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-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

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bugthebard's review

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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jayjayre's review

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I was pleasantly surprised by the book as a random pick from the library, I'd recommend this for a character-focused dive into an interesting, queer, mild fantasy world.

I found the small magic system to be well-integrated into the world of the story, and as a bonus, it was suitably plot-relevant. I appreciated the inclusion of queer characters and the diversity of gender, especially because it was simply a facet of the characters rather than a focus of the plot. I love fantasy worlds that don't transplant bigotry/systems of oppression from our world, this setting has a woman ruling, people can marry any gender, and there is a common pronoun used for some (nonbinary) characters, and that is all in the background.

I loved the characters in this book. I worried I wouldn't like several of them to start, but they grew on me, and a character I found very annoying upon first introduction ended up being my favorite by the end. I think this book would be even better on a second read, with the knowledge of where the characters' development leads coloring my perspective.

This book is not a good book to skim for action/adventure/mystery. The plot is a bit plodding with a predictable mystery and antagonists that are not well-developed. Thankfully, that is a relatively small part of the book, mostly sidelined for the very enjoyable character-heavy focus. It was rewarding to get to know the main characters, reveal their flaws, and see them grow to understand each other while they better themselves and their relationships.

(My rating is increased compared to my personal enjoyment of the book, as it's not my ideal subgenre. I don't detract stars for things aimed at a different target audience.)

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