A review by haileylouise
A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Oh my god!!!! I was screaming, crying, and kicking my feet at how good this book was. The characters were amazing; Kadou's anxiety was so accurately and well written, Evemer slowly letting down his walls and falling in love, Tadek and Tenzin being hilarious, Eozena was the caring mother-like figure, and Siranos and Sylvia had the typical sibling-rivalry. There was quite a cast of queerness throughout the book without any homophobia or bigotry, including nonbinary people, pansexuality (I'm looking at you Tadek), I believe asexuality (Malek), and probably a lot more that I may not have caught. This book had everything I've ever wanted. It was the perfect slow-burn queer fantasy story to start the year off. 

Watching Evemer fall in love with Kadou and him admitting that he'd be loyal, stay by his side, and lay down his life for him no matter what while kneeling in front of him. I screamed and kicked my feet from that moment on. That was the scene that made this book a 5-star read for me. (And it's totally not because I want someone as loyal as Evemer). My early predictions for this story were also correct in the sense that Siranos obviously had something to do with all of the counterfeit coins going around, but I'm not even mad about that because his interactions with Sylvia were so funny. And although there were stereotypical tropes throughout the book (i.e. forced proximity, sharing a bed, "forced" marriage, kissing to avoid the enemy, the stoic, guarded character falling hard for the soft, anxious character, the list goes on), it's so well done to the point where I'm happy that they were all included. Although this is a standalone book, I wish we could get more of Kadou and Evemer because the way Rowland describes their romance and tension is just so beautiful.