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

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

Spoilers. I thought I would like it given the glowing reviews but it just didn’t work for me. These days, I feel bad giving less than three stars to anything that isn’t truly awful. This book wasn’t truly awful. Despite having the basic pieces for a good story, there was nothing compelling or emotionally involving for me. It seemed at first to be a richly imagined setting, yet quickly both setting and characters proved flat. There was plenty of intrigue yet no real tension. The stakes weren’t high enough or convincing enough. There were non-binary characters but no depth to the system of gender, except that the society is matrilineal, which while nice and all seems pretty binary. The plot was rather molasses-paced, and then all of a sudden Evermer and Kadou are on the same page and marry for reals. It was oddly anticlimactic. I don’t recommend this book but then again it might work if you’re in the mood for something long, fan-fic-y and light-ish in tone. (Reviewed 2023)