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

emotional 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

3.25

This is definitely a romance book first and a fantasy/political novel second and as long as you go into it with those expectations, I think you'll have fun. I'm a little confused how this got compared to The Goblin Emperor, other than Kadou is nice and treats those under him with respect and care, but that's kind of where the similarities end. Overall, it was a fine.

I thought the characters and romance were really well executed and I liked the portrayal of anxiety as disability. I also really liked the world building aspects of it all, though again this book is less concerned about like political mechanics than about the pining of the main characters. I also enjoyed the side characters (Tadek my beloved). The plot just dragged on a bit, and I thought it was around 100 pages too long. I also think Evemer wasn't a particularly great bodyguard as Kadou does rescue him like 3 times throughout the book and would have liked to see more scenes of him demonstrating his supposed competence.

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