Reviews

The High King's Golden Tongue by Megan Derr

mickon's review against another edition

4.0

I really like the book. The worldbuilding was great. I like motives that run through the book. One is grief from losing a loved one and guilt from moving on. Second is fear of not living up to expectation. The story was good, whit a few twists and turns. Well developed characters. I thought the relational interplay between the two main characters in book was exceptional, complex, and culminated in a lovely, satisfying ending. It was refreshing that the main character prince Allen is competent. He is smart, charming and really good deduction. He treated everyone with courtesy and respect but at the same time, he didn't come off as being a pushover.

sara11_reads's review against another edition

4.0

Super enjoyable fantasy romance. I didn't love everything about this - the main characters spend too much time apart and I never quite understood all the politics. However, I'm looking forward to reading more books in the series.

misszoe's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

Moderate: Death, Grief, and War

Minor: Pregnancy

atarnus's review against another edition

4.0

4.5⭐

For the first read I gave this 5 stars from memory as I added it few years after reading. At a second read, this is a good one, but maybe not a full five star worth anyway.

An arranged marriage, political scheming and adventure with competent characters. It's a pretty long book (~110K words) and while the romance is the main theme, it doesn't get the majority of the pages. I do find it an interesting and enjoyable read anyway, though a bit more of the romance could possibly still improve the story. (There are definitely some series from Derr with even less focus on the romace.)

There are several factions and lots of characters but things come together in these pages, so it's not a heavy duty political fantasy. The setting is very nice with an imaginary historical world where queerness is completely normal and accepted, several people are trans so low-key that it seems many readers didn't even catch up on it. I don't especially hunt these LGBT-friendly alternate worlds, but I like this one a lot.

alicethompson's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

dotts's review against another edition

5.0

I have found the Holy Grail of fantasy romance books. I have read some awesome books, that's the truth, but my goodness, The High King's Golden Tongue has me so excited, so giddy, I literally want to sing it's praises! My attention was so skillfully captured from the very beginning of this brilliant book that I knew immediately, without even getting halfway, that it would be one of my absolute favourite books. I was correct, I couldn't even put it down! I'm gagging!! I love EVERYTHING about this book. Megan Derr, my Queen, this novel is a fantastic work of art. Thank you.

I so desperately hope that the rest of the series can stand up to this book, (which doesn't suffer from the "first in the series curse". I'm not much of a series reader, but let me tell you, I'm heading full speed ahead into #2 of the Tales of the High Court!

#Sarricallen

s_l's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

val_05's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

madigan_likestoread's review against another edition

adventurous emotional

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

 Reading buddies have been recommending this one to me for actual years. And listen, it’s everything they said it would be and more. Absolutely lived up to the hype. 

This has many things I love but don’t often get to read - an epic fantasy feel, royalty and court machinations, an arranged marriage, a widower, and an MC who doesn’t quite know if he’ll ever be loved yet is tough as nails anyway. 

I will say that the author chose to shortcut much of what makes an epic fantasy an epic fantasy by moving almost all wars and battles off page. That’s why I say it has an epic fantasy feel more so than it being an actual epic fantasy. That’s alright though, bc I was here for the MCs, the side characters, and the relationships these people formed and developed with each other. Somehow the author wrote in a colorful cast of characters and decent worldbuilding without overwhelming me. I very much enjoyed this one. Will continue the series. 

mimi_means_secret's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75