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

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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wilybooklover's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

5.0

A stunning fantasy romance. In this story we see stoic, principled Evemer assigned as bodyguard to the anxious Prince Kadou. They soon uncover a conspiracy plot at the behest of Kadou’s Sultan sister, Zeliha (not a particular convoluted mystery, but entertaining nonetheless) and in the process fall in love with each other.

The romance was the main plot and it was sooo good. I’m a sucker for a slowburn idiots to lovers and it was executed so perfectly here. These two were so gone for each other. If you like some good mutual pining, this is the book for you.

The worldbuilding was lush and vivid, reminiscent of the Ottoman Empire and full of politics. The secondary characters were fun and realistically flawed and diverse. This is a queernorm world and it was delightful to read how casually queer everyone was. Despite some moments of peril, the whole story felt cosy and soft.

This book also somehow made economics interesting to me and that is talent.

I have no idea if there’s a sequel in the works but I would definitely like to read stories about Tadek and Zeliha.

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btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition

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funny mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

This one came across my radar through one of my many book-related listservs that I'm on. I honestly cannot remember which one now, but I do know that the theme was along the lines of "upcoming steamy fantasy reads." And I am a sucker for those. Plus, sometimes I really do want a standalone adventure, which this promised as well. After a fairly long wait at the library, it was finally my turn!

Kadou is the younger brother of the Queen, quite happy to not be in a leadership position of that caliber himself, but also not entirely sure what his place should be (and his efforts to reflect well on his sister cause him a *lot* of anxiety). When a "misunderstanding" with the body-father of the Queen's new baby leads to a tragedy, Kadou scrambles to re-prove his loyalty. Along with his newly appointed bodyguard, Evemer, he takes lead on investigating a recent break-in at one of the nation's guilds, and its connection to a recent spate of counterfeit coins. As they get closer to uncovering a deeply-run conspiracy, Kadou and Evemer realize that their connection to each other may run more deeply than either expected it would as well. But there are quite a few barriers at play that could keep them apart, in particular the social structures that dictate their stations and roles, plus their individual nerves/personalities that might prevent them from sharing their true feelings with each other (even though their actions speak loudly).

Well, Rowland wrote a truly wonderful standalone fantasy. The socio-cultural details in the world-building are stellar. I love the feminist vibes that come through the matriarchal claim to the child (and father being just a body-father if there's not a marriage behind it). What a way to give power to the people bearing the actual child (from whom it’s traditionally taken). And the easy acceptance of beyond-the-binary genders and a variety of sexual orientations is a scifi-fantasy trend that I will always support. I was also fascinated by the bodyguard social station, for lack of a better description, which sets them as a person that not only bodily protects their charge, but does many of the jobs that a valet would do as well, plus others. It's like an all-in-one prestige role, with a heavy reciprocal expectation of respect and honor from the royal person being "served," that is ingrained into the society in a way that protects that bodyguard's loyalty from being taken advantage of. Overall, I thought that Rowland did a nice job handling the romance here, considering the potential "icky" feels that can come from a romance with such wildly different stations and power dynamics.

Speaking of the romance... This was an excruciating slow burn. Despite the fact that I thought some of the base-explanation reasons for the changing feelings of Evemer and Kadou toward each other were perhaps a bit flimsy (they came in with some very strong preconceptions that I felt could have used a little more depth in being disproved), once I decided to go ahead and buy into them, I was fully invested in them getting together and the tension between them was drawn out to *perfection.* I sensed a bit of fanfic style in the writing, just FYI if that's your thing or not. But anyways, it was smooth and smart and agonizing in how badly I wanted Kadow and Evemer together when it finally happened (the earnest and stoic “opposites” they embodied felt like a great match). Two notes here. One: that kiss in the alley had me *feeling things.* Two: while the romantic/sexual tension was spectacular, the pay-off was less explicit (until one scee right at the end) than I had hoped for. And there are plot-based reasons why, but still. I had expected a bit more open door spiciness across the board.

And beyond the romance, the political intrigue and conspiracy plot that gave the romance a story-framework were well developed. The complexity of the details and the way it played out reminded me a bit of a favorite from last year, Winter's Orbit, though obviously more fantasy than sci-fi here. But the vibes were so similar, and I had on par connections with each m/m romance pairing in the given setting...which is to say, I couldn't (can't) stop thinking about them. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Tadek as a primary side character. He added depth to both Kadou and Evemer as characters, plus some needed humor and "shake-it-up" vibes to the overall story. Finally, Kadou had some very serious anxiety issues and panic attack-like moments. Be aware that it could be triggering, and in the context of this world he thinks of it as "cowardice." While both Tadek and Evemer were wonderfully supportive about it, which was great, and no one ever disparages Kadou for it, there was also no real attempt to treat or reframe it, which would have been a nice addition.

In the end, Kadou and Evemer dug themselves into my heart. The “the future is still coming but we’ll face it together and for now enjoy each other, but with a plan/responsibly-ish” way it ended was perfect for them. And it left things both satisfyingly wrapped-up and hopefully open-ended in a way that is really fulfilling for a couple that you are rooting for. And like I said, the scheming plot gave high drama and lots of action/adventure, which alongside the slow burn romance development, had me emotionally on the edge of my seat for the duration of the reading experience. This one hit the spot.

“A life was a terrifying burden to carry.”

“Reciprocity was a thing you had to learn. Someone had to tell you, first, that you deserved to be treated well, before you knew it for yourself.”

“The presence of a stone wall makes the open parts of the field that it surrounds more meaningful.”

“That was reciprocity - reaching out your hand in the dark, offering it, and hoping someone reached back.”

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sydapel's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

An absolutely decadent slow burn of a story that would make an excellent starting point for anyone looking to get into the adult fantasy genre (and doesn't care to read about millennia old fae marrying 18 year old women). The plot is simple yet compelling and the characters are immediately so loveable. I could talk for ages about the themes of duty, fealty and strength in this book, but I won't lie, the main appeal is the rich love story between Kadou and Evermer. It's unclear at this point whether there will be a sequel, but I want one so badly.

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