Reviews tagging 'Blood'

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

42 reviews

frantic_vampire's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

This is one of the best fantasy books I think I’ve ever read! Everything about this book was absolutely incredible. From the anxiety rep to the queer rep to the political intrigue, everything was so well done. And I just wanted to live between the pages of this book and never have it end! I loved Kadou and Evermer, the level of chemistry and character development between them was fantastic! Even the side characters were amazing and had me giggling at every turn. I loved all of them and I honestly can’t wait to dig into the other books set in this world. A Taste Of Gold And Iron is getting five stars! And if you haven’t read it yet, I would highly recommend it. 😊

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism and Violence

Minor: Eating disorder

ixris's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.75

I. Can't. Stop. Thinking. Of. This. Book!!! 

A counterfeiting ring, hurt/comfort until the cows come home, a richly built fantasy world, a tetchy ex lover, a courtly romance, third gender and neopronouns, a dedicated warrior monk class taking up most of the character roster, queers everywhere ... I love so many things about this book! 

Will be reading again. Clear fandom roots but not overwhelmingly or aggressively so. Freaking read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Light spice, slow burn, enemies to lovers, did I mention queer secondary world renaissance-ish fantasy????

dreamerfreak's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use and Grief

katievallin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Medical content

Minor: Grief and Pregnancy

kurumipanda's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death

cheye13's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was an excellent read in that it delivered exactly as I expected it to, with a little extra flavor thrown in. The world-building and background character development was impressively thorough, given the main crux (romance) of the story. I particularly loved how this specific story managed the "why don't they simply get together" hurdle by essentially making the characters simply too busy – felt oddly true to life despite the kidnapping/assassination attempts. This story also expertly lays the ground for a romance series, subtly and perfectly setting up the next main character.

While I found no faults in this book for my own reading tastes, I can see where it may fall short for others. This is not a surprising book in the slightest – though the political/criminal investigation is paced to persist through the full novel, it is set up pretty straightforwardly from the start. The romance progression is also fully predictable, and while it didn't deliver any gut-punch style emotion, I thoroughly enjoyed being swept through the journey. Finally, while the slow burn tension is off the charts, some may find the release/resolution of that tension unequal to the anticipation (i.e. it's pretty low on the spice).

But I don't look for any of these elements in my fantasy romance. I enjoy predictability and the satisfaction of the characters finally catching up to my detached perspective; I was awash in the natural flow and growth of the leads' relationship; and I love me a closed-door or mild heat level. In fact, given the building tension throughout the book, I would've felt like there was no closure if there weren't at least a vague on-page Scene™, so this book skipped past that pitfall as well. A complete joy to read. Hope there's more to this series in the future!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death and Sexual content

Minor: Torture and Alcohol

mirandyli's review against another edition

adventurous funny slow-paced

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

3.5

This is a super queer book that has so much queer representation, including characters that are asexual, pansexual, demisexual, trans, using neopronouns... I have truly never read a book with this much queer representation. The fantasy elements have capitalistic imperial undertones, but if you ignore that it's overall a decent read. Very slow at times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

amy_in_the_city's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

5.0

I'll admit I struggled a bit to get into this book for the first 100 pages or so, but once I was in, I was IN. The main couple had me kicking my feet rooting for them. I loved all the characters in this book and thought they were wonderfully developed. They could have made Tadek a villain or dreadfully boring, as the romance genre tends to do with exes, but they made him so fun while still giving him depth and complexity. I like his friendship with Kadou, and I can't wait to read his book! I want to be Commander Eozena when I grow up, and Zeliha was an awesome badass ruler. 

The romance in this was such a delicious, angsty, slow burn. Evemer was so stoic and reserved, which made it all the more fun to see him fall so hard for Kadou. I appreciated the anxiety representation with Kadou and that it didn't make him any less of a badass. He still defended Evemer whenever needed, and I loved seeing a prince also defend his bodyguard. A big theme in their relationship is reciprocity, and I love when couples feel like a real partnership. 

There was enough action to keep the plot fun and exciting, but I do wish the villain wasn't so obvious from the start. Also, while this was a fantasy, the fantasy elements are used very sparingly. The ending felt a little bit rushed, and I do wish we got to see a bit more of Kadou and Evemer together as a happy couple. My overwhelming love for the romance and the characters overrides any of these quibbles though, and I know this is a book I'll come back to for rereads.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism

heather667's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Death

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia

keresian's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

Okay listen - LISTEN. I stayed up til 2am to finish this. I was hooked. There's so much simmering behind the scenes with world building. The plot is phenomenal. The brilliant way Rowland has woven in gender and sexuality, love and familial bond. I love this book and this world - this is a tough one to beat for favourite of the year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content, Violence, and Death of parent