A review by etymoye
Lord of Gold and Glory by Lisette Marshall

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

Genres: New Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Paranormal / Supernatural
Tropes: Age Gap, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fae, Found Family, Possessive Hero, Competent Heroine, Magic, Royalty/Aristocracy, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn

Available on Kindle Unlimited

Once again, I’m impressed by how well Marshall can balance complexity in her main characters, Creon and Emelin. We see Emelin growing into her powers, but she isn’t infallible. I can think of at least two times in this book where Emelin’s flaws are on display, and I thought the author did a good job of keeping understandable and likable. 

Creon continues to be a complicated hero, and I mean that as a compliment. He’s devoted to Emelin, but he’s got his own issues that prevent him from being there for her the way she sometimes needs him to be. This can be a tricky conflict for some books, because as a reader, you want to see a couple experience conflict, but you also want to feel like the conflicts between them are both in-character and solvable. By the end of this book, I genuinely felt like Creon and Emelin came out stronger and are capable of weathering the storm as a couple.

One complaint I had: for some reason, multiple immortal characters in this book kept mentioning how Emelin was essentially a child in fae years, comparing her to a twelve year old. On the one hand, this comparison makes sense when most of the immortals are hundreds if not thousands of years old. On the other, it gets weird when you remember that Creon is hundreds of years old, too, and he clearly doesn’t see her as a child. I felt like these comments were sort of drawing my attention to the age gap between Creon and Emelin and making it weird even though it hadn’t felt weird prior.

Safety Stats:
Ages:
Emelin is 20, Creon is 368.
Cheating:
None.
Other Man/Other Woman:
We learn more about the Other Woman alluded to in book 1 and Creon’s past. Creon previously developed feelings for Lyn when he was rescued by the Alliance. However, he is very clear with Emelin that he no longer has feelings for Lyn and, in retrospect, was not in love with her but instead was just desperate for kindness/affection.
Separation:
Creon decides to go on a mission for about six weeks for the Alliance. Emelin stays behind. She’s not happy about it, and the couple is working through some issues at the time, but they are definitely not broken up or anything during this time.
Triggers:
Descriptive scenes of violence, death, and war.
HEA/HFN?:
Cliffhanger, 2nd book in series.
 
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