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A review by sarahna
A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-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
4.75 stars!
CW/Tropes provided by author.
I absolutely loved this book so this will probably end up being a spoiler filled rave review. It came into my life at the exact right time because I've been having some rough months and it really is as the author said in a podcast: the perfect chocolate cake of tropes that they like and it happens to be perfect for me as well.
The world building is superb and I didn't mind how the story threw me in making me fend for myself. I loved how queer and trans people just existed and there isn't one instance where their accepted existance gets explained or pointed out. They're just there and no on page homophobia occurrs either which is such a relief and refreshing!! I hope this becomes the new standard. The neo pronouns used for enby people were easy to understand, there's asexual rep as well and I personally head canon Evemer as Demisexual but that might just be me, a fellow queer demi person.
The plot was gripping and the pacing was engaging as well. I really liked the magic system of touch tasting in this story which reminded me a lot of synesthesia. The reason why it isn't a full 5 star book for me is because it was a bit underused in my opinion. I would've loved to see Kadou use his magic more but the instances he did make use of it were great. Of course the iron door hinges were the most memorable and it was fascinating to see how he imprinted a new memory and thus taste to iron.
My favorite part has to be how it subverted lots of tropes such as the way Tadek as a character was handled. At first I feared that the romance would feature him as Kadou's second love interest and make the already messy power imbalance between Kadou and Evemer even messier. That didn't happen though and Tadek wasn't just dropped once he wasn't with Kadou anymore either. The exes actually became friends and I grew to love Tadek's sassy banter and his amazing eye for fashion.
Evemer's character arc/growth was a stand out feature for me as well. In the beginning he's described as a stonewall, stoic and barely verbal aside from him acknowledging his lord/his higness when ordered to do things. He disliked Kadou for being flighty, negligent and didn't protest much when Kadou referred to his chronic anxiety as cowardice. Of course Kadou's not even close to a coward and his anxiety is useful in certain situation as well which is rare to see in books (his hypervigilance saved him from being attacked in his sleep and he's used to high stress so stressful situations don't throw him off unlike others). Evemer learns to appreciate Kadou's vulnerability and even strives to become more like him. It was beautiful to see how he started to talk more (thanks to Kadou coaxing it out of him) and the fantasy therapy at the temple gave a great insight to Evemer's inner conflict and showed how he's changed since the start as well. Also love the fact that this stoic stonewall isn't nearly as dominant and assertive as he would've been in other stories. No toxic masculinity to be seen here. He goes on and on about wanting to go on his knees in front of Kadou to press his forehead to his hands in act of fealty. He's so easily undone by Kadou's kisses and is just utterly smitten by him.
The romance was very slow paced but I love a good slow burn. Someone has said that this is a less dark version of the captive prince trilogy and I fully agree. I saw lots of parallels actually and as a huge fan of the trilogy it was greatly appreciated. I'll use bullet points to state some of my highlights because this review is already way too long:
-The YEARNING. It has to be written in caps because there's so much of it. The way Evemer yearns for Kadou and how Kadou keeps questioning their tension because Evermer's too stoney to read... delicious.
-Kissing to prevent being caught spying. This scene was so well written, their tension is hot and Evemer's clumzy inexperience and Kadou's assertiveness and wanting for more was just top notch.
-Hand holding/touching at Evemer's mother's house. The tenderness and yearning...
-The scene right after the sultan put Evemer on his knees and made him swear an oath for her. The confusing attraction and the way he had the urge to swear yet another oath to Kadou to clarify that he's the one for him and the tender face touching...
-The whole inn scene. Neck kisses and a make out session to hide their identity from the main villain. Genious.
-Kadou suggesting an impromptu wedding to save Evemer's life and mentioning an annulment once they're out of the predicament but secretly wishing that it was the real deal instead.
-The spicy palace garden scene once they finally talked about their feelings for each other???? It was everything and more that I wanted.
I could go on and on about how much I love their love and how all the side characters are fleshed out and not just afterthoughts as well. This is a warm hug in book form that I'll definitively return to. Highly recommend checking out the author's fanfic that feels like an epilogue and provides some more fun Tadek/Evemer banter and heartfelt, sexy letters. I have to check out more by this author!
CW/Tropes provided by author.
I absolutely loved this book so this will probably end up being a spoiler filled rave review. It came into my life at the exact right time because I've been having some rough months and it really is as the author said in a podcast: the perfect chocolate cake of tropes that they like and it happens to be perfect for me as well.
The world building is superb and I didn't mind how the story threw me in making me fend for myself. I loved how queer and trans people just existed and there isn't one instance where their accepted existance gets explained or pointed out. They're just there and no on page homophobia occurrs either which is such a relief and refreshing!! I hope this becomes the new standard. The neo pronouns used for enby people were easy to understand, there's asexual rep as well and I personally head canon Evemer as Demisexual but that might just be me, a fellow queer demi person.
The plot was gripping and the pacing was engaging as well. I really liked the magic system of touch tasting in this story which reminded me a lot of synesthesia. The reason why it isn't a full 5 star book for me is because it was a bit underused in my opinion. I would've loved to see Kadou use his magic more but the instances he did make use of it were great. Of course the iron door hinges were the most memorable and it was fascinating to see how he imprinted a new memory and thus taste to iron.
My favorite part has to be how it subverted lots of tropes such as the way Tadek as a character was handled. At first I feared that the romance would feature him as Kadou's second love interest and make the already messy power imbalance between Kadou and Evemer even messier. That didn't happen though and Tadek wasn't just dropped once he wasn't with Kadou anymore either. The exes actually became friends and I grew to love Tadek's sassy banter and his amazing eye for fashion.
Evemer's character arc/growth was a stand out feature for me as well. In the beginning he's described as a stonewall, stoic and barely verbal aside from him acknowledging his lord/his higness when ordered to do things. He disliked Kadou for being flighty, negligent and didn't protest much when Kadou referred to his chronic anxiety as cowardice. Of course Kadou's not even close to a coward and his anxiety is useful in certain situation as well which is rare to see in books (his hypervigilance saved him from being attacked in his sleep and he's used to high stress so stressful situations don't throw him off unlike others). Evemer learns to appreciate Kadou's vulnerability and even strives to become more like him. It was beautiful to see how he started to talk more (thanks to Kadou coaxing it out of him) and the fantasy therapy at the temple gave a great insight to Evemer's inner conflict and showed how he's changed since the start as well. Also love the fact that this stoic stonewall isn't nearly as dominant and assertive as he would've been in other stories. No toxic masculinity to be seen here. He goes on and on about wanting to go on his knees in front of Kadou to press his forehead to his hands in act of fealty. He's so easily undone by Kadou's kisses and is just utterly smitten by him.
The romance was very slow paced but I love a good slow burn. Someone has said that this is a less dark version of the captive prince trilogy and I fully agree. I saw lots of parallels actually and as a huge fan of the trilogy it was greatly appreciated. I'll use bullet points to state some of my highlights because this review is already way too long:
-The YEARNING. It has to be written in caps because there's so much of it. The way Evemer yearns for Kadou and how Kadou keeps questioning their tension because Evermer's too stoney to read... delicious.
-Kissing to prevent being caught spying. This scene was so well written, their tension is hot and Evemer's clumzy inexperience and Kadou's assertiveness and wanting for more was just top notch.
-Hand holding/touching at Evemer's mother's house. The tenderness and yearning...
-The scene right after the sultan put Evemer on his knees and made him swear an oath for her. The confusing attraction and the way he had the urge to swear yet another oath to Kadou to clarify that he's the one for him and the tender face touching...
-The whole inn scene. Neck kisses and a make out session to hide their identity from the main villain. Genious.
-Kadou suggesting an impromptu wedding to save Evemer's life and mentioning an annulment once they're out of the predicament but secretly wishing that it was the real deal instead.
-The spicy palace garden scene once they finally talked about their feelings for each other???? It was everything and more that I wanted.
I could go on and on about how much I love their love and how all the side characters are fleshed out and not just afterthoughts as well. This is a warm hug in book form that I'll definitively return to. Highly recommend checking out the author's fanfic that feels like an epilogue and provides some more fun Tadek/Evemer banter and heartfelt, sexy letters. I have to check out more by this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism