A Taste of Gold and Iron

Mahisti Dynasty #1

by Alexandra Rowland

The Goblin Emperor meets "Magnificent Century" in Alexandra Rowland's A Taste of Gold and Iron, where a queer central romance unfolds in a fantasy world reminiscent of the Ottoman Empire.

Kadou, the shy prince of Arasht, finds himself at odds with one of the most powerful ambassadors at court—the body-father of the queen's new child—in an altercation which results in his humiliation.

To prove his loyalty to the queen, his sister, Kadou takes responsibility for the investigation of a break-in at one of their guilds, with the help of his newly appointed bodyguard, the coldly handsome Evemer, who seems to tolerate him at best. In Arasht, where princes can touch-taste precious metals with their fingers and myth runs side by side with history, counterfeiting is heresy, and the conspiracy they discover could cripple the kingdom’s financial standing and bring about its ruin.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, LGBT, Queer, Adult, Fiction, M M Romance

510 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 30, 2022

About the author

Alexandra Rowland is the author of several fantasy books, including A Conspiracy Of Truths, A Choir Of Lies, and Some by Virtue Fall, as well as a Hugo Award-nominated podcaster (all sternly supervised by their feline quality control manager). They hold a degree in world literature, mythology, and folklore from Truman State University.

They are represented by Britt Siess of Britt Siess Creative Management.

Find them on Twitter, Instagram, Patreon or their website.

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queer fantasies will forever hold a special place in my heart. I grew up reading all the big YA fantasies and was disappointed every single time I didn’t see myself represented in the stories. Now that I am an adult, I prefer to read about people my own age, and it fills me with so much joy to see novels like A Taste of Gold and Iron being published. This book has everything that I love about stories. Sometimes a book can feel like it was written for you, and I felt that every single time I sat down to return to this astonishing world.

There are so many elements I could praise, but the most important part of this story is how queerness is normalised. I will never get tired of reading fantasy stories that are void of any queerphobia, and all the nasty aspects of our own world. I loved the seamless use of different pronouns, and the normalisation of sexual and gender fluidity. This made the political world-building so interesting. I loved the concept of same sex arranged marriage, and how casually those elements were introduced. The idea that ‘body-fathers’ only had claim over their children if women chose to grant them that power was so intriguing. I adored how the women of the novel – primarily Eozena and Seliha – wielded their power without hesitation. Seliha was the queen I was hoping for, and everyone would have been doomed if it weren’t for Eozena’s cunning political movements. The world was excellently crafted, and I could easily picture the architecture, the streets, markets and alleys, the beautiful and intricate court, the statues, and the unburdening temples. Everything about this novel was so vivid. If you’re looking for prose that makes you see things so clearly in your mind, that lifts scents and images from the page, let me introduce – A Taste of Gold and Iron.

While the world-building was wonderful, I must admire the author’s efforts for a different reason. This novel is very clearly focused on the romance, and the plot and world-building run as an undercurrent to Evemer and Kadou’s relationship. The time that went into crafting the elements of the world so that they could compliment and elevate the romance is immediately evident. The most obvious instance of this is the dynamic that is built between the khayalar – who are ferocious trained ‘guards’ – and the people they serve. The trust and understanding that must be placed between the two are so important. Evemer is assigned to Kadou, and before meeting him, has an intense hatred for the prince, due to an incident that occurs in the opening of the novel. This completely flipped the dynamic between the two, as Evemer, who had trained his whole life for this moment, resents the man he must protect with his life. The khayalar are so complex, and I loved how much detail went into building the political elements of the world, because it made all the tropes the author included work. The hate to love trope was tangible, Evemer had a real reason to hate Kadou. The progression of their relationship was masterful. I loved how, slowly, they were forced to rely only on each other, which naturally made for some interesting scenes. Hatred changed to respect, which grew into fondness, in turn blossoming into love. This all happened slowly, and at the right moments. For this relationship to change, the characters needed to develop.

Evemer needed to question himself and everything he believed in and learn to communicate more clearly. Kadou needed to learn to love himself and accept that there were things he couldn’t control. The characters were so lively, their thoughts and personalities unique and distinct. Kadou’s anxiety, which was phenomenally written, was the primary cause of his insecurities. With the help of Evemer, Kadou’s understanding of his anxiety slowly improved, and the man he was in the first and final chapters of the story were two different people. Kadou learned ways to cope and live with anxiety, and the way Evemer was patient with him, talked through all his concerns, and helped him process his emotions, was truly beautiful. Evemer was so loving, so gorgeously written. I adore men who are both strong and powerful, yet soft and gentle. Evemer is an elegant representation of what a masculine fantasy character should be. They were both superbly written as individuals, but together were sensational. They complimented each other and were better together.

I challenge everyone to read this and not want them to be happy. The yearning, the soft, gentle caresses, the stolen secret moments of intimacy. There are moments dedicated to the feeling of brushing the hair of the person you love, of delicately grazing hands, of every fibre of your soul screaming as you pull away from the person you really want to devour. The wait was so worth it. I wish the ending was longer and would have loved an epilogue. As someone who hates long books, that should tell you a lot about A Taste of Gold and Iron. Give me more!

I feel like there are so many beautiful elements of the story I haven’t even spoken about, and others I’ll never be able to do justice. My only advice is to read this book. If you love it as much as I did, it will be a new favourite.

Thank you so much to Black Crow PR, TOR, and the author, for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I post about queer books on: Instagram Twitter TikTok

[ELLIAS (elliasreads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Taste of Gold and Iron be tasting a bit stale and ashy here :/

"Not bad but not good," as Jisoo from BLACKPINK would say. It was good but a tad bit underwhelming for me. No plot, just vibes. Most of the time, that would be great but unfortunately, the only vibes were the ones I was bringing 😭....

(read for 200 pages a day reading challenge alongside with my Patreon book club): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqHaj...

3 STARS for the BJ
Twitter | Bookstagram | Youtube |

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was extremely excited for this book to come out based on two reasons:

1) this author writes extremely good MDZS fanfiction

2) It's been announced with a list of AO3-style content tags and they sound exactly like EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED:
- exquisitely beautiful prince/hot stoic bodyguard
- chronic anxiety
- oaths of fealty
-washing each other’s hair and talking about ethics
- found family
- what we owe each other
- enemies-to-lovers
- kissing to avert suspicion
- hurt/comfort
- slow burn
- there’s only one bed

If you like any of these tropes, this will be a great fit. It's very romance-centered but the characters feel extremely real and you learn to love them.

[Madison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tor had a really, profoundly successful run of interesting and boundary-pushing queer titles a few years ago, so it’s really a shame to see them hoovering up all of these bloodless, middling stories.

Those were the adjectives that repeated in my head over and over again as I slogged through A Taste of Gold and Iron: bloodless and middling. It’s not that there’s anything egregiously, mechanically wrong with this book, though it is eons too long and hundreds of pages too slow. My issue is that it’s a tired, childish expansion of a rote list of fanfiction tropes. It’s barely a story at all.

It takes a long time for the romance to get going, but once it does, every other plot element falls away. The antagonists are goofy and pointless, and their evil plot is foiled at the 75% mark with a stern conversation and no fanfare whatsoever. The dialogue throughout reads less like a fantasy novel and more like an old Tumblr post. All sexual content is, you guessed it, gauzy and vague. A tangent, but: I think I’m officially done reading m/m romance that isn’t written by queer men. The cutesy, obfuscating language used in so many bestselling m/m romance novels has gotten SO old. I am over! It! And let's not forget the prince's ex-lover, a major character throughout the book, who exists solely as a mincing caricature of a gay man who calls everyone "darling" and has zingy one-liners for every situation. He could be cast in an offensive 90's sitcom tomorrow.

I also hated the worldbuilding (what little of it there is); at one point someone casually mentions that there are two moons, which…why? What is the point, if you’re just going to mention it once and never use it again? They do a lot of creeping around at night, so you’d think the light of an additional moon would play some kind of part in the narrative, but it doesn’t. It’s just a weird little detail that exists to make the world unique, despite the fact that every third SFF story has a unique configuration of moons and suns.

The gender stuff in this book is also really silly. Essentially, there are cis men, cis women, and folks of a third gender. We know characters with a ~binary gender presentation~ are cis because the characters use plenty of assumptive and bioessentialist language to describe each other’s bodies. There’s no real information about how gender functions in this world; it’s just kind of there, again, to create a fun little quirk in an otherwise bland story. I’m all for fantasy novels that embrace new configurations of gender, but just adding in nonbinary people to an otherwise totally cis, gender-conforming environment isn’t the slam-dunk the author may want it to be.

In truth, this book is just one more forgettable gay romance in the sea of forgettable gay romances that make up the Tor frontlist. The writing is cringey, the romance is meh, and the world is empty of any real vitality. All of it is in service to this idea that if you just write a book like it’s a fanfic, people will automatically love it.

Just read the AO3 tags on a bodyguard romance fic; you’ll save many hours and also brain cells.

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this definitely wasn’t the kind of book that immediately grabbed ahold of me from page one and didn’t let go until I’ve finished it. It was more like a low contented hum. A slow-burn! Not only in terms of the romance, but also in the way the plot advanced and how the relationships between the characters developed. And that’s why I loved this book so, so much. It was poetic and patient, everything about it worked for me. Also, the well-crafted counterfeit coin conspiracy plot fit amazingly within this book’s heavily detailed and intricate fantasy world. I was completely enamored. But my favorite part would have to be the characters! All of them felt like real people and the book didn’t shy away from giving them realistic faults and ambitious aspirations. I don’t know, I could just tell that a lot of care was put into every aspect of this novel. This book dazzled me!

If I were to compare it to any other books, I’d say that it was like a less severe and grim blend between The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White and The Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo, with a tiny sprinkle of Game of Thrones, the first Game of Thrones. Though, I do wish some of the high-stakes from those books were more present in this one because I think the danger in this book never felt all that… dangerous. Mostly in that the villain is not only painfully obvious the whole time, but they were also a complete idiot. A bit of a damper on any of the underlying tension, unfortunately. Otherwise, the plot was cleverly written and intriguing, and while I didn’t always understand what was going on or what people were talking about, I understood one thing; that this is a story about devotion, tenderness, and forgiveness. Honestly, what more would I need?

“His voice was small now—he was lost too, Evemer realized. That’s what he meant by being a person with no use. He’d been tugged along by the will of the gods and his own fear for his whole life, and here they were, two ships on a dark cloudy night whose only point of reference was each other.”

[destiny ♡ howling libraries]

DNF @ pg 80

This is breaking my heart because this book was absolutely one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I was SO convinced I would adore it, but... after two months of trying my best and failing to trudge through, I'm finally setting it aside. I might give it another try someday when I'm feeling a bit more patient, but the plot isn't pulling me in at all, the writing is not quite there, and worst of all, these characters are wholly and painfully unlovable.

Buddy read with Malli! ♥

[the kevin (on brainrot hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should have been a great fit for me - fantasy world with political intrigue, and a queer central romance? Perfection.

Unfortunately, I got neither fantasy, intrigue, nor romance.

I’m going to do bullet points for a few of my criticisms, just to hit the main things that bothered me.

World building and plot

• There was a distinct lack of actual world building going on. This tried for the ‘chuck the reader in’ route, but it went too hard. I had no idea what was going on for a while, because there were names, countries, cities, concepts, etc. I had no context. It was meaningless noise for a long time, and I think the counterfeiting plot was introduced on like page one?

• The political intrigue I’d expected was painfully simplistic. The villain was absurdly transparent. I am a total dingdong when it comes to mystery plots, and this was obvious from the first time they’re introduced.

• The mystery plot got lost constantly, to the point that I didn’t understand what or why was happening. The break-in? I actually still don’t know what that was about.

• The end of the book, like the last 30%, was kind of a disaster. It made little to no sense. A lot of it was taken up by dithering about feelings (unsupported) and not talking.

• On the romance front, I don’t even consider this a slow burn, because there was no burn. It goes from nothing to instalust to dithering to instalove.

Characters

• There were a lot of secondary characters and I got them all mixed up.

• Kadou I never warmed to. He was, quite frankly, a total disaster. I can sympathize with the anxiety struggles, but oh my god he was useless on the political/planning/thinking front. How is he a royal prince with that total lack of brain?

• Evemer is just kind of a block. He spends most of his time being judgey, and then denying feelings to himself. …hm yep, that’s about it.

• Tadek started off decent, and descended into a caricature of himself. He ended up being wildly childish and immature.

Other

• This was, overall, meandering and extremely slow to go absolutely nowhere. Lots of digressions on random topics that didn’t serve to improve the characters, my understanding of them, their relationships, or even the world. They were just random info dumps.

• This also ruined action scenes - what should have been a tense fight scene got dragged into some distant-feeling academic process of fighting forms.

• There were pages upon pages of these “oaths of fealty” which I guess if that’s what you like, then you’re in luck. I was bored to tears.

• There were also random pages of ethics and currency and babbys first economics lectures.

The positive

The truth telling witch, Tenzin. She was cool.

“Nope,” she said. “And I don’t really care.”

“I’m getting paid as we speak,” she said with a grin, slouching down into her chair and crossing her arms. “I’m getting paid in chaos.”

And yes, I am aware she was around for like five pages total.

Overall, this had an inordinate number of pages for the amount of actual content. I really thought I’d love this - the concept sounded so good! - but it was a real disappointment. I hope it works better for other people.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All the opinions are my own.



Read more reviews on my blog: 
https://horsetalkreviews.blogspot.com/

[mina reads™️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely excellent romantic fantasy romp and I'm so glad it ended up being my first completed read of 2023.

In it we follow Kadou, a shy anxious prince, who finds himself embroiled in political turmoil at every turn, as well as his new, stoic bodyguard Evemer who has a devastatingly low opinion of him. We also have Zeliha, the competent Sultan and Kadou's loving sister, as well as a retinue of other lovable soldier side characters. While the romance that blossoms between Evemer and Kadou is the main driving force of the plot, there is a thread of conspiracy that is unwound as the story goes on. While not the most shocking and twisty mystery I've ever read, I was thoroughly invested in our characters getting to the bottom of it and I found it overall very entertaining. It was a fun, angsty, slow burn romance with a delightfully queer cast, lush world building, a cozy writing style and lovable characters. Highly recommend it for folks who enjoy cozy/romantic fantasy.

[Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

We’re getting Tadek’s story! So excited about it!

Winter’s Orbit’s politics meets a lesser cruel Captive Prince. Add a slow-burn romance full of yearning, and A Taste of Gold and Iron is born.

First of all, look at that gorgeous cover! I love it so much, and it fits the story so well!
 
This was just the story I needed. Inclusiveness all over, in color, sexuality, and gender. Flawed, sometimes almost unlikable characters, and so much under the surface. Mental health rep, and full of angst AND romance. A book that ticked off all of my boxes.

The romance is central in A Taste of Gold and Iron, and I adored it. Kadou and Evemer were both complex characters with many, many layers, and even though they disliked each other at first, they became more and more vulnerable to each other by peeling off those layers. Their first kiss was unexpected, and I immediately felt a warm glow of light in my chest. When they held hands in the cellar, butterflies fluttered through my belly, and I sighed with contentment.

My favorite character, though, was Tadek. After I rolled my eyes, and knitted my brows together, he put a smile on my face so many times. But there was also another side of him. Like Kadou said, Tadek had as many walls as Evemer had. He just did a better job of convincing everyone that they weren’t there.

For a long time, I was convinced that I would rate this book four stars, but my thumbs just hit five beautiful stars, and I do not regret it!

I received an ARC from Tor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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[Tricia Levenseller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend to all you fantasy romance lovers!

[~Nicole~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Later edit:

Dear author, please PLEASE give us a story for Tadek.
I have no words to say how much I loved him.So much that sometimes I wished this was a MMM book so he can stay with our MCs because the three of them were 😍 (And I don’t even read MMM books!!)


Tadaaa! Another fantastic fantasy book I loved and yeah, I got to say I’m a converted person now . Though this one tends more towards historical, and the best part of the book is that is set somewhere in the …Middle East maybe? Or Orient (I’m ashamed to say I’m pretty ignorant of these cultures) .I’ve rarely read books with Indian or Arabic vibes and this was fabulous!! The first half of the book was a definite 5 stars . I loved everything about it, I loved the world building, the mention of clothing, foods , incenses,I loved the fragile,anxiety-ridden gentle prince , I hated his judgmental personal guard who resented him (the other MC), I loved the tension, I loved how the guard started to really see the prince, to really understand him , to care for him slowly. He saw him as weak, fickle and negligent and it was a delight to see him recognize he was an ass. Unfortunately that’s where the book lost a bit if its charm for me . The guard became a little too besotted with the prince and since there is no sex and barely any intimacy or sexual tension in the book I felt that it dragged a bit . The relationship became sort of secondary while the external problems became the main focus. Don’t get me wrong, we see them getting closer and closer and falling in love during this time , I just wish the book had more …passion because Evener was a bit….dull to be honest. Also, the book really needed an epilogue. Or I did lol . Nevertheless the book was excellent.The writing is absolutely beautiful, the side characters interesting and amazing (like Tadek who was my fav character) and the romance is exactly the kind I like: quiet and gentle.

[Kiki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry, boring people have dry, boring conversations about a dry, boring problem while falling in dry, boring love. Twice I tried to get through this, and twice I failed. I can’t justify turning another page. The extra star is for the prose and the fact that this is likely a me problem, since I can see why someone with a greater interest in fealty and “fantasy of manners” and lower stakes stories might genuinely enjoy this. I don’t think it’s a bad book. It’s just boring as fuck. The two protagonists are the worst of the bunch. I can’t believe I’m expected to care about these two people who have the collective personality of a chair. Absolutely not.

Also, on my second reread, I was low-key on Siranos’s side. He gets to Arasht, nobody explains the culture or the customs or the way that succession works, the sultan just climbs on him to make a baby, then the uncle of the baby, his lover’s brother, tells him that he has no right to see his child or be in his child’s life, and tells him that he, the uncle, whose relationship with the baby amounts to accidentally seeing her once every 3 or so weeks in the garden and holding her like a teddy bear, has a greater claim to her? This guy?? Sorry but this whole system of “body-father” is a war waiting to happen. It’s certainly a murder waiting to happen at the very least. You best believe that if some little bastard told me that my baby was his actually and that I was nothing but a DNA donor to the child I was actively raising I’d have some fucking words for this guy. Damn right I’ll get my fuckin hunting knife out.

[Celine Ong · Rating 5 out of 5]

“there he was, familiar and comfortable. that’s what it felt like. like his heart, or whatever part of him it was that yearned for someone worthy to serve, had recognised the person he was meant to follow. the person he was meant to die for. there he was.”

perhaps the most annoying thing about me is that i love being right.

last year, i procrastinating reading this book, fearing it would mess up my rankings. for months lusted over it but held back. the moment the new year hit, i picked it up.

& i was right.

hey google how do i inject a book into my veins.

when an altercation puts kadou, the shy price of arasht, on shaky footing with the queen, he tries to prove his loyalty by investigating a break-in at a guild with his newly appointed bodyguard—cold & stoic evemer. as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens to ruin the kingdom’s financial standing, kadou & evemer have to protect each other at every turn.

so like. there’s a lot going on here. there’s breathtaking world building with casual queerness, political & economical intrigue, a plot that meanders like a lullaby, a gorgeously diverse & layered cast, & women who wield their power without hesitation.

but the eye of the storm? that's evemer & kadou.

together they are a slowburn, a *clenches fist* Yearning so palpable that i swam it in, later choking & drowning. absolutely beautiful. i ate it all up. they teeter on a cliff’s edge, dreaming about leaning forward but holding back, the push & pull of duty vs. devotion, of consent & reciprocity. when they fling themselves into the wind? i’m gone.

there's the raw intimacy of fealty & devotion, looking at each other like they’re staring into the sun, the north star. crawling over coal & broken glass to kneel & press a forehead against the back of a hand. at first from duty, then wondering when it transformed to love, then to the steady compass used to set course by.

so many of y’all told me that i would love this. that it would be right up the alley of my pulley/marske loving ass. as i sit here with my brain oozing out of my ears, all i have to say is: you were all right.

also: woof woof bark bark borf borf bork bork bork

___

the way i do not have a single thought in my pea brain right now y'all were all right !!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

It astonishes me when people greet attempts at inclusion in the fantasy genre with some kind of outrage or argument about logic. If you’re in any kind of online space you no doubt see the backlash to just about everything, and it feels like it’s everywhere I turn lately. It’s relentless and disheartening and makes me think of a line from a musical I love, where a dreamer is described as being able to “make you see what the world could be in spite of the way that it is”. And that, to me, is what fantasy can and should be doing too. That’s what we should be striving for at a time when people need it most.

That’s what this book did for me.

The world building is just exceptional here and - hefty though this novel is - I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of the potential in this world. There was certainly a lot to get accustomed to but it’s exquisitely described, and before long I was picturing it all with ease. The regal and commonplace clothes alike, the foods from different regions, the palace, city and the wider world, the customs and roles of characters. And the characters themselves… I can’t begin to describe how incredible the work is here. We alternate between a prince who’s made a mistake and his newly appointed bodyguard that hates him for it, and follow their achingly romantic journey of understanding and forgiveness, of duty and love. This slow burn romance is executed to perfection, and the book at large handles ideas of consent, propriety and reciprocity throughout, with the political plot line taking a backseat to the formation and evolution of relationships - relationships that invite characters out of their shells, encourage growth and communication, and involve such care and love and loyalty that I’ve hardly recovered from how beautiful it is.

Queer characters are at the forefront here, in a world that includes non-binary identities among others from the outset, with in-world words for describing them. It has painfully accurate anxiety rep that I’m so grateful to see on the page, and the sense of patience, support and encouragement that only grew throughout warmed my heart to no end.

I couldn’t have been happier to receive this eARC from Pan Macmillan and I’m so grateful to have read it. It makes me hopeful. I couldn’t recommend it more.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow-burn, opposites attract, political fantasy romance between a prince and his bodyguard? Sold!

A Taste of Gold and Iron absolutely delivers on its premise. This has the perfect blend of dislike growing into love, quiet yearning, dangerous conspiracies, found family, and a touch of magic. This book has characters you are going to fall for (even if you think you don't like them at first) and an incredible supporting cast filled with interesting, nuanced, strong men, women and nonbinary folks. I am expecting (and hoping for!) lots of fan art with this one.

It's a book that knows what it is - primarily a romance. The conspiracy piece adds tension and interest to the plot, but the goal here is not to have surprising twists and you'll know pretty quickly who the villain of the story is. I also want to highlight the fact that Rowland did an EXCELLENT job managing the power dynamics of this story, and the prince/bodyguard thing can make it easy to get it wrong.

There is a bit of magic in the world- some people can "taste" metals by touching them and know things about them- but it's not the main focus. It's a world where people can be casually queer. There are pronouns used for non-binary people and homophobia doesn't exist. We have bi/pan-sexual characters, gay characters, an asexual character etc. That said as royalty Prince Kadou has less say in the gender of who he gets to marry. His sister the empress could in theory decide on a political marriage to a woman even though he is gay.

One other thing I thought was handled well is Kadou has chronic anxiety and experiences panic attacks. He thinks he is just a coward, but through the course of the book comes to realize that isn't the case and the people around him help him find ways to cope.

I don't want to say too much more but there were scenes that were genuinely swoon-worthy, others that were very funny, and the actual prose flowed well and was very easy to read. The slow build-up of tension and passion between the two main characters was perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I think this is going to be a hit! I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

[Para (wanderer) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 45%. This book and me go together like oil and water. It was not off to a good start when I started nitpicking the dumb, nonsensical plot setup. Like just in the first few percents we have: Kadou being blamed hardcore because the people who were supposed to be protecting him freaked out when he fell off his horse during a hunt, no one but Kadou raising as much as an eyebrow when the investigator into something that'd threaten the country suddenly decided there's nothing to investigate, the prince liking to give lessons to students in cheap taverns...like yeah, sure the author gives reasons for every single character being useless, but none convinced me. It felt slapdash, and I know that romance is the point here but...come on. Don't hand out idiot balls like they're candy. Don't make my suspension of disbelief take this much of a beating.

As for the romance...Evemer started off having an emotional intelligence of a rock, which is kind of inconvenient when guarding (and dressing? And hairstyling? And it's later mentioned that kahyalar go on to become ministers? And some apparently check flour? Is there anything these guys don't do?) a prince who is an Anxious Mess™. It gets better with time and I kind of wanted to see where it goes, but I was in too much of an irritable, uncharitable mood with everything else. I'd much rather cut my losses and go try to find a book I'll actually enjoy.

Enjoyment: 1/5
Execution: 2/5

More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.

[Ben Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Taste of Gold and Iron is an imersive fantasy romance that completly captured me. From the impressive world-building to the diverse and complex cast of characters.

Kadou is the Prince of Arasht, and after a situation occures in which he barely escapes being sent off to the countryside by his sister the Sultan, he's assigned a new bodyguard. Evemer has recently graduated with top marks. He's the perfect no-nonsense and stoic guard.

Kadou's and Evemer's relationship starts off rocky. Kadou is guilt-ridden by the event that led to the situation he's in, and it's only exasurbated by his intense anxiety. Evemer on the other hand is not impressed with Kadou in the least. He used to view him as the shinning Prince, but now he sees Kadou as "careless-flighty-negligent".

It's the perfect slow burn. Even their friendship is a slow burn, and getting to that point in their romance where they admit their true feelings, not only to each other but to themselves, is so worth it.

The plot is just as interesting as the romance in A Taste of Gold and Iron. Arasht has gained it's power not by the might of military, but by the power of their coin. So when a counterfeiting plot is uncovered that threatens the legitimacy of their coin, it could see their downfall. The counterfeiters are debasing Arasht gold by mixing it with lesser metals. If the world at large can't trust their gold it would mean their ruin.

I can't wait to read the previous books set in this world and of course I'm super excited for Running Close to the Wind!

[li.reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

read the whole thing in basically one sitting.

not quite a marvellous light, but still a great time

[Dilushani Jayalath · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit of a mixed bag, and I find myself in a state of ambivalence. On one hand, it had many of the elements that typically draw me into a story, but on the other hand, it didn't quite capture my heart. It's safe to say that I was, in a way, captivated by it, especially as I raced through the last part with a determined fervor. However, the initial section of the book was a bit sluggish in its development.

The concept underpinning the narrative is intriguing, but there were moments when I felt somewhat adrift, wishing for a more concrete understanding of the world the author had created. Some parts of the story were a touch wishy-washy, leaving me yearning for more comprehensive world-building. Of course, one must consider that this is a standalone novel, and it's impractical to include every detail.

As for the characters, I appreciated the way Kadou's anxiety was portrayed, making him relatable, yet there were times when I wanted to shake some sense into him. Evermer, the protagonist, fit the mold of the stoic, cold hero, leaving little to write home about. My main disappointment, however, was the lack of subtlety in revealing the antagonist; it was glaringly evident from the start, which diminished the story's intrigue.

In sum, I can't say I disliked this book, but I didn't fall head over heels for it either. Knowing that the author plans to release another book set in the same universe, I admit I'm curious and will likely give it a shot. There's potential here, and I'm willing to see where the author takes the story next.

[urwa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5-3 stars
God this was SUCH a dumb book. Honestly, at times reading it felt like I was submitting myself to a 500-page-long insult to my intelligence. Yes, I know this was supposed to be a fun, fan fictiony romp with slow burn and yearning but for the love of God, Montressor! This book contains some of the most ridiculous passages ever. Like, I am honestly shocked it was okayed by any sane editor. Consider this for example:

It was a ubiquitous bread down in the city, one that everyone ate. But Evemer hadn’t expected “everyone” to include the prince. Princes were not normal people, so they oughtn’t eat the same foods that normal people did.

HUHHH???? What does that even mean?? 😭😭😭 What do you THINK princes eat Evemer? balls of gold??

And this wasn't even the weirdest part. Evemer "blames" the prince for the death of his soldier friends. Because they died trying to protect the prince. The job they are hired to do. Am I the only one confused??? There wasn't even any enemies-to-lovers thing. Don't let the tags fool you. It was literally only Evemer hating on the prince before he even met him. Dumb as fuck. Similarly, while the romance was slow burn it felt as if there was only physical attraction between the two. I couldn't understand why they liked each other. I didn't even mind the tropey romantic scenes that came straight off AO3. I can do cliche if it's done well, otherwise, it's just mind-numbing. Oh. And there was that whole drama about Eevemer's daddy kink, and him having a concerningly extreme amount of devotion towards Kadou after Kadou saved his life. Like VERY extreme. Think willing-to-cut-my-arm-off-for-you intense, and that is from an actual scene from the book. Fellas is it romantic to be blindly devoted to a man (royal rich man, yes notice the power dynamic) so much that you are ready to sacrifice anyone including yourself at a moment's notice without any reason, but just because it's your dUtY and mY lOrD dEmAnDs iT. idk yall but it felt kindaaaa 🚩🚩🚩🚩.
“I wouldn’t have minded dying for him. Part of me is disappointed that I didn’t. I would have felt it an honor.” Yall need therapy. Just saying...

The ONLY redeemable thing about this book was its depiction of anxiety, eating disorders, and panic attacks. It was perfectly spot on, made me fucking cry. The author definitely did their research about that or they have first-hand experience so that was pretty great. It's the only reason I couldn't exactly decide on 2.5 or 3 stars.

The plot was absolute dogshit. No other way to put it. The abysmally weak and dumb villains made me want to smash my head against a wall. Some reviewer commented on how the economics and politics part of the plot was delightful to read. Did we read the same book?? Have they read The Traitor Baru Cormorant?? There was zero, none, filch political intrigue in A Taste of Gold and Iron. Also, the fantasy aspect was lame af. There was terrible world-building, no explanation or depth to the touch-tasting metal powers. The fantasy element was more of a part of the setting than the plot.

Nothing more than a pretty cover and a chonky size, A Taste of Gold and Iron had been one of my most anticipated queer releases of the year and I am beyond disappointed over how it turned out.

[h o l l i s · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a tough one to review. Because I had all sorts of feelings about it -- one of which was, I read the first chapter and had such a visceral "nope" feeling about it that I put down the kindle and walked away for an hour -- but mostly those feelings were ambivalent. And then occasionally frustrated because I was seeing things I could love but the love was just out of reach.

The good? The tropes. There's an A03-style list of tags for what you can find in this book, I won't list them out but they are easy to find if you go looking, and most of them are delicious. And honestly how they played out was also, mostly, delicious. And actually most of what I found to be good in this story was the romance because I did like these characters; one was easier to love than the other as he was more fleshed out, but the other had a good bit of unlayering from how he started out, too, so it didn't feel too unbalanced. They are caught up in a complicated dynamic, and even though there was some angst due to pining and yearning and feeling unworthy being caught up in that, the dialogue that the author leaned on to express consent, reciprocity, the morality/ethics of it all, and understanding between them, was so good.

The less good? The world. For all the prose and descriptions, not to mention the wordcount, I did not have a good handle on the setting or the politics and found the conflict of the plot kind of flimsy. It didn't help that we were thrown right into things near the beginning and, as mentioned, I really wasn't feeling it -- the first chapter really jarred me but that feeling stuck with me for like 30%. But we definitely had some sweet spots.. though the ending, too, as in the final page, was also jarring (is this a series? or is that just how it wraps?).

Split down the middle? The supporting cast. We had some really good eggs mixed in with our MCs and we also had some less good. Equally, we had some good eggs that just acted in frustrating ways and for reasons that are never truly explained but, of course, forgiven. Part of that supporting cast is a strong presence of queerness and identities interwoven in this world and zero homophobia. Huge win.

So, yes, if this romance-centric high fantasy did well by the romance, why such a low rating? I still felt the slowness of the background fantasy/action plot, and sometimes when there should've been urgency, there wasn't, and I found that a bit jarring. I wish that the villain(s) of the piece had been a bit less obvious because it might've added more uncertainty and, again, given us some of the tension that was lacking. And, again, there was that ending -- just as I was really feeling things were on the up I feel like I misstepped and was left stumbling a bit, which has me not wanting to round up.

Overall, while there are elements within the whole that could be worth a recommend, I would definitely hesitate to encourage anyone give it a try who wasn't already going to.

2.5 stars

** I received an ARC from Edelweiss+ and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

---

This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm yeah I did not enjoy reading this book at all. I felt that the characters were two-dimensional, the world-building lackluster, and the writing laborious to read. I love a well-written slow burn gay romance, though the dialogue and characterization fell so flat in this book that I couldn’t muster up the energy to care even when the romance plot took off. I would recommend reading something else instead unless you know you love this type of content no matter the quality of its execution!

Also, I finished this book and wrote this review yesterday, and right afterward I went to meet a guy on a date and he ended up cancelling 20 minutes beforehand, leaving me in the pouring Boston rain. I'm not saying that this man's behavior is this book's fault, but I'm also not not saying that it's this book's fault...? Okay I'm joking obv this book isn't to blame for a man's somewhat inconsiderate behavior, I just found the sequence of events interesting!!

[Teal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkably well-written, well-paced, well-crafted book.

I could never put it down for long, despite how exasperating I sometimes found the characters. I didn't have much respect for them for about the first half of the story, and I certainly wasn't rooting for a romance to develop. More on that later — first I want to mention something that would have killed my interest in the book had I known about it beforehand.

One of the MCs has debilitating anxiety, and occasional panic attacks. I normally steer clear of stories where mental health issues are front and center. I read for entertainment and/or escapism, and I don’t find that fun to read about — it’s just stressful. I don’t need second-hand anxiety, thanks, I can conjure up plenty of it first-hand in real life if I want to. Even if I don’t want to. Especially if I don’t want to. At any rate, I know some readers welcome that kind of fictional rep, and may find it cathartic — so what could have been a dealbreaker for me may well be a selling point for others. It’s not alluded to in the blurb, which is why I’m mentioning it here.

So, back to the romance. (There’s so much more to the book — the worldbuilding, with a historical setting that I think is based on the Ottoman Empire, a magic system we see occasional glimpes of, a cast of interesting secondary characters, plenty of treachery and intrigue and betrayal — but I only have so much review mojo, so I’m glossing over all that. Straight to the romance we go! Well, not actually straight. But whatever.)

To me, the power balance between a couple is possibly the most important and foundational aspect of a romance. Often it's not something that needs to be explicitly addressed — which is how I prefer it — because there's no huge mismatch between the lovers. But here, the inherent power imbalance between the prince and his servant/guard seemed insurmountable to me. I couldn't imagine ever accepting it. Impressively, though, the author cared about the issue as much as I do. They found creative ways to address it, and while in the end I'm not 100% sure I was convinced, I was gratified that its importance wasn't ignored or minimized.

But the ending — all I can say, to avoid spoilers, is that I found it a very strange point at which to stop telling the story. Especially since a decision had just been made that didn't make sense to me. I needed either more info about why it was the right choice, or more story to follow it — or, ideally, both. It was just... weird. It helped convince me this was a 4-star read, rather than 4.5 or 5.

Still, my first encounter with Alexandra Rowland's work left me impressed. I look forward to reading their Tales of the Chants series next.
_______
Thanks to Dumbledore11214, I learned that the author wrote a 10K-word epilogue, what spring does with the cherry trees. It's on AO3, and you can read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/414....

I have to say, I did not like it. I wouldn't have believed it was by this author if she hadn't openly claimed it as her own. I found it relentlessly repetitive at first — as if it should have been pruned down by about 2/3 — so started skimming. But I ended up just scrolling quickly through the bulk of it without even bothering to skim, because it was making me cringe so hard. Oof. And it didn't even attempt to address the big issue left open at the end of the book, so why it exists I have no idea. Well, it exists because the author wanted to write it, and I fully support authors enjoying themselves by writing what they want to write, but wowzers it was not enjoyable for me to (try to) read.

[charlotte, · Rating 2 out of 5]

five reasons to give it a go or the more honest version

Rep: Turkish coded cast & setting, gay mc with depression and anxiety, bi mc, achillean side character, nonbinary side characters

CWs: violence, panic attacks

[Nichola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have very mixed feelings about this book.

If you’re approaching it with full fanfic brain engaged, viewing the plot as essentially a framing device for the romance and basically sitting with your mouth open waiting to be fed delicious tropes, you will probably adore this: this baby can contain SO MUCH yearning and pining and intimacy, so many “oh my god, there was only one bed!” type moments and sacrifice and fealty and snuggling and all that good stuff. And I THOUGHT that was the mindset I was reading with, but apparently I was wrong, because while I enjoyed it a lot in the moment, when I reached the end I found myself disappointed that Rowland didn’t care more about the plotty stuff, or about consistent characterisation.

And by the end of the book Prince Kadou seems to have learned precisely nothing: he began the book getting into trouble (and indirectly causing deaths) largely because he decided to keep secrets from his sister the Sultan & caused his loyal retainers to have divided loyalties; he ends the book once more keeping a secret from his sister the Sultan, & causing his retainers to have divided loyalties. Like. Babe. No.

This book reads like a mashup of the things the writer finds most delicious about The Goblin Emperor and The Captive Prince, which absolutely should be catnip for me - but the end result feels more like something by Megan Derr. (I’m quite well disposed to Megan Derr, but her writing always feels like the equivalent of fake bacon - you can enjoy it well enough if you’re in the right frame of mind, but never for a split second do you mistake it for anything real, either in terms of worldbuilding or human interactions.)

Evemer (whom I believe Rowland has acknowledged is very much inspired by MDZS’s Lan Zhan) is a consistent character, and I find his choices and characterisation plausible and engaging, but Kadou reads like a patchwork of Katherine Addison’s cinnamon roll Emperor Maia and C S Pacat’s delicious spiky vicious damaged brilliant hot mess Prince Laurent, and much as I love both of those characters, this hybrid just…doesn’t ring true? I’m looking back on his choices and behaviour throughout the book and feeling frustrated, tbh. I feel like his self destructive spoilt brat shenanigans early on are just there to manipulate the reader’s emotions; it doesn’t mesh with the Kadou we’re supposed to believe is the real shining golden prince. (Pacat’s Laurent, otoh, is both a genuinely damaged self-destructive hot mess [abuse-survivor Hamlet fighting for his life in his uncle’s corrupt court] and also has EXTREMELY excellent & specific reasons for being uncharacteristically cruel AF towards Damen; Kadou by contrast really does not have any good reason to be a pouty resentful dick towards Evemer, whose worst crime is being chilly and disapproving, and this treatment really jars with who we’re told he is and how we’re told he treats his guards.)

I…I don’t really find Kadou disarming the way I think Rowland wants me to? Perhaps I need to know more about Anxiety disorders? Idk. I like Tadek, and I like most of the supporting characters; I especially like the “I don’t do retainers” witch who pops up near the end. But the woobified Prince with his anxiety disorder? Honestly, he didn’t win me over the way I think he was supposed to.

And relatedly, I don’t really like or believe in his sister the Sultan as much as I should. As I reflect upon what I would have changed to make this book ring more true, I think that tackling the Sultan & her inner court would have been a good starting place. Where are all her ministers and advisors? The cousins, the grandparents, the rest of the aristocracy? Where are all the wet nurses and maids and attendants for the baby? Why is she written more like a TV version of a dynamic upper middle class American working mom instead of the hereditary sole ruler of a powerful nation? She repeatedly makes careless assumptions & doles out half-assed punishments, and neither she nor Kadou nor anyone else reads like people who ACTUALLY live and operate within a traditional royal court, bound by the weight of profoundly UNdemocratic attitudes towards class, worth, status etc.

I like the worldbuilding of the matrilineal society which considers babies as part of the mother’s family, and the maternal uncle far more important to a child than whichever guy a woman uses as a sperm donor; I like the little glances at linguistics and culture clashes. I DON’T love the way that (as in Derr’s books, and quite a lot of American fantasies) court life is depicted with this odd Disneyfied lack of awareness of class system, and its impact. It’s like they’re upper middle class family and friends all hanging out and bickering affectionately on the set of some US TV show, and given that I know Rowland has watched at least ONE Chinese court drama, I’m honestly surprised she thinks this will fly? Where are the wet nurses and the dozens of maids that would absolutely be looking after the newborn crown princess? (And what drugs are they feeding the baby to make her such a well behaved and convenient little cuddle-prop, come to that?) Where are the degrees and layers of formality which should characterise Kadou’s interactions with different people of different rank?

The central plotty issue is that someone is minting fake coins - and this IS a great problem to hang a plot upon, but Rowland doesn’t really follow through on it, imho? We know this has happened from the first chapter, and Rowland is at pains to have Kadou spell out exactly how and why this has potentially DEVASTATING repercussions for the economy and international relations…but the investigation is half-assed throughout, and I’m left wondering both how the hell the conspirators got away with their scheme for as long as they did, and also how they were able to suborn as many people as they apparently were? Not to mention how the country is going to cope with the repercussions of the fact that it seems some fake money IS out in the world, and there’s absolutely no way that gossip & rumours haven’t spread.

Idk - I feel like The Sleuth Of The Ming Dynasty did better by this plot, and it was only dealt with for a handful of episodes.

And then there’s also the question of why, given how EXCEEDINGLY VALUABLE the magical power of being a human lie-detector is, and given that apparently some people just have this skill, why on earth does the country (a) not have at least one such person on permanent retainer within the legal system or indeed (b) have a history of marrying them into noble/royal lines for the useful genetics, and why is the one such character (whom I love!) who appears in the plot just randomly working for some sketchy unreliable assholes instead of living like a goddamn queen? (I love her, though; presumably someone asked Rowland this very question at some point during the editing process, since they lampshade the “she doesn’t do retainers” thing, but that just doesn’t cut it - if this is a power that some people actually have, the judicial system would *definitely* be built around finding and retaining them, probably from childhood.

This is a bit of worldbuilding thrown in to facilitate a SPECTACULAR piece of romantic tropeyness, but it has repercussions that leave you thinking “but…?!?”

…idk, I just feel like this could have been a much better book if Rowland had cared more about the plot and worldbuilding stuff half as much as she did about the lizard brain squee-inducing stuff, and I wish that she had? Because I’ve been rereading a lot of Bujold and The Goblin Emperor lately (as well as lots of KJ Charles) and I was hoping for an id-pleasing epic fantasy queer romance that *also* nailed the worldbuilding and the plotty shenanigans.

[Maisha Farzana · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A Taste of Gold and Iron" is a queer fantasy romance that follows a shy price named Kadou and his reluctant bodyguard Evemer.

The world building was lot more intense than I expected. The story was set in a world, reminiscent of the Ottoman Empire. Of course, it was grand. The author creates a vast new world. A world that has magic and is very matriarchal. I loved the world building. It was picturesque and vivid. Every bit of it was original and well crafted. Alexandra Rowland did an amazing job indeed.

I wasn't a big fan of the writing style. The author tried hard to make the prose lyrical. But it felt rather stoic and monotonous to me. The prose had a regal vibes to it which really suited the story. However, I myself as a reader felt quite lost if not a little annoyed while reading it. All in, the book wasn't accessible or easy to get into.

The characters development was phenomenal. Kadou and Evemer both were interesting and very relatable. They were easy to love. So much there were under the surface! They had distinct characteristics; flawed, imperfect but very easy to connect with. The cast of side characters is awesome. Tadek was undoubtedly my most favourite character in this book. Other characters were great too.

Loved loved loved the anxiety representation. It was perfect.

"A Taste of Gold and Iron" was, in every sense, what a good political fantasy should be. Scenes including political turmoil outnumbered the romantic scenes. So, you can imagine..this book was heavy with court politics, treachery, betrayal and tactical negotiations. The political intrigue was surprisingly enjoyable. I don't like political fantasy novels that much. But the political discussions in this book were easy to understand and I thoroughly enjoyed them. The action sequences were great. I liked how the main characters were being thrust into forced proximity whenever a conflict appeared. Both of them, Kadou and Evemer, pretended that all of it was fake and out of necessity but they secretly waited for such opportunities. Opportunities when they could be together however they wanted without any obligations to follow by the ruled. Moments when they could express their hearts' desires; even if it was under disguises and pretense. Kadou and Evemer were loving it all. And me? I was busy trying not to melt into puddle...

I really wish the book focused more on the romance. The romantic subplot didn't receive the spotlight as frequently as it deserved. I still loved it of course. I loved those stolen moments, those fleeting glances, their subtle banter and the unwavering royalty to each other. I live and die for a great slow burn romance. And trust me, Alexandra Rowland should get an award for writing such a marvelous slow burn romance. Evemer and Kadou’s relationship was built on mutual respect, trust and loyalty. Their love and devotion to each other was unflinching and raw. I loved every single second of it. Specially whenever Evemer was talking about Kadou, the fondness and love in in voice...I could die right there.

Lastly The ending! The incredulous, perfidious, scandalous ending! You played me. You gave me hope, then broke my heart and trampled on over my heart...You unfaithful, cruel Ending!
I'm sulking now..
...I'm pouting
.....I'm throwing a tantrum here.
I'm screaming...
(Repeating the cycle over and over again)

Okay, I am going to be serious now. The ending was good. But it seemed rushed to me. The author wrote a big book, teased us with such a foreplay like environmental, blessed us with an epic romance. Compared to all of these, the ending was rather underwhelming. They didn't even go all the way...physically I mean (cough cough). So, yeah, this lovely couple deserved a better ending. Hell! I deserved to a cuter ending. I thought we would get to see lots of romantic scenes once the political situation was put to rest. But we got nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm disappointed. I really hope that the author will write a sequel.

3 stars for now. I may change the rating later on...

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet another fanfic-like mm fantasy (sometimes it is sf) romance from a major publisher with prepublishing hype and fancy covers and professional blurbs and I keep falling for it and hoping it is going to be good. And this A Taste of Gold and Iron was really quite bad.

Warning: the ending is, if not quite a cliffhanger (because of course there is no suspense to the relationship and the political plot, ah, lol, that is veneer thin and just ornamental!) unsatisfactory. This is a very long book (170k words), much too long, but the ending is couple chapters short and it feels like a cheap attempt to make fans buy more books, more novellas to get further into a HEA for these characters. (In case it was not clear, I am going to be reading it, I do not care, halfway through I was just rage reading).

I was promised, hey, it is right there on the blurb The Goblin Emperor meets "Magnificent Century" (that seems to be a turkish tv series about Suliman the Magnificent". And the first chapter, from the PoV of an anxiety ridden dutiful prince, really was working that Goblin Emperor vibe and made me pick it up. But it all just slowly falls apart as it goes on and on and on and on...

The book is much too long, much too descriptive, too many meaningful long conversations obliquely about feelings. The romance part might be called a slow burn, except it is not even a burn because the feelings were not particularly convincing.

The worldbuilding is really thin though so so wordy, so many details on clothes, decor, food (all very turkish). I do not know exactly what to call this type of universe, mentally I call this a safe space universe, where our main setting, the Irasti empire, is a diverse, totally tolerant society which is also really rich and powerful and without apparent problems or social fractures. Kadou and his sister have thousands of janissary-like public servants, but later the capital city around is supposed to have 20 000 people (very very little to support such a system...). The sultan makes really stupid choices (in order to advance a forced proximity trope) like the whole family and several trusted servants, all the heirs leaving the palace and going camping on a random stranger! Later leaving the crown princess with her and some random wetnurse... There is little reflection or ambiguity about this society or the character motivations. This monarchy is just perfect and there are some digs to the misfunctions of a rival democratic nation which is in financial straights. A small part of the plot which annoyed me: just casually mentioned is that some spies tried to steal the secret, jealously guarded by the Arasti empire, to controlling massive sea serpents which imperil trade and destroy harbors in mating season. That is part of the basis of their wealth and power, that they keep this secret. Casual mentions to other people getting harbours devastated, presumably with huge loss of life. I am quite sympathetic to the spy side actually! Not that much of that plot goes anywhere, it is all just wallpaper.

The romance part is rather uncompelling, the plotting really stupid and shallow - calling this fanfic is probably insulting to fanfic as a concept, I am sure there are much better, complex plots and relationships in some fics.

But not finding flaw in everything, the writing itself was competent. I liked the idea, the perspective from a character suffering from anxiety and panic attacks (though it drags on and on and on...).

[Sen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even a day by his side is worth a lifetime of misery.

★

Be forewarned that this is going to be a bit of a long, ranty review because dear god this was terrible. Thoughtless, shallow, and tone deaf - A Taste of Gold and Iron is contender for one of the worst books I've read in a while. Let me start off by saying that I did not go into this expecting some sort of grand sweeping story. I was simply looking for a good time aka a lowkey "feel-good" fantasy-romance with a relationship I could root for and a decent plot but this failed on both fronts. Usually as soon as I feel like a book is not going to be my cup of tea I dnf it immediately but for this I decided to push through the entire thing just so I could be sure I wasn't missing out on something considering how much people loved it. Never again. That was precious time wasted that I will never be able to recover.

➺ The "plot": or lack thereof

A Taste of Gold and Iron opens with Kadou, a prince of the most opulent kingdom in this world, being "exiled" by his sister the sultan after entangling himself in a suspicious hunting accident. Meanwhile, with the assistance of a handsome beefy new bodyguard Evemer assigned to protect him from the fallout of said hunting accident, Kadou gets caught up in an investigation to uncover who is making counterfeit currency, which is a huge deal for a country that prides itself on the "purity" of its coins. It is all just as exciting as it sounds...which is to say not at all. The core mystery about the counterfeits absolutely reads like an afterthought and was so simplistic in its resolution that it was laughable. Most of the events that move the plot forward happen by accident, and there was never any true sense of danger or struggle for any of the characters. Kadou is a "touch taster" of metals and can detect counterfeit coins by laying his hands on them, almost like synesthesia. You'd think that this would be incredibly important considering the premise but of course it did not have any significant bearings on the conflict and was introduced as a supposedly cool afterthought to spice up things with a little bit of "magic." Kadou also struggles with anxiety and panic attacks which is a huge element of the book. The reason I'm mentioning it with regards to plot is because the progression of the story goes a little like this: something happens to Kadou, he has a panic attack, he spends many pages wallowing in his luxurious chambers with people petting him/brushing his hair/whispering sweet nothings to him while he recovers, and then we move on to next plot point. Rinse and repeat.

I am willing to let a lot of plot shenanigans slide because it's fantasy and a little suspension of disbelief is expected, but the amount of disbelief suspending that had to be done here was of acrobatic proportions - to the point of getting in the way of my enjoyment of the book. A Taste of Gold and Iron has literally some of the most insultingly bad political intrigue and manufactured drama I've ever read.

Take for example one scene in particular that was just so beyond ridiculous that I had to keep myself from yeeting the book then and there. During what is likely the climax of the story, Kadou and Evemer are abducted by the big bads who are about to kill Evemer. In an attempt to save him, Kadou lies and says that Evemer is in fact a nobleman and worth a lot of dough in ransom. The big bads then decide to bring in a "truth witch" to determine if our heroes are lying. Why they would go through this whole charade in the first place rather than just keep them both alive is beyond me. So anyway what do our heroes do to evade this? They get married! The villains of course just let them wander off to this little corner of the room to conspire by themselves. They proceed to whisper these wedding vows to each other and then evade the truth witch because Evemer is now a prince. And then, to make matters worse, once they are locked up in the wine cellar they spend the longest time just considering how they're going to get this marriage annulled in the future rather than idk trying to ESCAPE and NOT DIE. I get it. This is in part a lighthearted romance and we're gonna have to be served a little cheese now and then, but the book is filled with events like this.

Yet another instance that frustrated me to no end was when the royal family and some of their kahyalars (who are servants/soldiers/everything in between more on this later) are hiding out at this safehouse after an assassination attempt. *gasp* They start talking about Evemer's romantic history. This is of course the perfect time for this conversation to happen but also prime opportunity for the other characters to explicitly spell out their sexual preferences for you so that we can congratulate the author for being so inclusive because oh look! There's a token ace side character! It's all so ham fisted. I'm tired of authors toting around how progressive and inclusive they are with their grocery-list representation in books. If you really care about representation in your stories I feel like all you need to do to successfully accomplish this is to write about people, in all their complexities and their beauty and ugliness. Don't write about mouthpieces.

➺ The setting: devoid of life

The Araşti mercantile empire was vast and robust enough that their currency could be used nearly anywhere around the Sea of Serpents and in many places further beyond, because everyone, everywhere, knew that an Araşti coin was a coin you could trust. If a merchant in Imakami, Map Sut, Oissos, Aswijan, Mangar-Khagra, Kaskinen, or N’gaka was offered an altın, they would know exactly what its relative value was.

Name dumping =/= fantasy worldbuilding.

The particular location of this world that A Taste of Gold and Iron takes place in seems to be inspired by the Ottoman empire. The author spends a decent amount of time detailing clothes, foods, architecture and YET, how can a book filled with so many descriptions feel so...empty and lifeless? Even the most heavily emphasized worldbuilding concept, the kahyalars, were a little strange to me. They are kind of like this world's equivalent of superhuman janissaries who are capable of doing really anything from discussing philosophy and history to acting as doctors. For example, Evemer is a talented bodyguard and fighter, first in his class of cadets, but also a...hairdresser? Why would a personal bodyguard to the royal family spend any amount of time learning how to groom his majesty' luscious locks when his every waking hour should be committed to perfecting his ability to kick ass? Heaven knows Evemer needed it considering the amount of times he ended up having his own ass kicked requiring him to be saved by his prince.

We also have a matriarchal society, "body, law, love"-fathers, random lectures on economy, temples dedicated to various gods...there were just so many tiny things that felt like the author just threw them in there because oh right it's a fantasy book. What we end up with is a haphazard collection of worldbuilding tidbits that never come together to form any cohesive whole. A Taste of Gold and Iron, like so many fantasy/fantasy-romances coming out these day, is just so lacking in any sense of true magic. I'm not so much talking about literal magical elements in the setting so much as the grand sense of wonder and beauty you feel about the entire story.

➺ The characters: a circus

Sometimes, I can overlook a fantasy romance plot being nonexistent if the characters are compelling enough. Sadly, this was a story full of caricatures who were just as depthless as the abysmal plot.

It would help his nerves if he could manage a few bites, but . . . No. No, he couldn’t do it. The idea of having to spend energy on chewing was unaccountably upsetting and pushed him right to the edge of tears.

Kadou the prince, like I mentioned earlier, struggles with anxiety, panic attacks, and the tendency to catastrophize. One positive aspect of this book as many reviewers have pointed out already is actually the author's choice to depict these struggles. I especially appreciated how Kadou was never magically "cured" of these things by the end of the story. Besides this though his character is soooo frustratingly dumb and tone deaf. Kadou is viewed as a cowardly prince but really is oh so noble not only the best prince ever but ALSO a good man uwu...for doing what? The absolute bare minimum in viewing his servants as people rather than machines to attend to his every whim? Please.

Evemer wanted to close his eyes to let it wash over him, but—his lord. Oh, his lord. Evemer would look as long as he could, he’d hold the image of those deep eyes in his heart while they strung him up by his neck, or cut off his head, or tipped poison down his throat, or took him down to the harbor and tied him to a rock and pitched him overboard, or slid steel into his gut. However they thought to do it. Evemer would look and look and look, and he’d close his eyes as soon as they took him out of the room, so that he could tell Usmim that his lord was the last thing he’d seen in life.

Evemer is a brick wall and has the personality of one too. He is stoic, strict but has a soft spot for babies, his mom, and, eventually, his lord. How cute. He is a kahyalar who is given the privilege of "disobedience" at one point. How much more interesting/entertaining would it have been to have Evemer at least ONCE question the absoluteness of his prince's orders. Instead, his character development consists of him initially being annoyed with the prince to him becoming another royal fanboy, willing to sacrifice anything and everything in an instant without a thought in service to Kadou. My apologies if he actually did at some point decide to use his own brain towards the end, as that is when the audiobook had lulled me to sleep.

Kadou's sister Zeliha, an apparently brilliant sultan, comes across as incompetent most of the time. How can she for even a minute entertain the notion that Kadou (freaking KADOU who the average courtier views as "spineless" and "cowardly" and who Zeliha has been "close" to her entire life enough to know her brother's struggles) of all people has any aspirations for the throne? She then literally turns around and says later on that Kadou is the second most precious thing to her after her daughter...excuse me??? Oh wait, it's to advance the plot.

All of these characters are such clowns. With the exception of commander Eozena, who is amazing and I love her.

➺ The romance: tepid

When you pair ridiculous characters together what do you expect to get if not a romance that is twice as ridiculous.

This is supposedly "enemies to lovers" in the sense that Evemer has a vague sense of dislike for Kadou in the beginning because some of his friends died in service to the prince. You know, like they were trained to do their entire lives.

This is also supposedly "slow burn" in the sense that the two main characters stew in their feelings for more than half of the book, don't communicate with each other about them, and then decide to go from 0 to 100 in the relationship department.

I get the bodyguard romance appeal, I really do. I too am 100% here for it. But I was not personally a fan of this dynamic here. I mean Kadou is literally just like MINE about Evemer at one point. Evemer, like I said before, eventually just gets to a point in his character development where he is willing to do anything and sacrifice anything without question for HIS LORD. I think the author was aiming to make these gestures grand and romantic, but it all just comes off as weird and extreme to me.

There was a shriek of wood—Kadou had pushed his chair back from the table. He strode across the room and grabbed Zeliha by the elbow. “What are you doing? You can’t,” he said. “You can’t have him. No.” She shook him off. He grabbed her again. “Sister,” he said, an edge of desperation coming into his voice before it dropped to a whisper, “This one’s mine.”

Also, I find it a little strange that the big sex scene at the end was glossed over because the author spends so much time leading up to this à la fanfiction-style. I personally don't really care for sex scenes or whatever, but if you're going to go with the fanfiction angle why not just go all out. It all sort of smells suspiciously of big trad publishing decisions here.

All of this brings me to the question that had been brewing in the back of my mind the entire time - who is this book for exactly? The "plot" is insultingly bad to the point where I can't imagine any fantasy reader getting enjoyment out of it. If you're in it for the romance, there are also so many more either well-written or feel-good love stories out there. There's really nothing here for anyone besides possibly the anxiety rep. If you want to read a similar book about princes and bodyguards, fealty and courtly machinations, just check out Reforged by Seth Haddon because that reads like a masterpiece compared to this dumpster fire. If you want a story more light on plot and bigger on character dynamics and witty humor that still features an m/m romance then maybe pick up Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher. Am I being a bit too harsh and uncharitable? Maybe. But I am yet again in the middle of a big reading slump and am a little tired of these lifeless, middling, "safe" queer books that publishers have been putting out recently.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars

A Taste of Gold and Iron follows Kadou, a shy prince of the kingdom of Arasht (a fantasy world reminiscent of the ottoman empire), who finds himself at odds with a powerful figure at court - the father of the queen's new child and a resulting altercation leads to Kadou being shamed and humilated. In order to prove himself to his sister the queen, Kadou takes responsibility for the investigation of a break-in at one of their guilds, with the help of his newly appointed bodyguard, the coldly handsome Evemer, who seems to tolerate him at best and is meant to whip Kadou into shape. Together, whilst growing ever closer, they discover a conspiracy that could cripple the kingdom’s financial standing and bring about its ruin.

The highlight of the book for me was the romance. I would call this a fantasy romance as the romance is the main focus and executed excellently. It features the prince and bodyguard trope which is one of my absolute favourites as well as initial dislike to lovers which I’m also a sucker for. The simmering slow burn tension will suck you right in and I was so invested I couldn't stop reading until they acknowledged feelings lol.

Kadou and Evemer are both such compelling characters and I loved exploring their relationship and how they helped each other grow and develop. There was a lot of angst and yearning but at the same time it felt very gentle and sweet which are my favourite kinds of relationship. I also really liked the relationship both of them had with another character called Tadek, who is Kadou's ex-lover and after events at the start of the book has been demoted from being a kahyalar to being Kadou's armsman, he is such well fleshed out side character and I was just as invested in his story as the two mains - he honestly deserves his own spin-off. I loved his sass and charm, as well as the progression of his relationship with Evemer - it's not romantic in any way but something I really love is when two characters who don't like each other intially slowly become friends and seeing how much they both care for Kadou and bond over it was so adorable.

This book has one of the most realistic and visceral depicitions of anxiety and panic attacks I've ever read in a fantasy book. I think this book could be quite triggering if you aren't in a place to read it as the author managed to capture the unexplainable terror and irrational fear of a panic attack. I do think it is handled with great care though and added a lot of depth to the book. I also think it shows just because you have anxiety doesn't mean you can't still achieve things and how being brave despite the fear makes you stronger as a person.

I would say this book is quite slow paced and I loved the meandering almost lullaby like tone. The focus on quieter moments and giving characters time to reflect on their feelings is something I really love and appreciated here. However if you are looking for a super fast paced action packed fantasy this is not the book for you. That said I did really enjoy the plot though, it's very political and has a central mystery around counterfeit coins and hidden plots against the crown - I thought the balance of plot and romance was perfect (for me at least) and I liked how certain situations with the plot would create scenarios for some of my favourite romance tropes to play out (ie they are caught spying in an alley and have to 'fake' kiss to not be caught).

The prose is delightful and really stood out to me when reading. It’s very calming and relaxing, whilst being luxurious and indulgent. The descriptions of clothes, food, architecture and similar created a sumputous atmosphere and it is the perfect book to immerse yourself in and forget the real world for a little while.

The magic and fantasy elements are fairly minimal - I did like those that were included, but I would have loved to explore it a bit more. Some people in the empire can touch taste metal and discover the composition and origins of it which is a really fascinating concept and I loved the discussions around economical implications.

I saw somewhere this book compared to the goblin emperor and I can definitely see that - I think if you enoyed that you will really love this. They have the same overall calm and comforting vibe (despite some heavy themes) while still having a intriguing political mystery at the heart of things.

In conclusion this is an excellent book with a perfect balance of sultry romance, calming prose and a comforting feel whilst still touching on heavy themes especially around anxiety and mental health, an intriguing political mystery and extremely loveable cinnamon roll characters. You definitely do not want to miss it so get pre-ordering!!!!

[Yeg · Rating 4 out of 5]

~4.5 stars~

Ok wow, this is definately giving Winter's Orbit, which I previously loved, and I'm really glad I got to this book in pride month. One thing I really wanted this to establish somewhere, is that which country or reigon it is inspired from, because even it is comepletely from scratch, I could sense some of the world building and stuff is in my opinion, familiar and maybe from somewhere in middle east????? My guess is Turkish empires or ottoman dynasty. Either way, it was cool!

Apart from that I really wanted to know, I really liked everything. Bodyguard/Royalty romances are just so good. There’s something so romantic about the idea of someone sworn to protect you loving you so much that they’d do it anyway. It’s often sweet, and this book was definitely great for that reason. I really enjoyed Kadou and Evemer’s relationship and they had the kind of relationship that over the course of the book, they got to peel each other's layers so smoothly which I absolutely love the angst.

“You want to know what just you are? You’re just the person who sees right through me, who tells me when I’m wrong, who said no to me, who was with me through every moment of the worst months of my life. You’re—” Say it, just say it, he thought furiously. Offer properly. Hold out your hand to him. “You’re just the person I’m in love with, and the one I want to be married to. If—if you’ll have me.””

ugh, god this is what I'm talking about. I love it. And it also did gave me one of my secret, guilty pleasure trope that It rarely is done well, You have to kiss me so they don’t recognise us is great and I think I was as full of longing by the end as they were.

the anxiety rep. I appreciated the way Rowland walked the reader through an anxiety attack. They don’t wallow in it or smooth off the edges. They show what it’s like both to be in it and to observe it. Kadou calls it his “cowardice” because he thinks he’s weak-willed and overly sensitive.

Rowland’s main interest here is not the mystery or even the fantasy but the romance between Evemer and Kadou. That is a story that even tho I think it could have been told just as well in a much shorter book, I still wanted to read more. What I think is that I really didn't have any expection toward this, and was only here for the queer romance, and that's why I think I enjoyed this book even with the flaws, by the end.