A Taste of Gold and Iron

Dropped at 35%

Like many reviewers, it wasn't the writing necessarily but the characterizations and lack of world building. This book just didn't seem planned out well. We're dropped into this somewhat-Middle Eastern type kingdom where gender and sexuality is a non-issue, there's elemental magic, and women always hold the highest offices. Sounds great, tell me more. Well, instead, we follow whingey, useless Prince Kadou around while he tries to keep a relationship he doesn't even want with one of his now-fired guard (who is annoying as all get out) while his new guard tries to ignore his own boner for Kadou. And that's all that happens for the first quarter of the book.

Well, this was unexpected.

So, despite the inauspicious beginning, I wound up really loving this book. (Edited to add: And, for one, the X meets Y marketing wasn't totally off, because it does remind me quit a bit of The Goblin Emperor in odd ways.)

When it starts off, I really didn't like Kadou and pretty much hated Tadek - the later to such a degree that I had to go refresh my memory on the synopsis and make sure that he was not the second lead/love interest because...that would have been a dnf right there. (Somewhere around this time I also discovered that I had attempted this author before and had quickly dnf'd that book. So I was a little...worried going into this book.)

Thankfully, he wasn't and shortly thereafter, Evemer was introduced - who I liked right from the start but I couldn't see how a relationship between him and Kadou would form. But it worked out because Kadou grows both on me and on Evemer by leaps and bounds. He also grows as a character, in all honesty. (Tadek to a degree as well, but not enough to actually want to read the sequel novella that seems to be all about Tadek.)

While this is predominantly a slow burn romance, there's also a complementary side story that is an investigation into coin forgery that works surprisingly well alongside the romance. I never felt bored by either or like one was just passing time for the other. Also, they do kind of tie together so they don't feel like two separate stories.

Finally, a note as to why, exactly, it took me this long to read this book. I was listening to the audiobook. This is a solid book - over 500 pages - and the audiobook is equally as solid at over 18 hours.

Usually when I ‘read' audiobooks I either talk about the amazing narrator (like Joel Leslie who I think is amazing) or pretty much ignore the fact that it was an audiobook because the narration...doesn't actually do much.

This, however, is one of the unfortunate situations that I have to say, if you can get a print copy of the book, do it!

The narrator was not bad, like I've unfortunately come across books where simple words are mispronounced, but there was a technical lacking to the audio, I think.

There were times when the narrator would read a dialogue line and then there would be a dialogue tag - for example (Note, this is not the actually lines used, only an example.): “I wold like to know where that idea came from,” she said evenly. And the narrator read the line like a strident harpy, so because you hear the words before the dialogue tag, you have to quickly re-register the tone in your mind as the conversation continues. This happens several times - more often than not, with the non-male characters. (Which is a whole other subject about the strident harpy-ness of non-male character voices in this book quite often when it is not needed.) (And I could likely get into how some narrators struggle with voicing those that are not their gender. But I won't.)

Second problem with the narration is how the speaking volume changes wildly and without notice. I've seldom come across this problem in any other audiobooks. But in this book, I actually couldn't just set the volume and leave it there. Conversations would often raise to such a degree that it was hurting my head before I got my volume turned down. And then there would be scenes that the volume would start out at a normal level, but then it would just start dropping - or a few words would be said so low - that I had to turn the volume back up. Until the next time that the volume rose drastically. Over all, not earbuds friendly. Bear that in mind, folks.

Finally, I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but sometimes in animated shows, there's a person talking while their off screen and their voice sounds funny. It almost sounds like they are being recorded in a slightly echoing room. It sounds like there's no richness to their voice. I don't like it when shows/movies do that, but I can kind of understand why they do - because that person is off screen, likely at a distance, so they would likely sound different. However, this book does it a few times, totally randomly. The first time it happened, I actually checked my headphones jack to make sure that it hadn't come partially unplugged - and then I was worried that one of my earbuds quit working. But it cleared up to just do it again later, for no reason that I could discover.

Now, all that to say, I do not blame the narrator. His voice sounds good - when he's not harpy-ing it - but I think he was not directed appropriately. To me whoever was in charge of the recording really fell down on their job, and then the quality control didn't...control it well.

So, yeah, this is definitely a case of if you can get the print version - do it!

Endearing little fellers

WELL THIS WAS JUST SO CUTE!!!

This was pretty fun. 3.5 to 4 upon 5. I really enjoyed the first half where it felt like a lot of tropes were being subverted and expectations turned on their heads. I liked learning about the world this was set in, the country seeming to be influenced by Middle Eastern culture. I liked how we had a proper problem at the center of it all that was intricately linked to the economics of the place, and Kadou our protagonist having an exceptional talent for touch-tasting metals as well as knowing a lot about economics. I even liked how the romance began as a slow burn.

I did however feel like the second half was somewhat weaker than the first. Certain tropes started coming in, and then I thought the romantic moments were eclipsing and taking precedence over plot development. The set-up for the underlying political conspiracy was such a huge deal in the first half, but the resolution fell rather flat and seemed resolved almost a bit too quickly in favour of having more limelight on the romance. Some parts felt a bit too draggy while other parts felt a bit too quick. It also felt like development for some other side characters were also very much stunted for the sake of the romance. In particular, I was interested to see how Tadek would fit into the dynamic because I had him pinned as a villain from the start, but then I was pleasantly surprised in Ch 5 when he showed enough genuine attachment to Kadou to acknowledge his part in the hunting incident. By the end, it felt like Tadek got reduced to being a sort of jester-like campy sidekick whose purpose was solely for some comic relief, which seems like such a far cry from the depth of potential he had at the start.

Nevertheless though I did really enjoy this book overall and I was pretty engaged with the romance and the dynamics between the two, and I'd generally recommend this to just about anyone looking for a m/m romantasy. The fantasy element in this one is very light though, with Kadou's touch-tasting abilities being the only hint of magic here and even that only comes into the story very rarely.

“Prince falls for his bodyguard” kind of romance but there's a decent enough plotline with some politics thrown in. The characters were all fairly flawed which was sometimes a little bit annoying, but more realistic too.

This is technically fantasy but just barely—there is not much in the way of world-building/magic/etc. So if that's what you're looking for you'll probably be disappointed.

Luckily for me the slow-burn romance (with all the best tropes) made up for anything else lacking.

DNF @10%

Such a pretty cover... such little appeal on the page. I wanted to love this, but I couldn't get past the first 50-odd pages. The fact that this book is 500+ pages long is kind of worrying. I don't see how there can be that much material to cover. The MC was very unlikeable to me, and the whole thing read like a bad bodyguard trope fanfic. This one is not for me!

3.5 (rounded down)

Well.

A couple things.
1. I saw right through the villain from when I first saw them.
2. Evemer's turn-around had me going huh.
3. I called the ending from a mile away obviously.
4. Villainy was concluded at the 92% mark very easily. The rest was the conclusion of the romance. At that point, I was kinda tired of all the will they will they not, especially when I know they will. Was curious to see the epiphany that would cause it. Eh.
5. I liked this book.

Was almost put off by a particularly bad review on Goodreads, and well, after reading it, I don't agree at all, about the representation, and about the writing.

I don't give a lot of 5 stars. It really depends on my mood and sometimes I change ratings (but never the 5's). This book is 5 stars because it is spectacular writing.

Wow, this book has received extremely mixed reviews. It is published by Tor, so maybe the disappointed readers were looking for more sophisticated world-building fantasy and less swoony romance. But although it was a bit too long, I found A Taste of Gold and Iron thoroughly engaging. The prince/bodyguard romance is the slowest possible burn (Evemer considers Kadou “careless, flighty and negligent” for quite a while) but it features lots of little gestures and looks that convey a wealth of meaning. And once the taciturn Evemer learns how to talk about (or even conceptualize) his feelings - well, when someone that buttoned up finally lets go, it's worth the wait. Plus hooray for the matriarchy and strong female characters!

The intrigue plot is admittedly weak, and I couldn't decide if Kadou's former lover Tadek was hilarious or a walking gay cliché. But I was all in for the love story and it did not disappoint.

For more of my reviews, check out my blog.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor publishing for providing an ARC copy of this novel.

A Taste of Gold and Iron was a book I was looking forward to IMMENSELY this year. When I got approved for an ARC last week, I may have screamed a little out loud. I feel absolutely no shame about that because this book has ONE HUNDRED PERCENT lived up to the hype. What hype, you might ask? Well, this book (and its absolutely gorgeous cover) has been making the rounds on fandom Twitter as a book to watch out for. Even the author has been hyping up their own work — AS THEY SHOULD. Oh my god, as they should.

A Taste of Gold and Iron takes place in a fictional country named Arasht that is ruled by a lady-sultan. Her adult brother, Kadou, is an anxious adorable cinnamon roll. For the first bit of the novel, he comes across as a little bit spineless, a lot squishy, and in need of some serious comfort. As you read, it becomes very obvious that Kadou is anything but spineless.

Through a series of events that I won't spoil, Evemer becomes Kadou's bodyguard. Evemer is a serious, duty-before-all sort of man who doesn't think very much of his new charge. This changes, of course, and they end up in an absolutely adorable will-they-won't-they tangle. I am happy to report that oh yes they do. The romance in A Taste of Gold and Iron reminds me of the best fanfictions out there. There's pining, and there's the whole oh-they-can't-love-me-I'm-worthless/undeserving thing. There's the only one bed trope, Evemer and Kadou wash each other's hair, they “fake” kiss to disguise themselves, and a million other cute tropey things. There are so many absolutely delicious tropes in this book.

Alexandra Rowland has created an absolute masterpiece of a world in Arasht. My favorite bit of world building is the fact that gender is not binary. There are men, women, and a third nonbinary gender as well. Men wear long hair, jewelry, and make up. Marriage can be between anyone without any issue. Arasht is ruled by a female sultan who doesn't have to marry if she doesn't want to, in fact it's better for the throne if she doesn't. The captain of the guard is a badass older woman.

Many, many people have compared A Taste of Gold and Iron to The Goblin Emperor, but I don't see that as an appropriate comparison at all. I hated The Goblin Emperor because it was boring, hard to understand, and everyone had a name that started with the same letter. I couldn't follow anything in that novel without backtracking a million times to double check myself. A Taste of Gold and Iron has absolutely none of those issues. The book has plenty of action, and while the world is completely fictional, it is extremely easy to follow.

I can't wait for this book to come out so I can recommend it to absolutely everyone I know. This is going to be the next big fandom out there. Kadou and Evemer are extremely shippable and I can just see their numbers on AO3 going up, up, up.

A Taste of Gold and Iron comes out June 21, 2022.