I got this book for free from Netgalley for the purpose of giving an honest review.
If I were to judge this book in a vacuum, it is very well written, and potentially the best book I've read this year. But I cannot view this book in a vacuum, because we all carry biases into everything we read. As I examine this book, try to understand that this review is coming from a place of constructive critique.
A word of caution: While I do read and review a lot of books, I rarely review romance stories and never review m/m romances. This is my first m/m romance. I am unfamiliar with genre expectations for this subgenre, so my critique will doubtless be misinformed and ignorant. I'll do my best, and critique in good faith.
Spoilers Below! You've been warned.
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WHAT IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE? WHAT GENRES? WHAT MAJOR TROPES?
• Gay male romance
• Light mystery story
• Light politics story
• Minimal magic system
• Ottoman Turkish setting
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IF YOU ARE IN THE TARGET AUDIENCE, OR THE GENRES/TROPES SOUND INTERESTING TO YOU, SHOULD YOU READ THIS?
Yes.
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MY EMOTIONAL RESPONSE/FUN FACTOR
I honestly have difficulty with reviews like this one. I, as a reader, am simply not this book’s target audience. This book is well written prose style-wise, with an innovative character who is dealing with crippling generalized anxiety. I liked these aspects of this book.
It contains a m/m romance which romance readers will probably like reading. However, I am not the sort of person who reads romance books.
Further, the setting. I know a fair deal about the Ottoman Empire. One of the main reasons I picked this book up was because of the setting. Unfortunately, I personally found that setting underutilized. Someone who is not as familiar with that setting as I am will probably have a better time.
As a result of my pre-existing biases, I didn’t love this book.
If you like m/m romances, you'll probably like this. If you're like me and don't like romances, it will be okay to skip this one. If I'm being objective and ignore the fact that I don't like romances, this is an average/above average book.
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CONCEPT AND EXECUTION
This book's concept is: "A gay prince with a generalized anxiety disorder is under suspicion of trying to undermine the rule of his sister, the sultan. To reassure her of his loyalty, he volunteers to use his metal magic to sleuth out the villains behind a counterfeiting crisis. Helping him is his stoic bodyguard. Gay tension ensues."
For execution, you need to go in with proper expectations.
• If you want to read a book about a counterfeiting crisis, this isn't really that.
• If you want to read about two gay dudes smoldering at one another for 500 pages, you will not be disappointed.
The book's heart is the relationship between the two leads, while everything else (the monetary crisis, the sultan's suspicion), is built to support the relationship. On a page-by-page level, this book was a pleasant reading experience. I can remember no single storybeat which I felt was poorly handled. This book was an overall pleasant experience. I don't like it when I take a step back and look at it from the big picture.
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CHARACTERS, CHARACTERIZATION AND DIALOG
Here's the good and the bad.
The good is Kadou. He had the interesting trait of possessing some form of generalized anxiety disorder. I've never read a book starring someone with this trait; it was a great read. I liked how Kadou shut down after moments of crisis. It was unique for the genre, and I like reading distinct characters.
Now for some stuff I didn't like as much.
Kadou's anxiety disorder had a Hurt/Comfort vibe to it at times (at least in my opinion). There is nothing innately problematic about using this trope. Indeed, as a functional tool for a writer, I've seen it used elsewhere to great effect. However, I don't like this trope on general principle. I find that it can be emotionally manipulative. Personal preference doesn't mean you have to agree with me.
I wanted more from Kadou and Evemer. What are their hobbies? Where are their home towns? What are their favorite foods? What were they doing before the events of the story? What are their allergies? I wanted to know more details than we got. I wanted a more complete picture of them.
I felt Evemer in particular was a smidge 2D. Evemer was a bit of a stoic blank slate, being the strong supporting character to the soft and sweet Kadou. Kadou was better in this regard, having both moments of badassery conflicted against moments of helplessness. Evemer needed a bit more emotional range.
Finally, I feel this book relied too heavily on the romantic fretting trope. The two protagonists would get close together, their relationship would develop in a tender direction, then there'd be a misunderstanding between the two of them, culminating in the two of them falling apart again. Like the Hurt/Comfort thing, using this trope only once is fine; using it multiple times felt frustrating.
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PLOT, STAKES AND TENSION
Like I said above, this book isn't about the plot. It's all about the relationship.
When the characters would go off on a storybeat to investigate some evidence in the mystery story, inevitably the story beat would resolve in furthering the relationship. As an example, early on when the characters were waylaid by brigands while searching for a battering ram. They fought the brigands off, resulting in an emotional crisis by the lead characters, causing them to become closer together emotionally.
This sort of thing is really good storytelling. A good author builds a relationship slowly over the course of the plot, braiding together the non-romance storyline in with the romance storyline in a holistic sort of way, strengthening both in the process. My complements to the author for successfully using this interlinking story structure. A lot of authors neglect this sort of thing, so I appreciate it when I see it. I think this might be the strongest aspect of the book's storytelling.
Stakes and tension wise, I feel like the story was a bit of a tease. The narrative kept the 'will they/won't they' vibe going on for too long. After a certain point I was going "FFS, just bang already, this is getting trite. Get back to the counterfeiting plot." I wound up skimming towards the middle when I got frustrated. On the bright side, the end was a lot faster paced and I enjoyed reading it.
I was personally more interested in the counterfeiting story than the romance story. But, again, I don't read romance, so it's no wonder I wasn't really a fan of this.
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AUTHORIAL VOICE (TONE, PROSE AND THEME)
I found this book's prose style to be more embellished than your average adventure fantasy/high fantasy/grimdark fantasy. I think this is a good thing; I like reading pretty words. At least once or twice a chapter, I was left taken aback with beautiful wordpictures the author created. Again, my complements to the author.
This book was Romantic in tone, focusing on the beauty of different features of the world... usually the people, but also the environment. The two protagonists were so obviously in love from the start, they were practically tripping over one another, and you could tell that was the case just based off the adjectives they gave one another.
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SETTING, WORLDBUILDING AND ORIGINALITY
‘A Taste of Gold and Iron’ is a m/m romance. I personally feel that this book doesn't punch down at the queer community. That's great! Based on the heteronormative relationship between the two protagonists (effeminate Kadou coupled with masculine Evemer), I think this book was written primarily for the straight female audience. Nonetheless, I think a queer audience would enjoy it as well. But I might be wrong, as stated I’m ignorant. I'm willing to give this book the benefit of the doubt on this one, it seemed fine.
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This setting was based off of an Ottoman Turkish setting, and I love reading alternate history style fantasy stories based upon history. I got hyped for this setting because I'm a nerd who reads history books about Ottoman history. That's why I picked this up. Now having read the book, I feel that the setting was underutilized.
Now, credit where it's due, the story did have some Ottoman-ish details. Here are the ones I noticed:
• The clothing
• coffee
• praying stances
• a sultanate
• calligraphy
• a not-super-deep take on the Janissary system
• And, of course, the Turkish names and words
Using these tropes is a valid way to portray a setting. After reading this I was left wanting more, because I personally thought these tropes were very surface-level. Thinking of Ottoman fantasy, I have expectations of what hallmark tropes will be used. They are:
• Djinn.
• Sufi mystics.
• The twilight of Rome's glory.
• High-seas piracy a la the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies.
• Harem politics between warring factions of concubines struggling to put their son on the Khalif's throne and to kill their rival concubines' sons before they become Khalif.
• Proto-firearms and proto-cannons, of the original Gunpowder Empires.
• The Janissary system being an institutionalized slaving system.
• A highly religiously diverse yet tolerant empire compared to others at the time. (The Spanish Inquisition was contemporaneous, as an example.)
This book felt like it had a surface level Turkish setting, as opposed to getting down into the ugly but beautiful details of what that civilization was actually like. I will admit my hallmark tropes listed above are obscure details to a Western audience, however what's the point of writing a historically based novel if you're not going to dip into the obscura?
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SUMMARY
Not all books are for all people. I didn't like this, but I'm not this book's target. If you are a fan of the m/m romance subgenre, chances are you'll like this.
If I'm being purely objective and discount the fact that I don't generally like romances and I ignore the whole Ottoman thing, this is an average/above average book
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I'm not sure what I expected when going into this book, but a fantasy setting with a plot that is more romance and mystery than fantasy wasn't it. And I loved that. I read this book in two sittings and can say it was a completely unique reading experience. Kadou and Evemer have a great bodyguard romance that's not quite hate to love; more disdain to love. If you like a slow burn romance, this one's for you. The mystery of the counterfeiting was the central storyline driver and did keep me intrigued. The biggest fantasy element, the touch-tasting of coins, was a pretty minor plot point; this book felt like it didn't need to have the fantastical element at all to be just as good. I would not have been upset to learn more about the world at large or had a bit more romance sprinkled in, but those are minor complaints that didn't detract from my overall enjoyment. I guessed who the big bad was pretty early on, but really stayed in the book for the romance and the side characters - Tadek was incredibly entertaining and Zeliha was a badass sultan. My favorite aspect was probably the dialogue, which was colloquial and one of the items which made this book so easy to digest. Highly recommend it!
4.5 stars

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for sending this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! A Taste of Gold and Iron will be published August 30, 2022.

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher, for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

4 stars

I went into this book with very little idea what it was about and absolutely no expectations. All I knew is it was a gay SFF something or other with a beautiful book cover and I think this helped me enjoy it. Kinda like when I watch a movie without watching any previews or reading any reviews or looking up the plot summary on Wikipedia or seeing mean tweets about it filled with spoilers. Clear eyes, full heart, can't lose. Or something.

What A Taste of Gold and Iron delivers is a slow burn meandering romantic fantasy novel with undercurrents of political intrigue and magic. It dumps you right into the world without explaining anything (something fairly common with Science Fiction and Fantasy) but I got the hang of everything by the second chapter. I would have appreciated a tiny bit more explanation but the book was simplistic and shallow enough it ultimately didn't matter. Some people probably won't like how entry-level SFF the book is but it made me enjoy it more.

What I particularly liked was the evolution of the romantic relationship between Evemere and Kadoun through their oaths to each other. Their first oaths of fealty were during an emotional mutual hair washing scene which was :chefskiss:. I fully bought into how they grew to care for each other throughout the book too. I also liked how the women in the book were unapologetic about their power and the book was unapologetic about the existence of queer relationships and nonbinary people. Normalizing what is often othered in real life is something I will always appreciate in media.

What I wish the book had was a more developed and less obvious conspiracy plot because it was telegraphed from, like, chapter one and by 75% it barely mattered anymore. I also wish the ending wasn't so abrupt. A more developed ending or an epilogue or something would have made this a five star book for me. Instead I felt like I reached the end of the road and smacked right into a blank wall. Give me more payoff, book!

Overall, if a fantasy-setting domestic slowburn and emotional oaths of fealty is something you're into this book is worth a read.

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. There is a lot going on in this book, but it is worth it. This is a sloooow burn enemies to friends to lovers, and there is a lot of baggage that both characters have to haul around before they can get there. Between Kadou's anxiety disorder, the counterfeiting conspiracy going on, and Evemer needing to learn to unbend, they have some work to do. There is plenty of action and adventure, but the majority of the work done in this book is mental and emotional. It can be a bit rough, especially when you get first- hand views into Kadou's anxiety, but it's worth it. I am not sure if this is the first of a series or not, but I would definitely like to see these characters again.

I loved this book! I've honestly struggled to write this review for a while because I liked it so much. So I've just decided to write a list of things I enjoyed.
1. The worldbuilding. The setting was clearly inspired by the Ottoman Empire and I loved every detail of how Rowland built this intricate, fascinating city. The beautiful clothes, the details of the currency and its role in politics, the many, many titles of nobility and palace staff, and the sea serpents. I could see everything and everyone and felt like I was walking around in the world. I love that in a book.
2. The characters. Every character was a delight. I liked the family dynamics, the friendship dynamics, the romantic dynamics. I liked the queernormative world. I liked that third gender folks were everywhere. I liked that the people were messy and made mistakes and still loved each other as best they could.
3. Kadou and Evemer!! I loved how Rowland played with the power dynamics of the classic bodyguard/noble dynamic. Each of them had a chance to shine, to save the other, to be weak or needy, and to be brave.
This doesn't even touch on the plot itself - an excellent political mystery - or the portrayal of Kadou's anxiety - which was so true to my own experience I had to set down the book several times. It's a great book. Highly recommend.

After an uncomfortable and tragic conflict with the new princess’ body-father, Prince Kadou of the Arast empire finds himself needing to prove his loyalty and competence to his sister, the sultan. Paired up with a new and infuriating primary guard, the stoic Evemer, Kadou and his household throw themselves into investigating an attempted burglary at the Shipbuilder’s guild. As the investigation progresses, Kadou and Evemer are forced to find a way to work together despite differing philosophies. Oh, and did I mention this is a romance?

After a clunky first chapter in which some big chunks of backstory are provided through flashbacks and dialogue, the story pretty much immediately hits its stride. Kadou’s new status quo means he has to adjust to people being colder towards him and less helpful than usual, and from there figure out how he’s going to investigate a burglary with this new limit to the information he can obtain. He also has to deal with Evemer’s bad attitude and tendency to loom. Neither of these is good for Kadou’s chronic anxiety, which plays a significant role in his choices and relationships throughout the story. I think the anxiety representation here is well-written, and Kadou is a really belieavable, well-rounded character.

Similarly, I think that Evemer is a believable and well-rounded character. He doesn’t just exist to be a part of the romance and support Kadou. He has his own motivations and struggles to overcome throughout the story. I really appreciate in a romance when both characters feel like real people, rather than one being The One Who’s Going Through Some Stuff, and the other being the Supportive Partner. Many of the side characters are also well-rounded and receive their own development across the story. My favorites of those characters are Zeliha the sultan, and Tadek, an armsman in Kadou’s household.

The romance is really strong, but I’m glad to say that the mystery holds its own as well. I think some books fail to strike a good balance, but I had an equally good time with both pieces of the story. I think that the villain ( is really obvious early on, but it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the mystery. It was more a case of how and why than of who, and I thought that the ways the characters investigated the mystery, and the things that went wrong, were fun and believable, and it didn’t feel like they were coming up with answers out of thin air, which I sometimes find frustrating in fantasy mysteries.

The magic in this world is really interesting, with different people having different abilities, and which abilities people have appearing to differ regionally. In Arast, some people have the ability of touch-tasting: they can touch metal and determine its content. Some people are more sensitive than others. Kadou is one of these touch-tasters, and his abilities help him as he proceeds with his investigations into burglary and counterfeiting. He’s able to easily identify counterfeit coins, which is a big advantage for the work he’s doing. There are also other kinds of magic, with one example included in the story being people who can tell when someone is lying. I think that this is used in a really clever way, and I think that the existence of these different kinds of magic opens up some interesting questions about the wider world beyond Arast.

The setting is inspired by the Ottoman empire, which also gives you a sense of the kind of time period this is set in. I think the setting is really rich and well-realized, and the atmosphere this setting creates works really well both for the intrigue and romance portions of the story.

I think the ending of this story is a little vague for my tastes, and leaves the characters’ fates a little too up in the air, but that’s very much a me thing. I do think it does a good job of making it feel as though the world of the story continues on after this specific story ends.

I would highly recommend this book if you like the political intrigues of something like The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, or if you read and loved A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske.

I loved this book and am looking forward to rereading it in future when the copy I preordered arrives. It’s a well-realized and richly told romance with an entertaining mystery, and some of my favorite characters and scenarios that I’ve read this year.

Actually blown away by this book! The romance was thoughtful, tender, and well executed with gorgeous characterization. The writing was lush and had me on my toes at all times. Alexandra Rowland is one to keep an eye on!

I'm sure this is a great book but the story didn't hook me like I was expecting it to. The main character is a charming rogueish type which was refreshing. Not as dark and broody as I was expecting.

TL;DR REVIEW:

A Taste of Gold and Iron is a standalone fantasy with a queer central romance, and it hooked me HARD. The characters and their arcs are so exquisitely crafted that I didn’t even mind the slow burn. LOVED.

For you if: You like fantasy novels with mystery and romance.

FULL REVIEW:

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I LOVED this book. First of all, standalone fantasy? Yes please. Queer central romance? Double yes. Political mystery? YES x3. By about 40% in, I was not only completely hooked, but also genuinely angry that I had to stop reading to sleep and work. When it was over, I was despondent. I can’t remember the last book that made me feel like that.

The story takes place in a fantasy world reminiscent of the Ottoman Empire where some people can touch-taste metals, identifying materials by the different tastes and sensations they conjure. Kadou, a prince whose life is ruled by anxiety and panic disorder, has committed an unfortunate political blunder with tragic results. His sister, the sultan, assigns him a new lead bodyguard, the proud and disciplined Evemer. Those tragic results color Evemer’s opinion of Kadou, but as he helps Kadou investigate a counterfeiting conspiracy in order to redeem himself in the court’s eyes, Evemer begins to realize that his initial judgment may have been too hasty.

So much to say, so little space. I loved the way diverse genders and sexualities are so commonplace in this world. I loved the way I felt when the meaning of the book’s title finally snapped into place. I loved Kadou’s commitment to reciprocity and goodness. I loved the way it explored anxiety and mental illness. I loved the way it felt like my chest was imploding and also exploding as I read it.

But mostly, I loved the way Kadou and Evemer’s character arcs and romance developed so fully — technically, I guess, it’s a “slow burn,” but not one that ever made me feel impatient. These characters have to grow in order for the way they see each other to change, and Rowland pulls it off exquisitely.

I just loved it, okay???



CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Panic attacks / anxiety; Violence; Sexual content; Alcohol use as a coping mechanism

I'd seen this cover around and was interested in picking up a MLM fantasy romance, as they're not often done. Whilst I enjoyed the book for the most part, for the slow-burn romance and development of the relationship between the two main characters, I found the overall plot lacking and all but finishing up with a stern talking too by 75% of the way through, with only the 'happily ever after' alluded too over the final 25% of the book.
Whilst the relationship, and a few side characters were enjoyable, I would have loved higher stakes and more into the worldbuilding that was mentioned earlier.

A solid four star read for me! This is a romance first and foremost, and one with some great court intrigue in a well-written and diverse fantasy world.

I really liked the characters and their changes over time. The protagonist's anxiety rang very true -- it was EXTREMELY similar to how my own anxiety feels, so it was incredibly relatable, actually, to the point that I had some anxiety symptoms in sympathy while reading his attacks.

Loved the love interest being so stoic and unbending and acknowledging this, but his slow understanding of the prince. Genuinely well done -- I bought their changing relationship with everything I saw, and I truly enjoyed seeing how they earned each other's feelings. I thought the romance was well-developed and supported; there's no instalust or instalove here.

Also appreciated how there's a kind of flippant, flamboyant character here, the ex, and that character type is often shallow, or written for jealousy plots, but instead he's absolutely understood here in that -- you don't get to be that character type unless you've got a low value for yourself, unless you're masking something, and that doesn't get ignored here. It added a lot of depth.

The plot itself is fun, though I found several plot threads (the letters, the mention of the villain knowing where the house was) were dropped. I was also not totally satisfied with the ending (<spoilers>For the themes to fully work he had to tell her at the end!</spoilers) but I was still very pleased with this read.

There's a lot of tropes in this, but they're played with deliberately and never used as an easy out. When they show up, it's a gift; you've been eating a lot of meat through this and the author deliberately uses them to serve you some dessert. And frankly they're delicious if you're willing to receive them.

A charming, fun romance with great characters. Really looking forward to reading more of Rowland's work.

I think we can all agree that the cover for A Taste of Gold and Iron is.. well.. gold. It just screams "pick me" "read me" .. and so of course I did.

Unfortunately this book fell kinda flat for me. There were some adorable moments throughout and the beginning was captivating enough to boost this book to a soft 3 stars, but overall I didn't really enjoy it. I found myself skimming through paragraphs just to finish, which I hate because I really wanted to like this book. It reminded me a lot of Winter's Orbit, but didn't have the same amount of charm.

What this book does have is a LOT of angst, and if you like angsty romances then this one is for you. Its honestly more angst than romance, more romance than plot, and more plot than actual fantasy. The fantasy element, because there's really only just one, is very casual despite it being so critical to their society. And the plot! The plot could've been so much fun. It was extremely obvious to me who the bad guy was but it still could've resolved in a way that was much more exciting and dramatic than it did. It was kind of boring how it all concluded and a little illogical.

I did love the queer rep and just how natural everything was in this world. The flow between he/him, she/her, ce/cir is done really well and without exposition. This is simply how these characters are.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've seen some recent comparisons between this and Winter's Orbit and I definitely see it. It's a longer slow-burn romance with a dollop of political intrigue, but instead of science fiction world, we have a Ottoman Empiresque fantasy setting. It has a three gender system, a female sultan, and some magic, so it's not exactly the Ottoman Empire, but definitely a fun version of it. I want to say that it utilizes this idea and builds a great world off of it, but weirdly I would say that I don't have a good hold for the visuals of this world. The characters are the star here, followed by the romance, the plot, and then maybe the world-building (which is also what I would say in the case of Winter's Orbit). It is pitched as a fantasy, but I would say that it is very lacking in that regard. If you are looking for high fantasy, this is not really it. The touch tasting is used sporadically throughout, but it isn't a main focus and neither is any other sort of magic mentioned. It's there, but it isn't the actual focus of this story. The political intrigue also isn't really the focus. It's the romance. The focus is on the romance and how their relationship develops! If you are really looking for these other elements going into it, you will probably be disappointed.

I would say that it is a relatively easy read after the first chapter. There are some larger sections of exposition, so some patience could be required. There are a lot of cute moments, but also just enough angst to keep it interesting. It has chronic anxiety representation, that some readers may get annoyed with, but others will definitely appreciate. Actually, Kadou in general will probably annoy some readers, but Evemer definitely makes up for it. There are some really great side characters with excellent banter and funny situations.

There are some really great ideas in this novel and I would not hesitate to read a second book set in this world. This is probably going to be a standalone, which is fine, but I would be interested to see this world fleshed out a little more and where Rowland was going with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have so much love for this book that I struggle to talk about it! This is absolutely my favorite book I have read this year, a new favorite of all time, and one I hope I get to vote for in the Goodreads choice awards.

Summary: Kaduo, the prince of the land, finds himself with a new guard. Evermer is stuck protecting a prince he hates. Together they investigate a counterfeit ring in their city, and slow fall in love.

Here's what its got:
-Amazing characters
-QUOTES
-Magic
-Fantastic writing
-Believable romance
-A three gendered system
-Slow burn
-Fantasy set in the height of the Ottoman empire
-Female Sutlan
-LGBT rights
-the grumpy one fell in love with the sunshine one

I don't think I will ever stop talking about how much I love this book!

This book was slow at the beginning, I’ll admit. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish it. But as soon as Evemer was introduced, and we got his point of view, I was hooked. I’ll admit, it was predictable, but I still loved every moment of evemer and kadou, of radek learning. I wish we got a bit more of melek because çe seemed cool. All in all, a very interesting world and plot. Very character driven, and fun! Diverse, but not in a bad way where people try to force it in and it feels faked. Definitely recommend

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
A Taste of Gold and Iron is a compelling, inclusive Ottoman Empire-inspired fantasy romance. I love the way the historical aesthetics are baked into this world, while also exploring a world where queerness, whether it be same-sex partnerships or non-binary identities are just accepted as a part of the world, including a character who uses neopronouns. There are some minor quirks to the way political marriages could work among the nobility which shatter this queer utopia at times, like the lingering possibility Kadou’s sister could choose to marry him to a woman, but it’s otherwise pretty well-thought out.
The magic is also pretty interesting, although it’s not majorly focused on. As the title implies, it revolves around being able to “taste” metals, developing knowledge about them through touch.
Kadou is a pretty compelling character, especially his experience living with anxiety, including having panic attacks. While the politics tend to take a backseat to the romance a lot of the time, I love how this explores what it means for someone in such a high-status and visual position dealing with anxiety, especially with recent real-life headlines of a certain Prince bringing visibility to mental health struggles, albeit in a somewhat different context.
The romance is wonderful, and I love how it plays into familiar tropes, like Prince/bodyguard and enemies-to-lovers. They have wonderful slow-building tension that escalates perfectly.
While I didn’t have an issue with the pacing of the romance, I did feel like the pacing of the book overall was kind of weird. I was concerned when I saw it was a 500-plus page book, but only had sixteen chapters?! Granted, they’re broken into sections, but it played mind games with me, as someone who prefers shorter, succinct chapters. And while fantasy romance as a subgenre can run on the longer side page/word count wise, I would have preferred shorter chapters to help increase the momentum, at least somewhat.
But with the exception of those minor mechanics issues, which are largely personal preferences, I enjoyed this overall. If you’re looking for a queer (both in terms of the central pairing and world around them) fantasy romance, I recommend giving this a try.

A book that was surprisingly easy reading once you get into it, but I felt it suffered a little from unclear vision. Did it want to be a political thriller? A fantasy? A romance? The pulls of the different plot points were very skewed, and I was pretty unsatisfied with the ending, especially how the major mystery was concluded.

I'd call it relaxing beach reading, except it is quite long! I'd recommend this to fans of Winter's Orbit.

What I really loved about this book was that the MMC suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. That is extremely relatable to big portion of the population these days.
This was a fantasy romance from the POV of Prince Kadou and Evemer his guard.
I felt like the plot was more about the Prince's anxiety and him learning to navigate it.
This was a nice slow burn/forbidden romance story. Evemer definitely has book boyfriend potential I wish there would have been more of a build up between the two MMC.
I'm excited to see what this author puts out next.

When I read the blurb for this book, “a queer central romance unfolds in a fantasy world reminiscent of the Ottoman Empire” I was immediately intrigued. The Ottoman Empire has long been fascination of mine, and I thought a fantasy world utilizing that as a backdrop would be beautiful and unique. Unfortunately the execution of the worldbuilding in particular fell flat for me. The first few chapters were so packed with names and concepts that I had a hard time tracking them all, and without a glossary (at least in the ARC) I had no point of reference. By the third chapter as the worldbuilding settled and I finally felt myself in the flow of the prose, I realized that I had missed a major plot point while sorting out place names and magic systems and I had to go back to reread.

Prince Kadou, younger brother to Sultan Zeliha, has generalized anxiety and a lack of clarity in his own role in the government. The kahya - highly trained advisors/servants/guards who will eventually become high ranking ministers - tend to the royals closely. Kadou has had a relationship with at least one kahya in the past, Tadek, who still serves as armsman after a demotion. Newly assigned to his staff is Evemer, quiet, supremely intelligent and observant, and loyal. Kadou has to rely on Evemer, Tadek, and other kahyalar to discover who has betrayed the empire, setting up counterfeit coin trade, and framing Kadou in the process. Unfortunately, the central romance started out with a love triangle, which gave the book more of a YA feel than I prefer to read. The romance is slow burn and largely closed door, though has a satisfying HEA.

That said all said, this gets a half star bonus for a very natural queer normativity. I also love that it is a non-martial fantasy, with the central plot focused on intrigue and counterfeit coins rather than gearing towards a large battle.

3.5 stars/1 flame