A Taste of Gold and Iron

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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. 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. Tadek had comforted and reassured him, had kissed his hands and smiled at him, had offered to ask around as to whether anyone else had heard mention of what Kadou had done (or was doing) to make Siranos so angry and suspicious. That was the point where things had started to go … awkward. Awkward, even before this moment, when his perspective wrenched and he was able to look at it from an outsider’s perspective: Sending a kahya after Siranos was tantamount to having him tailed. Anyone else would conclude that easily.

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. 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. 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. 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.

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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.

A Taste of Gold and Iron is a slow-burn romance flush with sexy, complicated relationships and founded on the ethics of duty and love. As indulgent and satisfying as your favorite fanfiction.”—Tessa Gratton, author of The Queens of Innis Lear 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. Nine eight six. Nine hundred and eighty-six parts pure gold out of every thousand, he knew now, a fineness that had been set hundreds of years before and had never once changed, not for generations, not for dynasties. He still had that altın somewhere, and even now, part of the signature for coin gold as he experienced it—proper coins, that is, genuine ones—was the clear, bell-like chime of a hammer striking a die. He’d confided his fears to Tadek—another of the kahyalar, who he had known for some time, and who he had once been … close to. Tadek, who was so easy to talk to, even about matters Kadou barely dared to whisper aloud to anyone else. Authors, if you are a member of the Goodreads Author Program, you can edit information about your own books. Find out how in this guide.

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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?

He hadn’t been, particularly, on either count. He’d been too worried about the progress that wasn’t being made on the investigation at the Shipbuilder’s Guild, about Siranos arrogantly inserting himself into conversations he didn’t belong in and passionately declaring that Azuta Melachrinos, his fellow countrywoman, deserved a fair trial and representation in court … 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.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. 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. He’d replied in a little whisper so the strangers couldn’t hear him, “Nine, eight, six.” She had smiled as bright as new-minted coin and kissed his cheek and told him to keep his altın safe and not to put it in his mouth. 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.

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.This should have been a great fit for me - fantasy world with political intrigue, and a queer central romance? Perfection. Ten stars to the narrator while brought every single character to life! It felt like listening to a very wonderful play. 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. In one of his two very earliest memories, he was knee-high to all the adults, clutching at the skirts of his mother’s silk kaftan and burying his face in them from shyness whenever strangers looked at him—and there were so many strangers looking at him, smiling at him, bowing to him and Mama. There was a lot of activity around them, a loud jumble of noises and talking, and the air smelled sooty and dirty, and it was very warm, and Mama was talking to one of the strangers and only absently petting his hair as he pushed his face against her leg, and the kahya assigned as his nurse had disappeared somewhere, and—