A Taste of Gold and Iron

, #1

Paperback, 512 pages

English language

Published May 30, 2023 by Tor Books.

ISBN:
978-1-250-80039-8
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ASIN:
1250800390

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4 stars (2 reviews)

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.

6 editions

Adorable, romantic, gay fun

4 stars

A fairy tale of MLM romance between a prince and his loyal retainer. I started reading because I thoroughly enjoyed Rowland's "Running Close to the Wind," which was less romance and more adventure and humor than this. While "A Taste of Gold and Iron" still has moments of funny and a fair amount of dangerous knife fights and such, the focus is really on the growing affection between Kadou the prince with the anxiety disorder and Evemer, his emotionally repressed bodyguard. Bonus gay points to Rowland for making Kadou's ex-boyfriend a major part of how the couple solidify their romance. One point deducted because I wanted more swashbuckling and I also wanted Kadou's sister's (she's the Sultan) triumphant return to her court not to happen offstage, as it were. Still, if you want something lighthearted and gay to read, you can't go wrong with this. Rowland has a great knack …

reviewed A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland (Mahisti Dynasty, #1)

Solid fantasy romance

5 stars

I really liked the first half of this book. The latter part sidelined many of my favorite plot elements in order to focus almost exclusively on the romance, which isn’t my thing; this book may be a better choice for readers more into pure romance. Lovely writing, though, and very sympathetic characters as well.

Subjects

  • Fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Romance
  • LGBTQ+
  • M/M