Rowland, A: Taste of Gold and Iron

This has a spot in my heart!

Bewertet: Buch (Taschenbuch)

This was such a heartwarming and tender read! On one side you have Kadou, a shy and anxious prince, and on the other his new cold and strictly professionell bodyguard Evemer. They have a rocky start but soon realise that one can learn to trust another after seeing their true face. Of course there's a lot of politics and intrigue as well, but what I loved most about the book were the heartwarming talks about fairness and mutual respect between the characters. They care so much about each other!! But not just them, the whole nature of the relationship between the bodyguards, or kahyalar as they're called, and the royal family is really interesting. Another beautiful aspect is the queernormative world which Rowland has created. Nonbinary characters even have their own gender-neutral pronouns which sound very pretty by the way. I don't have anything else to say, I simply love this world!

Political fantasy with a dash of romance...

Bewertet: Buch (Gebundene Ausgabe)

Alexandra Rowland's "A Taste of Gold and Iron" is political fantasy at its finest: well written, with compelling characters and a love for the ages. Kadou suffers from severe anxiety and panic attacks, in a society, where discipline and propriety are of highest importance. His every move is scrutinized over, any misstep is seen as a failure and met with extreme judgement from, well, everyone. After a misunderstanding escalates and results in the death of two of Kadou's bodyguards, his sister, the empress, is furious with the prince. Enter, the new bodyguard Evemer (love interest, of course), who is supposed to bring Kadou's behaviour back on track (Ewww). At first judgemental and cold, Evermer soon warms up to Kadou, when the prince saves his life, and the two stumble head first into a politcial intrigue. I really enjoyed reading this book but gave it only four stars because the ending felt a little...hurried. Still, the author is absolutely gifted, the characters are deep and the story is engaging. Definitely worth the read!