Book Review: A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

A Love Letter to A Taste of Gold and Iron <3

A Taste of Gold and Iron

4.5/5 stars

A review for the lgbtq+ fantasy book, A Taste of Gold and Iron, by Alexandra Rowland.

Intro

A Taste of Gold and Iron, by Alexandra Rowland, is the next fantasy book you need to read.

It’s a standalone fantasy book with a unique world, complex characters, and a truly delicious enemy to friends to lovers arch.

ATOGAI is a split perspective point of view between Prince Kadou and his personal guard, Evemer Hoşkadem. Their story takes place in Arasht, a country with deep roots in religion, culture, and loyalty. Other aspects like hair, jewelry, and clothing are used to illustrate different aspects of the country’s culture.

Characters

Introducing these characters feels like introducing you all to my family. I have so much to say about each one, and I want to do them all justice.

We’ll start with our leading men: Kadou and Evemer.

Prince Kadou, 25, is the younger brother of the Sultan. What I love so much about him is that he isn’t your typical confident headstrong fantasy protagonist.

Instead, Kadou is an unsure and insecure character who thinks very little of himself.

Early in the book, we learn that Kadou struggles with intense anxiety, which he refers to as cowardness. Kadou suffers from frequent panic attacks and dissociative episodes.

Rowland really pulls on your heartstrings with these scenes because of how relatable they are and how well she illustrates Kadou’s pain and anxieties.

Kadou’s anxiety and fear of hurting others is one of the main conflicts of the book.

Like most books where the major conflict is the protagonist and some external factor, Kadou’s biggest battle is with himself. This is an interesting addition to the plot because Kadou struggles to grow as a character and succeed because of how much he fights with himself.

Our next character, Evemer Hoşkadem.

If Prince Kadous is the definition of an anxious mess, our other main character, Evemer, 27, is his opposite. Evemer is stoic, serious, and prefers to speak as little as possible.

In the early parts of the book, Evemer speaks only when necessary, but we learn a lot through his thoughts.

Evemer is a part of the kahyalar, which is a highly respected position in the castle. They are similar to a guard or servant, depending on their status and position in the kahyalar, but are very important people in the castle.

Evemer is promoted to Kadou’s personal guard, which has him with the Prince most times of the day. Evemer takes his position very seriously. He is meticulous as he attends to Kadou, braiding his hair with precision, and dotes quietly, never saying much, despite the reader knowing he has quite to say.

Rowland expertly uses Kadou and Evemer to characterize each other in an amazing way. Through alternating points of view, Rowland describes her characters through the other's observations, if that makes sense. What we know about Kadou is usually told in Everemer's POV and vice versa.

When Evemer first meets the Prince, his thoughts about Kadou are filled with negative observations and descriptions of his actions, character, and role as a prince.

Sentences like “The sign of a guilty conscience, maybe, or perhaps a simple weakness of character,” and “What sort of a prince was this, who couldn’t even look at the person he spoke to,” are indirect comments that tell the reader what Evemer thinks of Kadou.

At first, Evemer takes offense to many of Kadou’s comments and actions, as if Kadou is insulting his intelligence. But as the reader, we know that his anxieties are the main cause of Kadou’s actions.

As the book develops and Evemer learns more about Kadou and certain events that occurred, his opinions on the Prince shift slowly but significantly. When he learns of Kadou’s “cowardness“ he begins to realize that it isn’t weakness that plagues the prince, but a deep fear of failure.

We get a strong characterization of the Prince when Evemer is first appointed as his primary. Evemere describes him as flighty and negligent, which tells the reader instantly what he thinks of Kadou.

Through Kadou's point of view, we see how little emotion Evemer shows. To Kadou and everyone else around him, Evemer comes off as a solid wall that gives nothing away.

Another member of the kahyalar, Tadek, deserves his own introduction.

Tadek was Kadou’s original primary before he was replaced by Evemer. While Kadou and Evemer are very different, they aren’t used to oppose each other, if that makes sense.

Tadek’s character is used to juxtapose Evemer’s. They’re opposites in the way that the sun opposes the moon.

Tadek is charming, abrasive, and snarky. Evemer has a deep love for order and rules, while Tadek prefers to work hazardously and out of order.

The book begins with Kadou and Tadek having relations, which end quickly.

Themes, plot, and all the meaty stuff

Evemer replaces Tadek as Kadou’s primary because of an incident during a hunting trip at the beginning of the book. This incident leads to two khayas dying. The sultan reacts very badly to the situation and struggles between being a sister and the sultan.

Out of anger, she attempts to exile Kadou, which I thought was ridiculous and immature. Kadou convinces her not to exile him, and instead, Evemer is appointed his primary to basically keep Kadou in check.

This incident leads to tension between the siblings for most of the first half of the book and adds to Kadou’s self-loathing and anxiety.

I kind of wish Rowland leaned into Zehila’s struggle to find a balance between her role as a sister and leader because I didn’t love how it ended up playing out. Zehila acted very rashly with Kadou on multiple occasions, which I found to be reckless, and it led to a lot of problems.

I think if Rowland played with this a little more it could have strengthened the plot and the climax.

The leading conflict and climax of the book felt a little drawn out and anticlimactic. The main problem in the book was a conspiracy in the castle and an attempted overthrow of the crown.

Truthfully, I feel like this kind of came out of nowhere and happened so quickly that it felt insignificant. The major conflict was weak and the climax of the novel felt almost nonexistent.

I also feel like it was very obvious what was going to happen and realistically could have been prevented, which is why I think it definitely needed a little bit of adjusting.

But that doesn't mean it didn't work.

The plot made sense and the climax definitely climaxed, but I think overall it could've been a little stronger.

KADOU AND EVEMER SITTING IN A TREE

Though Rowland dropped the ball on some plot details as I said before, she succeeded in writing the most toe-curling angsty slow burn I’ve ever read.

Like I want to throw up thinking about Kadou and Evemer.

I love how Rowland draws out their enemies to friends arch. Though it is easy for the reader to realize Evemer's feelings for Kadou are shifting into something more than dislike, Evemer doesn't acknowledge it for what it is.

Instead, he has these internal debates in his head over why he wants to talk to Kadou and drag out conversations – something he's never been interested in before.

I liked how Rowland uses Evemer's introvertedness to show how his feelings for Kadou change. Her writing is also so detailed and satisfying to read. Kadou and Evemere have a beautiful journey from enemies to something more. Rowland creates a lovely story of two people learning to shed their hard exteriors and leaning into new feelings they’ve never felt before.

I just loved watching both characters bring out the truest parts of each other.

My Thoughts

I’m not being dramatic when I tell you this was the first fantasy book in years that left me satisfied.

This book was a breath of fresh air after feeling so disconnected from fantasy.

It’s been hard to find queer fantasy books and books that aren’t about 16-year-old girls. I liked the age of these characters and the maturity of the book.

This book gets a 4.5/5. I’d give it a five, but I can’t get over how dumb some of the plot is. Sorry, not sorry.

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