Both me and a colleague ended up reading this and thoroughly enjoying it!

I loved the characters and the world building, it was so addictive and the romance was the most perfect slow burn.

I look forward to reading more from this author!

Vibing with this fun fantasy spin! I'm mainly a romance reader and I love to dip my toes back into the fantasy world every once in awhile. This was a slower, steady burn plot wise. I enjoyed the abject normality of queerness throughout and the way relationships developed throughout.

A great time was had by all!

One of my favorite books of the year so far! A prince trying to redeem himself in the eyes of his sister, the sultan, finds himself falling for his stoic new bodyguard who initially hates him. This was such a delicious enemies to lovers slow burn. It's not an action packed book, so it may not work for everyone, but it was perfect for me. Readers are just taken along for the journey. But Rowland could've kept on writing this story forever, and I would've been content to follow along.

Steamy with political intrigue is just what I needed! This book caught me off guard with how much I enjoyed it. I was absolutely captivated by the story telling and the characters. The writing is so visual, and the plot kept my attention all the way. I absolutely love this book!

In A Taste of Gold and Iron, Prince Kadou finds himself inadvertently suspected of conspiring against his sister, the Sultan of Arasht. In order to clear his name, Kadou must overcome his paralyzing shyness and solve a financial mystery that puts his country at risk. At his side, he will find his handsome but surly new bodyguard, Evemer and equally handsome former flame, Tadek. With a combination like that, what could possibly go wrong?

I thought that A Taste of Gold and Iron was a good read, but didn’t necessarily live up to its full potential.

Let’s start with things I enjoyed. First of all, especially given our current political climate, it was fantastic to see a prosperous matriarchal society. Reading about women who could make decisions about their bodies and who were so well respected by society at large felt both right and empowering.

As someone who enjoys good world building, I appreciated how Rowland drew inspiration from history in creating Arast and its neighbors. Being a fan of Ottoman history, I appreciated the influence that it had on Rowland’s Arast and thought that it made the story unique. However, in my opinion, even if the reader has no knowledge of or interest in Ottoman history they will be able to enjoy the intricately woven dynamics of court life and the various political machinations going on in the story.

Finally, I thought that Kadou was such a lovable protagonist. His struggles with anxiety and panic attacks are something that I think many readers could relate to. More often than not I just wanted to give him a hug while reading this story. And his struggles made it even more impressive when Kadou would ultimately come to the rescue of his friends and family.

In terms of what I didn’t like, I thought the mystery that Kadou had to solve was fairly predictable. In fact, I guessed the main villain, so to speak, pretty early on in the story. I also found that at times the pacing dragged with certain parts being humorous, but not really adding much to the overall plot. Furthermore, I felt that the magic system in this world was poorly explained. For example, I would have liked to know more about why some people in this society had magic and others didn’t. Finally, I thought that there was some missed opportunity when it came to the romance aspect of the story. I enjoyed Kadou and Evemer as a couple, but thought that this story would have been more interesting as a polyamorous romance.

in conclusion

I wish that this book had more fully lived up to my expectations, but I think that if you are looking for an LGBTQ romance set in a historical fantasy setting then you will likely enjoy A Taste of Gold and Iron.

thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

this was a queer high fantasy novel that has raised my expectations for all the future fantasy books i will inevitably read. full review to come.

The romance was the strongest aspect of this book, and I loved reading about the 2 main characters and the dynamic they have. However, I felt like the book wasn’t as much about the romance as I had thought it was, and there was so much political intrigue right from the getgo that it took a while for the story to really get going.

My favorite part of this was how openly queerness was accepted in this fantasy world and the way that the royal lineage worked. Other than that, there wasn't anything that really stood out to me to separate this from other fantasy novels.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy to review.

Thank you net galley for providing me with a copy of a taste of iron and gold in exchange for a honest review.


The carefully expanded world building and vivid characters are both features I greatly appreciate about this novel. However the writing style although beautiful can often come to be tiring which is my only complain about this book along with the length.

The characters tho? Chefs kiss. Written to perfection. So beautiful so real, you cannot understand the beauty of this book till you read it.

This was a fun book that I sadly didn't finish. I know that is a hundred percent on me due to situations going on in my life. I would love to return because I really did have a fun time.

This is a book that I took my time savoring. It's a book that demands your attention at every turn. When I say I loved this book—I'm not saying it lightly. I even joined a Discord to keep talking about it.

I enjoyed the rich and intricate worldbuilding that Alexandra Rowland had to offer in this new world. The depiction of anxiety in the main character was nuanced and accurate and I loved how it was woven into the story. The lore that comes from this world including the temples and the banking system is something I enjoyed reading and I'm more than willing to recommend this story to anyone who is looking for a fantasy romance.

A Taste of Gold and Iron was a great and immersive story about the prince of Arasht, Kadou, and the events and relationships he has with his family and the people in the palace. I loved the relationship between Kadou and Eversham, his guard, and how it grew from enemies to friends to lovers. Eversham was always there when Kadou needed him especially during his anxiety attacks.

Another big character involved in this group that was a big part of helping Kadou during his attacks was Tadek. Listen, I did NOT like Tadek. He stirred up a lot of trouble between Kadou and Eversham and just in general, BUT by the end of the story, I understood why he was an important character and why Rowland included him in this group. The depiction of anxiety was great in this book! It shows the feelings you go through when you have an anxiety attack and how you don’t know how to stop it from happening or how to end the attack.

The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the ending of this book. I did not see the twist coming towards the end and I absolutely LOVED the twist, but then the ending happened, and it was just like what?? I didn’t hear about a second book for this series, so if there is one, great! If not, what was that ending??!!

Wow, I really loved this one!!! It’s very much a slow burn, with a somewhat simple plot line, which made it easier to take in the different culture and court life described. I loved the two main characters and the way their mental health was explored. And the romance was just amazing, it was so palpable and well written!!


🌈 Queer rep: gay MM main couple (bi/pan), queer side characters, established third gender/non gender in society (using çe/çir pronouns)

This book is absolutely beautiful. The writing is very immersive and lyrical without being too flowery. The slow burn romance was satisfying and organic in a way that you definitely felt the falling on all sides. There's also really great political/court intrigue in this to keep it moving forward. Also the anxiety rep in this was fantastic and incredibly relatable. Queer love story that just gets it.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. The pining, the angst, the romance in general absolutely killed me (in a good way). The characters were amazingly developed and so so likable. I was worried that the author would go a certain way with one character (Tadek) but she didn’t which made the story so much better. Kadou and Evemer’s relationship was so well-developed and believable; their devotion, respect, and love for one another really touched my heart. And the world building was done very well with the world being unique in how important the currency was. This is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year!

Thank you Netgalley and TOR/Forge publishers for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I typically love a lot of books that Macmillan/TOR/Forge have graciously provided via ARCs. However, this was an outlier.

I wanted to so badly love this novel. It's MLM romcom and a new fantasy novel all rolled into one. Yet, I thought for the exposition portion of this novel, nothing much was happening. I love a good slow-burn romance, if there was one, but I was rather bored. I put down and picked up this novel a few times and nothing sucked me back into the novel.

I think the world building had some missing points that could've been addressed better. It wasn't as immersive or built up initially that some commentary pulled me away from the plot as I tried to understand more of the world.

Given some side characters' actions, the main couple's chemistry felt a little forced and otherwise not smooth lined with the rest of the plot.

I'm disappointed to know this novel didn't work for me, but I'm looking forward to what new publications are coming up for TOR/Forge publishers.

My first book delving back into high fantasy this year of course had to have a very sweet romance and a touch of disability representation. As a reader, I immediately connected with Kadou as a fellow individual who suffers from "cowardice," which seemingly serves as a stand-in for anxiety and possibly OCD, albeit minor. The characters connect with each other well as the story unfolds. The conflict and events that occur are overshadowed by the personalities of Kadou and Evemer,  and even Tadek, which are allowed to grow and develop as these men come to understand each other.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

A royal with a bodyguard romance with political intrigue and it's a slow burn. I love it very swoon worthy.