What I really loved about this book was that the MMC suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. That is extremely relatable to big portion of the population these days.
This was a fantasy romance from the POV of Prince Kadou and Evemer his guard.
I felt like the plot was more about the Prince's anxiety and him learning to navigate it.
This was a nice slow burn/forbidden romance story. Evemer definitely has book boyfriend potential I wish there would have been more of a build up between the two MMC.
I'm excited to see what this author puts out next.

When I read the blurb for this book, “a queer central romance unfolds in a fantasy world reminiscent of the Ottoman Empire” I was immediately intrigued. The Ottoman Empire has long been fascination of mine, and I thought a fantasy world utilizing that as a backdrop would be beautiful and unique. Unfortunately the execution of the worldbuilding in particular fell flat for me. The first few chapters were so packed with names and concepts that I had a hard time tracking them all, and without a glossary (at least in the ARC) I had no point of reference. By the third chapter as the worldbuilding settled and I finally felt myself in the flow of the prose, I realized that I had missed a major plot point while sorting out place names and magic systems and I had to go back to reread.

Prince Kadou, younger brother to Sultan Zeliha, has generalized anxiety and a lack of clarity in his own role in the government. The kahya - highly trained advisors/servants/guards who will eventually become high ranking ministers - tend to the royals closely. Kadou has had a relationship with at least one kahya in the past, Tadek, who still serves as armsman after a demotion. Newly assigned to his staff is Evemer, quiet, supremely intelligent and observant, and loyal. Kadou has to rely on Evemer, Tadek, and other kahyalar to discover who has betrayed the empire, setting up counterfeit coin trade, and framing Kadou in the process. Unfortunately, the central romance started out with a love triangle, which gave the book more of a YA feel than I prefer to read. The romance is slow burn and largely closed door, though has a satisfying HEA.

That said all said, this gets a half star bonus for a very natural queer normativity. I also love that it is a non-martial fantasy, with the central plot focused on intrigue and counterfeit coins rather than gearing towards a large battle.

3.5 stars/1 flame

I liked it. I thought the romance was thoughtful, tender, and well executed. The fantasy aspect struggled a bit, though. While vivid and creative, the worldbuilding seemed unfocused, almost like Rowland was trying to "show their work" regardless of whether or not the details provided were actually needed to move the story forward, Compounding the issue, the mystery at the center of the story was convoluted and not terribly interesting. Still, I enjoyed myself, and I look forward to reading more of Rowland's work. Full review on TikTok (link attached).

This was a tough one. I will generally accept any new world building with complicated language if I can still understand what’s going on as I slot these new words into my brain. This was borderline too much for me.

This has an interesting idea that there are people who can touch metals and essentially gauge how pure the metals are and immediately know if something is counterfeit. Despite being in the title, this was underutilized.

Kadou suffers from what are seemingly panic attacks and I could have used about 100% less of them being classed as how they make him a coward/cowardly.

This was slow burn almost to the point of no burn at all and ended abruptly. I wanted just one scene of them when the drama is over, I don’t know, feeding each other grapes or something to show they were making it work as equals despite how they started.

Kudos for creating this detailed world with a diverse cast though. I loved that his sister Zeliha/ruler of this county was trying to marry him off over breakfast to the hot guy who sent an actual painting of himself over like a medieval Tinder swipe. I loved that Zeliha had just had a baby and was tired and doting on her child while dealing with all of this nonsense. She was a boss but also able to dissolve into giggles at one of Kadou’s disguises. I liked that big stoic Evemer was not great at kissing and had a mother who called him Honeybee.

Thank you to Tordotcom and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Wow. Ever since I read The Goblin Emperor a year and a half ago, I’ve been chasing that high—looking for another book that made me feel the way that one did. A Taste of Gold and Iron finally, finally scratched the itch.

This is a story about politics, about magic (although the magic is just a backdrop, really), and about two very different people coming to rely on and love each other. It’s also a story about anxiety. Kadou is stalked by worry, always, and as someone who is also stalked by worry always, I ached for him. I couldn’t stop reading. I needed to know whether everything turned out all right—but I also trusted that the book would end exactly where it needed to.

A Taste of Gold and Iron is a more self-indulgent, fanfiction-y book than The Goblin Emperor, and I mean that in a good way. It knows exactly what we’re all here for: the complexity of relationships, the messiness of opening yourself up to another person, the terror of realizing you love someone. If you’re looking for something plot-heavy and full of action, maybe go elsewhere, but otherwise I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

Kadou, the shy prince of Arasht, finds himself at odds with one of the most powerful ambassadors at court in an altercation that 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.

So a few posts ago, I mentioned how I wasn't really liking this. I was 30% into it, and I wasn't very invested in the plot, the characters, or the romance. But then, cut to me, reading the last chapter screaming, screeching reading the last chapter of this book. I'M OBSESSED!! I'M SORRY I SAID ANYTHING BAD ABOUT THE FIRST THIRD OF IT.

I was very interested in reading this because of that beautiful cover, and I went into it not knowing what it was about. The only things I knew were that it was a slow-burn bodyguard romance, that's it. And I recommend going into it that way because it's much more surprising.

The plot is very straightforward. It's a conspiracy that feels obvious, and I guessed what was going on halfway through, but that didn't bother me because it was still very engaging.

The romance !!! This book has a combination of things that always makes me FERAL. There's brushing each other's hair. There's dramatic hand-holding. There's kissing to avoid suspicion. There's the italicized 'oh' when they realize they have feelings. There's "you are mine, and I am yours" in italics (this one specifically, every time it appears in a book, I will give it five stars).

Evemer and Kadou were so well written. They complimented each other and were better together.

This book has a very similar feel to Winter's Orbit. I don't know how to explain it exactly, but I think if you loved Winter's Orbit, you will love this. They have a similar vibe to it. Both are slow-burn, soft romances that happen alongside an investigation trying to uncover a conspiracy. I liked this one a lot more because I feel like it does those things better.

Also, really loved the anxiety representation in this! Kadou has anxiety and sometimes suffers some panic attacks. While I think it could have been explored more than it was, it was still amazing to see. I always appreciate seeing good mental health representation in a fantasy novel.

I didn't give it a FULL five stars because I feel the main plot was resolved way too quickly and way too easily. Like I finished the book, and then I had to go back to check if I missed something.

Still! Can't recommend this enough! I loved it!! It comes out at the end of this month. And please come scream to me if/when you read it!!

This review is based on an ARC provided by Netgalley

Reviewing A Taste of Gold and Iron is quite the task as I am not a fraction of the writer the author is and so its quite hard for me to find the right words to do justice.


On the surface, A Taste of Gold and Iron does not seem to be a super-original work. It's about intrigue and plots, of a prince trying to figure out where the threat to the crown is coming from with the help of his guards. But it’s also so much more than that.


The principal strength of this book lies in its characterization and general quality of writing. Our two principal PoV characters are Kadou, the prince and Evemer, his bodyguard. Kadou is a shy, diffident person who balks at having power. He is kind hearted, always looking to do good, and chronically anxious. Evemer is the opposite. Superbly trained, absolutely certain and confident in his abilities and the principles he believes in, he is haughty, unbending, and not the most open minded. But, that is where the story starts from. And the way it unfurls is like a tightly wound ball of fabric opening out into this gorgeous tapestry, as little by little all the facets of these two characters and their fascinating interplay is held up to the readers. The writing is lush, glorying in its beauty and never shying away from evoking emotion. One aspect I greatly appreciated was its depiction of anxiety and how it can take a constant toll on the life of a person. This is also a romantic book and the gradual painstaking birth and development of that relationship is what the book builds itself around. For those readers who prize characterization and inter-character relationships above all, this book is an indulgence.


However, that is not the only praiseworthy part of this book. The worldbuilding deserves special mention. The book embraces queerness, with multiple genders existing and being accepted into the everyday social fabric. With that comes different ideas about marriage, childbirth and kinship, of inheritance and “claims” on a child. Women can have children with a body-father who is not a husband and who may not necessarily have the same status, and this is not a matter of shame or illegitimacy. I also liked the idea of the kahyalar, a cohort of guards who are more than guards, sworn to loyalty, trained in every aspect of rule, so that they may also become ministers, generals and officials. I really appreciated how economics was touched upon and integrated into the magic system. Basically what I appreciated the most about worldbuilding was how organically it was done. There was no clumsy exposition or infodumps, there was gradual revelation, and often just hints were given and the reader was allowed to decide for themselves.

In the end, A Taste of Gold and Iron is a superb story about two people finding each other and themselves, set in a richly imagined world. I rate it 10/10 and 5 out of 5 stars for Goodreads.

It is sad to say that this book failed to deliver the many blurbs and hype from early reviews I've read.

I tried over and over to read this book but I stopped at the same place. There are countless absurd plot points that just ruined the reading experience for me.
The premise at first glance is enticing and peaked my interest. Yet when it came into execution I was disappointed at every corner. It is not enough to just serve romance and hope that it will be enough to present a compelling story. The world, politics, and other aspects that make a story cohesive needs to provide substance to boost the romance even more. This was not present in A Taste of Gold and Iron.
The plot and worldbuilding needs rework because it did feel like I was reading a rough draft of it. The cover is beautiful, it is a shame that the story didn't meet the high quality cover of this book.

It is sad to say that this book failed to deliver the many blurbs and hype from early reviews I've read.

I tried over and over to read this book but I stopped at the same place. There are countless absurd plot points that just ruined the reading experience for me.
The premise at first glance is enticing and peaked my interest. Yet when it came into execution I was disappointed at every corner. It is not enough to just serve romance and hope that it will be enough to present a compelling story. The world, politics, and other aspects that make a story cohesive needs to provide substance to boost the romance even more. This was not present in A Taste of Gold and Iron.
The plot and worldbuilding needs rework because it did feel like I was reading a rough draft of it. The cover is beautiful, it is a shame that the story didn't meet the high quality cover of this book.

Very interesting read. I may need to get back to this for when I already have carefully articulated my thoughts. But this was one of my most anticipated reads for this year and I couldn’t be happier to have been sent this galley by Tor. Thank you so much again!

I guess I'm not as empathetic as I thought, because I really did not care for how frontloaded Kadou's anxiety disorder was to this book at all. Maybe in a contemporary novel, or something shorter and more focused, I would have been okay with it, but in a fantasy, no. There's all this interesting stuff about a counterfeiting ring, and the ability to have sense-memory experiences when touching metals, and all of that is shoved to the side for chapters at a time so we can get into the weeds of Kadou's panic attacks. I'm sure that readers who are able to connect to Kadou on that level will find this book affirming, and that's great, but I can't help but feel that a book with the opposite proportions - the plot taking the lion's share of the pages, and the anxiety disorder getting what's left over - would have made for a stronger, more compelling read.

I also found myself increasingly leery of all the ethical back and forth here - yes, we know it's kind of suss to be a prince dating a bodyguard, but we wouldn't be reading this kind of book if we didn't like this kind of thing, so why not just roll with it without much fuss? Again, for me, it prioritized a discussion you could have anywhere over things that were interesting and particular to this book (like the king-tide! and the dual gods!).

All this said, it's still a very readable book. Rowland's writing is spry: uncomplicated, but not unvarnished. Even if you're a slow reader you're bound to move quickly through this one because of how smooth it reads. And certain elements (basically everything closest to the plot), like I said, are very interesting: the concept of a body-father alone would've been worth its own book.

As far as my recommendation goes, I think if you have an anxiety disorder and you're looking for kinship in a fantasy, you will definitely find that here. For me, personally, it didn't work, and I think for anyone who wants a more plot-focused story it won't work either. But it's not such a taxing read that it's not worth giving it a try.

A gay standalone fantasy? SIGN ME UP! I went into this book worried that the slow burn would frustrate me & bore me. That was not the case. I loved all of the main & side characters. I loved the world building though it was a bit slow. The romance was one of the healthiest I've ever read while still being sexy & blush worthy. Prince Kadou is so aware of his privileges and power he holds over Evemer (his bodyguard). They have many discussions about that & how they can be equal in their relationship. The book also has amazing chronic anxiety rep, queerness is normal in this world, & the royal family handle their power with great care. I highly recommend this book.
TW: panic attacks, anxiety, murder, violence, emotional abuse

It was kind of hard to follow.... I thought I was going to love this book but it took me so long to get through because I was constantly getting bored. The Story is a slow burn which usually I can do if there are fantasy or a good story plot to follow but there wasn't a lot of either. I loved Tenzin probably my favorite character out of the whole book. I kinda went into this hoping for it to be a lot like RWRB with the political factors and the queerness but was very let down even with some of the scenes having good humor it just didn't reach its full potential for me.

Apparently when A Taste of Gold and Iron was announced, it came with a list of AO3 style content tags, thus:
- exquisitely beautiful prince/hot stoic bodyguard
- chronic anxiety
- oaths of fealty
-washing each other’s hair and talking about ethics
- found family
- what we owe each other
- enemies-to-lovers
- kissing to avert suspicion
- hurt/comfort
- slow burn
- there’s only one bed

This in many ways tells you exactly what sort of book this is. There’s an enormous ticklist of tropes that crop up throughout the story – the above list only covers the non-spoiler ones – and they are introduced with such palpable glee that you feel like Alexandra Rowland was giggling along as they were writing it, just as I was giggling along reading it. It is tremendously silly, abundantly playful and totally self-aware of what it’s doing as a story. There’s even a character who laughs out loud at the romance he’s seeing before him and the events that unfold, in case the rest of it had been too subtle on that point. And because there’s this sense of laughing with the author, it’s an absolute joy of a reading experience. Add to this that it’s a queernorm world with at the very least gay, pan, ace and third gender representation, and it’s just the perfect escapist delight.

Both the romantic leads are compelling characters, and manage to make a good middle ground between opposites attracting and finding unexpected commonalities, so you feel like they genuinely would find ways to get along and care for each other (which I often find lacking in total opposites attracting situations). Their dynamic manages to balance fun and tension throughout the story, without indulging so hard on either side as to strain enjoyment. Yes it’s silly, yes there’s only one bed… but the reason there’s only one bed, and the stresses and worries that come from it, are plausible enough as a framing device that it works.

Particularly of note is Kadou, the prince – though not labelled as such, he’s very clearly portrayed as suffering from quite severe anxiety, and the way that’s managed, how he and other characters respond and relate to it, is done extremely well. It’s framed in terms that make sense for the culture he is in, and dealt with likewise, but without resorting to “no one believes in mental health issues in the past”. Solutions are sought from the medicinal (teas) to the theological, but it is generally just accepted as being part of the person he is, and he and those who love him just need to figure out how best to manage it when it starts to impact his happiness or ability to do what he needs to do.

Aside from the leads, there are a whole cast of entirely lovable secondary characters, from the slightly frazzled older sister sultan to the tough love and exasperation captain of the guard to the absolute chaos goblin friend/armsman and more besides.

Outside of the characters and romance, the world is wonderful – a fantasy peusdo-Ottoman-ish kingdom of merchants, with relations with pseudo-France and others. There are some wonderful details of points of fashion, of culture and of styles of dress, and part of what’s great about this not being yet another fantasy-medieval-western-Europe setting is we get approaches to gender as it intersects with culture and behaviour that aren’t what you’d get in something that was clearly fake-historical-London. There are glimpses of how the characters conceive of masculinity which I really enjoyed exploring – what fabrics, behaviours and clothing was appropriate to a man in a particular station, for instance – and it was very gently introduced throughout, though I’d have liked more of it. Likewise, we don’t see enough of it to be sure, but at least in the setting country (Arasht), power seems to be gender-non-specific, and we get hints of some interesting rules around inheritance, parenthood and the ties of family, all of which feed into the main plot, but without being overburdened by exposition. If anything, I could have done with a bit more exposition, because I was so interested in what was going on.

But the plot is very much inward focussing, and so we are mostly denied that (at least in this book – I have hopes for any future sequels). The core issue of the story, besides the romance, is that in our fantasy mercantile kingdom, full of people who can tell at a touch the purity of metal, and whose relationships with other countries, and whose standing and reputation with them relies on the absolute quality and integrity of their coinage… someone has been debasing the currency! I never knew the dearth of fantasy books with this as a core theme was something that needed to be rectified until I read this one, but apparently it is. And in many ways, it’s a story point that’s absolutely perfect for a fantasy retelling – it’s something that was, at times in history, a really critical and kingdom shattering issue, and one that’s graspable on the scale of individual actions. This is especially true for a book with a protagonist who has the magical sense for metals – he’s perfectly placed in power and ability to be the one investigating exactly who’s messing with their money.

We don’t get to see much of the world outside Arasht, despite the extent to which those outside opinions are a massive driver for solving the coinage crisis, and I think this does weaken the strength of that part of the plot – so many people emphasise quite how catastrophic and image management situation this is, it would have been nice to be able to see how correct they were on that score.

We also, frankly, don’t get enough of it as a plot point in general for my liking. The story is definitely far more interested in the romance and the tension inherent in that to dwell too hard on the geopolitical tensions that are set up, and there are times – when the drama of the story is in full swing but we focus more on the headspace of the characters in love than how they are thinking about the crises that surround them – when this feels a little like the plot has been done dirty by the romance. There’s so much in it that’s exciting and good, so much I want to explore, and it gets skimmed over that few too many times for my liking, especially in a book as pacy as this one – we could absolutely stand to have a bit more time spent exploring exactly what was going on with all the different parts of the conspiracy at play, without even needing to cut down on the romantic sides, and it would still have managed to be a light, fun and fast-reading book.

There’s also one character who gets, at least for me, a little sidelined towards the end, and again, the issue with that is how good what we get up to that point has been – I’m left wanting more, especially as there are some great hints about his internal struggles and development that I really wish we could have managed to get more of a handle on.

But, all in all, those are far more problems I find when looking back than ones I experienced while reading. In the moment, the book was an absolute romp that I found impossible to put down. It is far more a romance with a fantasy story in than a fantasy story with romance in, but it’s easy to forgive when the romance is quite so fun and so funny as this one.

2.75 rounded to 3 stars: A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON was one of my more anticipated reads this year. The synopsis oozed political intrigue and world-building. The gorgeous cover hinted at something more alluring than policy. But, unfortunately, I found this book to be a disappointing, word-bloated, slow adventure.

Let's get straight to the point. The official book blurb misleads the reader. It suggests that the story will involve a high stakes, tense, and intricate web of conspiracies to unravel. It also implies that a form of magic, touch tasting metals to discern their composition, will be a focus and highlight of the world-building. This story lightly incorporates the former plot line and barely includes the latter one. Instead, this is a 500-page long character study about how expectations placed on individuals in positions of power and responsibility, particularly those who don't want either of those things, can manifest anxiety and cause decision paralysis.

Now, there's nothing wrong with writing a character who has, at times, debilitating anxiety. I have read and loved several books that have characters coping with depression, anxiety, or trauma. However, the anxiety of the main character, Prince Kadou, overshadows everything else in this book. And I don't think that's meant to be symbolism. The overwhelming majority of A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON is inner dialogue questioning and second guessing one's self, which is an effect of anxiety. But I felt like a lot of Kadou's and Evermer's thoughts went around in circles. And while their conversations with each other ultimately helped them face their true feelings, the bulk of it was repetitive and could have been cut. As a result I found it slow-moving and struggled to keep an avid interest in the characters.

My biggest disappointment, however, was the lack of a solid plot. The investigation described in the synopsis is more of a background element and was incredibly predictable. It almost felt like the world-building was an afterthought attached to a more formed idea of a love story. I also really wanted to know more about the magic system where some people in Arasht can touch taste metal. For a component so prominently included in the blurb, it receives about one total page of mention in the book. Everything about the world-building was minimal to the point that I think it would have been better if the story had taken place during the actual Ottoman Empire to provide a better frame of reference of the surrounding world.

So, is there anything I liked about A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON? I appreciated the inclusion and normalization of a third (or nonbinary) gender, asexuality, and queer romance depicted in Arasht culture. By that I mean they could be themselves and express their attraction for whomever freely; for lack of a better word, all romance or sexuality is the "norm." I enjoyed the world- and magic system-building when it was included, but I wish more time had been devoted to it.

While I cannot wholeheartedly recommend A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON, perhaps my review will help adjust expectations and result in better reading enjoyment by others.

Overall this was an enjoyable read that was at its best with the romance between Kadou and Evemer. I've seen this compared to The Goblin Emperor in terms of world-building, and while I can understand the desire to make that comparison, ultimately I don't think that Rowland achieved that to the same level. That being said, I did find the world to be intriguing and consistent, if not quite as real-feeling as The Goblin Emperor. I think that this book sets out to a) tell a love story and b) be a compelling mystery tale. It gets full marks in my book for the love story, but the mystery was clearly not as important to the author and therefore it wasn't as well developed. There were no surprises there, and ultimately the stakes never felt really high to me. I knew that this was a romance and that the leads were going to end up together and happy, most likely without having to sacrifice much. The concept of the "touch-tasting" was so original and the tantalizing glimpses we got of it really had me hooked, so I would have liked to have seen even more of that. I also appreciated the side characters that were developed and the humor that ran throughout the book, especially in the characters of Tadek and the lie-detector woman. Ultimately I enjoyed this quite a bit, I found the two leads to be engaging and complex characters and I was rooting for their romance. This book succeeds the most when it focuses on that relationship.

Thank you Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for an honest review !

I have been trying to finish this book for a month now & each time i pick it up i find i have to force myself to continue reading. I found this story moved at a snails pace and there was barely any dialogue between the main leads for the first 40% of the book .

Our love interest Evemer has a vocabulary that consists of two words, “sir” and “highness” for the first 30% of the book. I love a good slow burn but COME ON.

Miraculously the plot sludges on , focusing on every character outside of the couple i actually want to see.

There isn’t anything wrong with the writing style and im sure some people will like it (fans of strange and stubborn endurance will love this) it just wasn’t for me .

okay disclaimer -- I picked up this book assuming it was a mystery. I'm not really sure why bc, honestly, look at that cover, but I did nonetheless so I approached this story from a very different angle than intended lol. I would definitely recommend it to people looking for a romance, but the mystery is a flimsy subplot and easily solved. (and I do mean easily. I legitimately almost missed the solution because it was presented so neatly. also the villains were hilarious, and I don't mean that in a kind way.)

despite all that tho !!! once I shifted my worldview to this being a romance I enjoyed it a great deal more. it's a slowburn and has a ton of miscommunication (and I do mean a ton) and a dozen other fun tropes that I am partial to.

I didn't think it was anything special or even particularly astounding, but I did like it anyway! I will always be a sucker for the royal/bodyguard romance and while it's becoming more common in queer books it's still not something I see that often. I really liked all the discussions of consent in this book too, as that trope can lean into some pretty awful nonconsensual powerplay relationships, and thankfully we were entirely spared that here.

thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

A Taste of Gold and Iron is one of those books that so expertly balances romance and fantasy. This genre mash up has fabulous magic - I love the idea of being able to touch taste metal - with an intriguing political set up. For those who love a good bit of politics and adventure in their fantasy worlds - this is for you! At the same time, A Taste of Gold and Iron is deeply character focused with a strong romance story line. From the beginning, I enjoyed Kadou's character as he struggles to be more than what people expect of him. Even if he isn't driven by power - like most around him - he deeply cares for those around him and answers.

At the same time, there's almost a self-destructive streak within him. Gotta love that. I also adored Evemer and seeing both of their perspectives allows us to fall in love with them. To see the ways in which, as individual characters, they have to find their way to friendship. When they expose their cracks and doubts to each other amidst chases and danger. A Taste of Gold and Iron is a story about conspiracy, loyalty, and betrayal.

"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.

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."

All about the Ottoman Empire but should we really be comparing any book to The Goblin Emperor?