Til Death Do Us Bard

This book was just perfect. It was such a warm, DnD-esque fantasy that hit the same spot as Honour Among Thieves did. I absolutely loved reading this.

I found the DnD-eque plotline so fun to read (would LOVE to read more books like this!) - the way there were all these mini-quests along the way before the final showdown with the big bad monster reminded me so much of the campaign I've played in. Especially with the corrupted King at the centre of it all.

Logan was such a good MC. I loved his character arc of growing to realise he can't protect everyone by pushing them away and that he also deserves a happy ending. I also loved his husband, Pie. The way his character unfurled was just soo satisfying to read. I loved learning about Pie as Logan did, the narration really tightly stuck to Logan in a very effective way. I also just loved their relationship and how much they were a bit like an old married couple whilst also not actually have known each other long enough to have told each other everything by the start of the book. I especially loved the interludes that showed the build-up of their relationship prior to the main events of the book, it was so clever how they always came out points where they expanded upon memories the two have briefly mentioned in the main events.

I loved the SCs and the world-building. It wasn't this massive, intricate political fantasy but the world felt grounded and realistic in its setting. Details like the old Necromance Empire, the Unicorn realm and the new anti-magic laws really fleshed the place out. I can imagine its existence outside of the main plot; it feels real enough to exist beyond it. And then talking about SCs, I absolutely adore the Countess. She is just so fun and feels like the kind of character you'd get someone playing in a DnD campaign. She's got a tragic backstory, she's powerful, she's flirty, she has a skeleton dog called Ossymandias - I love her.

All in all, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book. I also really hope Rose Black writes more books with this vibe in future (whether about the same characters/world or not).

I was os excited to read this book as it sounds amazing and I'm happy to say that i absolutely loved Til Death Do Us Bard!

It was such a cute and fun read!
It was also really well written and I'm really curious to see what the author writes next.
I really liked Logan and thought he was a great character, I especially loved his relationship with Pie.
The book also had a strong DnD vibe which I was absolutely loving!

I definitely highly recommend this!
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a lovely ride this was! This story was just the cozy adventure that I needed. I love the characters, the queer romance and the overall heartwarming vibe. ☺️💕 This book is the perfect addition to any fall tbr!

I loved this! I haven't read many cozy fantasy books yet, but after this beautiful introduction to the genre, I definitely want more! Logan was the perfect main character for this story, and he and Pie were so adorable together. They actually reminded me a little bit of Ed and Stede from Our Flag Means Death. I was also pleasantly surprised by the disability rep! And by the amount of hurt/comfort - my absolute favorite trope <3

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes cozy fantasy, D&D and/or Our Flag Means Death!

This is cosy fantasy at it's very best. Having just read Legends and Lattes I was very much in the chill DnD-esque vibe headspace and this hit the spot perfectly. It's very well written and truly is like a cuddle of a book. I would most definitely read future releases by Rose Black and do hope that there is more to come from this world!

A whimsical, cozy fantasy filled with queer found family, a harrowing adventure, and a grumpy hero at the center of it all.

I think it is hard to describe an action packed book with necromancers and a haunting ex wife as “wholesome” but here I am, doing just that! Til Death Do Us Bard by Rose Black feels as a fluffy D&D campaign. We have Logan, our fighter, who is retired from fighting monsters to live with the love of his life, a bard named Magpie. He calls him Pie, which is unfortunate because no one understands him when he bellows “where is my Pie?”. And he does do that more frequently than you’d think. Anyway, because he lost his Pie, he has to resort to a granny grave robbing necromancer and his newly ghost-surrected ex wife to try to find him. There might also be unicorns.
I absolutely love Logan! He is a bit grumpy, loyal and one-minded, but I adore his logic. He is disabled from an earlier fight, and the disability rep is done very well. It doesn’t suddenly disappear and reappear (which happens so often in books!), and it isn’t a huge deal or plot point, no magical healing at the end and just *chef’s kiss*. Loved it! The supporting characters are epic too, I especially loved the Countess and her undead horse and dog. A waving skeleton cracked me up. Yes, this book is quite funny and has allllll the banter which I LOVE, but it also has deeper themes. The relationship between him and his ex wife are aggravating, sweet and so very human, and his relationship with Magpie is of course the best, the ultimate sunshine x grumpy to rule them all. Bards. Sigh. They’re truly the best if not a touch dramatic and over the top and annoying and just love them, Magpie in particular. Of course he’s in over his head and of course the plot extends more with plot twists and epicness. There is a lot of action, but I felt like it was more about the characters, so it’s actually a perfect match for me. Excellent pacing. Nice monsters. Cute unicorn farms. I can’t think of a single I thing I disliked. Seriously, this book pulled me out of a two month reading slump. Go read it if you like epic characters, D&D, sweet queer relationships, and if you like a little action and a little romance and a little character development at once. Or if you like T. Kingfisher or TJ Klune. 10 out of 10 recommend this one!

I received a free e-arc through Netgalley but it hasn’t influenced my opinions.

I adored this cozy fantasy. Retired adventurer Logan sets out to find his missing bard husband Pie, who’s been forced into a plot to steal a magical artifact that can create an army of the undead. Along the way, Logan uncovers secrets that test his marriage and his assumptions about others. The side characters add a lot of humor, and there’s just enough tension to keep the pages turning without ruining the cozy vibes with anxiety. If you’re looking for an mm marriage in trouble (with a bit of Geralt/Yaskier vibes), a world that’s queer-normative and magical, and an adventure fantasy that feels hopeful and bright, this is the book for you.

Sometimes you just find a book where you see the cover, find it intriguing, read the synopsis, find that even more intriguing and then you read the book and it’s everything you wanted. That honestly doesn’t happen that often to me because expectations are a thing but »Til Death Do Us Bard« really did everything I hoped it would - it was really funny - the necromancer grandma cracked me up all the time -, there was romance, a fun fantasy plot with high stakes. All the elements mixed together so well. Like, sometimes it’s too much romance and not enough plot or the other way around or it’s not serious enough or too serious. You get what I mean. But this book was just perfect (for me). The vibes - romance - plot ratio was amazing. I truly loved it so much, I had such a good time with Logan and Co. and I definitely want to get a copy for my shelf!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

"Til Death Do Us Bard" is about ex adventure Logan "The Bear" who goes searching for his husband, Pie the bard, when he goes missing. Along the way he is helped by a ragtag group of misfits, from a necromancer, to the ghost of his ex wife, a unicorn and its trainer. Can Logan complete this quest, while keeping his marriage intact?

I had a very fun time reading this book. I loved the cast of characters and the time i got to spend with them, each of them with a surprising amount of depth. My favorite parts were the sections that explored these character relationships, and they were able to grow from them.

My only bit of feedback is that i would of liked a longer epilogue to get to see in more detail how all our cast end up but i would say that just shows how invested i was in them.

A fun cozy read (with higher stakes than the usually cozy fantasy read though). I hope this isn't the last we have seen of Logan and Pie (and the others of course).

As a big fan of Legends and Lattes and also Dungeons and Dragons, this was the perfect read for me. I have been recommending it to everyone I know and I can't wait to get a physical copy in my clutches so I can read it again!

This is possibly the best adventure book I've read - ever.

Logan "The bear" has finally settled down with his bard husband after a long time of slaying monsters. But when Pie suddenly disappears, he has to turn to some of the forces he has been fighting all his life, and set out with a flirtatious, chaotic necromancer and the ghost of his ex-wife, setting out on skeletal horses on their first quest to find a unicorn.
I think that sentence alone should be enough to sell this book to anyone with even the slightest interest in comical fantasy, DND, queer stories...

Amazing characters with incredibly well done arcs, a captivating story set in a fascinating world, with cool magic rules, a seemingly corrupted, or insane king and very amazing sounding creatures.
Logan is a grumpy softie and Pie is a sunshine with a dark past. The countess is too horny for her own good and Ophelia is an unfortunate victim of this world with a great hatred for her former husband.
Really, what more could you want?
Well, you might not know, but this book certainly does.

Queer Witcher-esque fantasy with plenty of humor and romance!

Gruff but lovable, Logan the Bear immediately reminded me of the Witcher with his history of monster killing and seeming distrust of most people (and necromancers.) What sets this book apart from the world of The Witcher is this story isn't nearly as heavy and the humor (and romance) is more pronounced.

I enjoyed this queer fantasy novel with it's quirky characters and high stakes plot. Logan and Pie's relationship both present and past snippets is delightful. The ghost ex-wife is a great ongoing lesson for Logan and helps shape his character arc. The lonely but powerful necromancer, the Countess, adds a good dose of humor with her skeleton servants. Even the well-meaning but naive unicorn handler is a fun addition.

Rose Black creates an engaging fantasy world and a intriguing plot driven by Logan's deep love and commitment to his husband. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this adventure!

Thank you to Hodderscape for the digital ARC and Rose Black for the physical ARC!

TIL DEATH DO US BARD had me in a grip from the moment I saw the author pitching it on Twitter, and I've eagerly followed its journey to publication ever since. I loved the D&D vibes, the cozy found family vibes, and that the central relationship was influenced by Geralt and Jaskier from the Witcher. The actual book blew me away with all that and more, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to read it early.

This book is so sincere and so warm, balanced perfectly by heart-racing action moments. Logan, our main character, had a beautiful arc of learning what sacrifice and forgiveness can mean—and that vulnerability is what allows old wounds to heal. BARD shows that love and trust are ongoing exercises, and that no matter what age or stage of life you're in, it's never too late to change. The relationship between Logan and Pie is so touching and romantic and angsty and brilliant and soft. I wanted to live in this world with them. All of my fingers are crossed that we get a follow up novel or novella—the story is complete as a standalone, but I think there's so much more to keep exploring with these two.

TLDR: "it's like geraskier in the witcher if the showrunners weren't fucking cowards and geralt wasn't fuckign mean to jaskier. and also it's better"

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodderscape for this ARC.

A grumpy monsterhunter stops working his trade when he marries a buoyant bard full of secrets. When the bard goes missing under mysterious circumstances, his bear of a husband recruits a flirty old necromancer, a naive unicorn caretaker, and the ghost of his snappy ex-wife to go on a rescue mission.

This book is exactly what I expected from one labelled "cozy fantasy". It managed to stay light-hearted all throughout, and even when the party faced hardships and betrayal, I never had the slightest doubt that everything will turn out just fine in the end.

Every character was loveable in their own way; even the antagonists had an understandable agenda, which I think most fantasy books lack. I laughed at the banter between Logan and Ophelia almost as hard as I did at the quirky comments from the Countess.

Wholeheartedly recommended!

4.5 stars rounded up

Til Death Do Us Bard is a lovely and heartwarming story. Following retired adventurer Logan as he quests to save his husband, Pie, I loved the flashbacks to other points of their relationship as well. It brought great depth to the couple and how they got to where they are in the present. Helping the reader root for them, the flashbacks are also just very sweet additions. We're also introduced to a great cast of supporting characters including the ghost of Logan's ex-wife, a flamboyant necromancer, and a shy young man and his unicorn. Each character added to the story and the growth of the main couple (especially Logan). A surprisingly cozy adventure!

This was a fantasy adventure unlike any I've read before - it a great way. It very much gives DND vibes, but as someone who has never played and has only the vaguest pop culture understanding, I still loved this book and never felt like I wasn't included as an audience (despite I'm sure some references completely missing me).

The relationship between Bear and his husband Pie is beautiful and I want to read more and more about them, obsessively. While we spend the entire book with Bear the flashbacks of their love story made me very invested in their story and their relationship felt layered and intentional. The slew of side characters made this a memorable and fun book - lightening the heavy themes than if the book had just focused on Bear (and Pie). The world building was so well done and felt so natural to slip right into the story that by the end I didn't realize how ridiculous the story had gotten (in the best way).

While most people are describing it as cozy fantasy, I don't know that I feel that is the best fit - it is a very heartfelt book, but not the comforting cozy that I would expect with that tag. While taken as a whole I would say this book is fun and heartfelt, because the first half of the book Bear is in such a dark place I think people will be disappointed if they go in just for that vibe.

Rose Black's "Til Death Do Us Bard" is a heartwarming and enchanting blend of mystery, romance, and fantasy—a cozy narrative that feels akin to a heartfelt D&D campaign. Set against the backdrop of a quaint yet eerie village, the story unfolds with an enchanting mix of love, betrayal, and dark secrets.

The protagonist, Logan 'The Bear', a retired adventurer who had hung up his axe, finds himself alone in his cozy cottage with only a sign of his lovely bard husband, Pie. Driven by love and concern, Logan, despite having left his adventuring days behind, embarks on an extraordinary quest to find Pie and ensure his safety, even if it means delving into perilous alliances.

When Logan, the retired adventurer, teams up with a necromancer and a ghost, individuals with whom he shares a strained relationship, the narrative gains depth. This unexpected collaboration adds layers of complexity to Logan's character and the story itself, weaving a tale of unlikely alliances in the pursuit of love and protection.

This book encapsulates the essence of cozy fantasy, drawing readers into a world where the bonds of love and loyalty are tested against a backdrop of magic and danger. The interplay between Logan's determination, the enigmatic allies he joins forces with, and the urgency of his mission creates a captivating narrative that keeps readers eagerly turning pages.

"Til Death Do Us Bard" is a charming testament to the power of love and resilience. Rose Black's storytelling prowess shines through her skillful portrayal of relationships, forging an emotional connection between the characters and the readers.

As the story unfolds, it leaves readers eagerly anticipating more cozy fantasy from this talented author. With its engaging plot, heartfelt moments, and an intriguing blend of genres, this book promises an immersive and delightful reading experience.
Thank you Hodder Publicity and Netgalley for the chance to read this lovely ARC.

I think I've found a new favourite.


'Til Death Do Us Bard' by Rose Black is the kind of fantasy adventure that I've always loved, the kind of story that calls me in a deep and meaningful way... the kind of story that always find a place in my heart.

Logan 'The Bear' Theaker is an adventurer who has settled down with his husband, the bard Pie, hanging up his axe and leaving his adventures behind. But one day, Pie disappears, leaving Logan alone. As he tries to find his husband and discover what has happened, Logan will join forces with a necromancer and the ghost of his ex-wife in a quest that will reveal the truth not just about his husband, but also about their kingdom and its future.

There's so much power in a story like 'Til Death Do Us Bard', because in this world full of magic, adventure and danger, there's also space for emotions (both big and small). Rose Black has crafted a world that feels both alive and complete, a vivid tapestry of spaces and people that come alive with each new phrase and each new twist of the story.

But the true brilliance of this book resides in Logan, his husband (Pie), and the allies he meets along the way. Logan has been limited to the role of adventurer... the monster... the brute.... The Bear.... And seeing him going on this journey to reaffirm what Pie can see (that he's worth loving despite what the world may tell him) is truly everything.

It's that kindness that pushes our main character forward...
That same kindness that turn every reluctant ally into a real participant of this improvised quest...
It's simply everything.

'Til Death Do Us Bard' is one of those stories that will stay with me for a long, long time, and that I can see myself revisiting every once in a while.

It's heartwarming, chaotic (in the best possible way), thrilling and funny. Perfect for all the fans of 'Legends & Lattes' by Travis Baldree or books like 'So This Is Ever After' by F.T. Lukens.

This sweet, funny, heartfelt and – for a book full of walking skeletons – surprisingly cosy queer fantasy romance is everything I hoped it would be! Fantasy books that have pun titles, established queer couples, and an array of strong and slightly weird women in them are my absolute catnip, so I was really hoping to enjoy Til Death Do Us Bard from the first moment I heard about it. Luckily for me, it more than lived up to its quirky promise – grumpy adventurer loses flamboyant bard husband in mysterious circumstances, and chases him halfway across the world with the help of a flirtatious elderly necromancer, a unicorn and its himbo, and the spirit of his angry ex-wife? I mean come on. It’s a wonderful concept and it’s executed to perfection. This isn’t fantasy that takes itself seriously, but it still has a heartfelt core that keeps it from being too much like a parody – it’s ideal light reading for those who love their romantasy funny and sweet.

In terms of cosy fantasy romance, this sits just about exactly halfway between the silliness of FT Lukens and the darkness of T Kingfisher – if you like either of these authors, you’ll find something to love in this book, whether its the snort-laugh moments of banter or the thoughtful depictions of how love and grief can change someone. While the characters are largely older, with our main couple late thirties to mid forties, I think this would be a fun read for those looking to move up from YA; it’s fast-paced and doesn’t bog itself down with anything beyond the key scenes, and there’s plenty of action and humour.

I think you’ll probably know the moment you see the cover if this is going to be a book for you or not. For me, it really, truly was. I read it in one sitting and it did absolutely everything I’d hoped for a lovely, fluffy read. My only niggle is nothing to do with the story itself, purely that the edition I read (a finished hardback) was badly in want of some proofing, with more errors in the text than I would normally expect from a Big Five book!

Five out of five cats!

4.5 stars! This was such a fun, hilarious fantasy romp - felt like a DnD home game! The story of Logan and Pie and their adventures has a lot of moving parts and at times I felt like there were a bit too many plot lines and characters to keep track of, which is why I‘m not giving it a full 5 stars. I still had a lot fun following this warrior, his bard and their host of unlikely allies through their story. I adored Pie, and the Countess (and her little dog) was absolutely my favorite character. What I really enjoyed about the book was that despite being so funny, it had a lot of genuine moments that made me feel for the characters.

My only real critique is that I wasn‘t sure about the tonality. From the cover, the marketing and the light-heartedness of most of the story, I thought it was going for a more cozy vibe. But there are actually some pretty gruesome scenes in this (and a lot of death, not only to do with the necromancer) and the stakes are also quite high in the end which I wasn‘t expecting. So I was never sure what could happen next in this story world which sometimes caused emotional whiplash.

But all in all, this book has everything! Epic fights, dramatic bards, sassy necromancers, ghostly possessions, pirate ships, a herd of unicorns and a wonderful romance at the center of it.

The Mummy meets Legends & Lattes in this epic fantasy adventure romance!

(Thank you to NetGalley, Rose Black and Hodder & Stoughton/Hodderscape for providing me with an eARC for this book in exchange for my honest feedback. All opinions in this review are my own.)