Beneath the Gods' Tree

Amanah, our guard protagonist, moonlights as a secret healer while keeping a low profile. Taunos, her larger-than-life colleague, is as conspicuous as a peacock at a penguin party. When Amanah accidentally offends a magistrate and must dodge his wrath, she takes on a last-minute job escorting noblemen out of town – a gig that Taunos is also signed up for. As they venture into the wilderness, Amanah must unveil her hidden healing skills, and Taunos becomes more than just a sunny companion. Amidst the perils of wildlife and bandits, romance blossoms, but pursuing love and Amanah's dream of becoming a healer may attract more trouble than a dragon in a china shop.

Pros:
🌟 Four stars for this enchanting adventure! Fantastic worldbuilding that's practically a sightseeing tour through Arruk.

😍 Wonderful characters – Amanah and Taunos are like a dynamic duo of grumpy-sunshine dynamics and cinnamon roll love interest. Who knew fantasy guards could be so relatable?

💑 I love the romance – plus points for the healthy relationship. It's like a dating manual for characters and a reminder for us single folks to up our game.

🗣️ Tons of banter – it's like a verbal fireworks show that adds sparks to the already engaging plot.

Cons:
🤷 Honestly, the only downside is the reminder that I'm *still* unfortunately single. Can someone get me a man like Taunos, stat?

In conclusion, "Beneath the Gods' Tree" is not just a book; it's a journey into a world where romance blooms amidst danger, banter is the unofficial language, and guards have more tricks up their sleeves than a magician at a talent show. S. Kaeth, take a bow – you've crafted a tale that's a delightful blend of fantasy and heartwarming romance! 🌳💑📚

📚 Disclaimer: A heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and the enchanting wordsmith, S. Kaeth, for the ARC. All opinions in this review are as uniquely mine as Amanah's stealthy heroics. Here's to magical journeys and cinnamon roll love interests! 🌟💖

'Beneath the God's Tree' by S. Kaeth is a captivating and thrilling tale of love, adventure, and societal struggles. The story follows Amanah, a guard who uses her position to steal secrets of healing and help the lower class people of Arruk. However, her life takes an unexpected turn when she inadvertently insults a magistrate and is forced to flee the city.
As Amanah embarks on a journey to escort two noblemen to safety, she is joined by her fellow guard and love interest, Taunos. Amanah has always been cautious and reserved, while Taunos is boisterous and attracts attention wherever he goes. Despite their differences, Amanah finds herself drawn to Taunos and his easy charm.
Kaeth does an excellent job of creating a vivid and immersive world in Arruk. The descriptions of the city and surrounding wilderness are rich and detailed, making it easy for readers to visualize the setting. The characters are also well-developed and relatable, especially Amanah, who is a strong and independent heroine. Her struggles to remain unnoticed while using her skills to help others in a society that values the upper class are portrayed realistically and add depth to her character.
The romance between Amanah and Taunos is beautifully written and adds a layer of sweetness to the story. Their relationship develops gradually and is not without its challenges, but their chemistry is undeniable. I also appreciated the author's inclusion of diverse characters and relationships, which added another layer of depth to the story. As well as, themes of societal inequality and the struggle for power are also prevalent throughout the story, adding depth to the plot.

This review will also be published on Goodreads 13 Feb 2024

Beneath the Gods' Tree is a beautiful book. We follow Amanah that spends her time trying to keep her head low and not attract attention, but nobles of the city play tricks whenever they can on havi like her and take away what little they have for their entertainment, this is how Amanah is sent to escort a pair of nobles to another city, to try to escape some nobles wrath. She leaves together with her brother Emin, his boyfriend Gurseh, and Taunos the love interest, since all of them are guards. Trough the trip they'll fight hard to keep all of them safe and refrain of angering any more nobles. There is a lot more to this book than just the romance part, but it's incredibly sweet and tender, Amanah that tries to be invisible and avoid attention that might cause her problems, and Taunos that is naturally loud and with a noticeable presence, their chemistry in undeniable, as they help each other navigate their struggles.
The banter all across the book is delightful, and gives the characters a sense of found family and overall closeness and care between them, I love all of them dearly.
The descriptions of the scenery are very well written, just like the world building, everything is stunning, banner dances, the meaning of braids, all the different gods.
This book blew me away and might actually be my favorite book ever, I really look forward to reading more books from S Kaeth, it's trully a gorgeous story and I don't think I can shut up about how much I recommend it.

I made a mistake with this book... I started it right before bed time and then stayed up half the night to finish reading it. This is a story that really pulled me in, although it wasn't the story I thought it would be from the blurb.

I love books with social injustice and people fighting against. Amanah, Emin, and Taunos are incredible as characters. However, I really want to know more of Taunos' backstory. There seems to be a lot more to him.

I'm intrigued as to what will come next for these young characters. Great book that I highly recommend.

5/5 stars.

I loved this book so much I will be purchasing the other books S Kaeth has written. I loved the characters in this. They were fleshed out well. We could see both their flaws and their strengths as Amanah saw them. Her internal struggles and thoughts were privy to the reader and her decision making made sense as did the other characters. The characterization was amazing.

The world building was another strength. I felt like I was along the journey with them. The culture and biases that affected the characters were explained. The injustices faced daily as well as before this novel were clearly laid out. How the main characters ended up with the characteristics that often motivated them was thoroughly explored. I appreciate the diversity in the characters and their backgrounds. There is so much to explore within this world that I look forward to the other novels.

It was written very well. The dialogue makes sense. The romance is not cringy and makes sense within the characters context. There is a lot of banter between the main characters. The end is also satisfying.