Tordotcom Publishing is thrilled to announce that Ruoxi Chen has acquired Alexandra Rowland’s A Taste of Gold and Iron, a historical fantasy novel pitched as The Goblin Emperor meets Magnificent Century. The two-book deal, for World English rights, was brokered by Britt Siess, formerly at Martin Literary, now at Britt Siess Creative Management. I wouldn’t have minded dying for him. Part of me is disappointed that I didn’t. I would have felt it an honor.” Yall need therapy. Just saying... The prose is delightful and really stood out to me when reading. It’s very calming and relaxing, whilst being luxurious and indulgent. The descriptions of clothes, food, architecture and similar created a sumputous atmosphere and it is the perfect book to immerse yourself in and forget the real world for a little while. First off … yes this was worth the hype. What a gorgeously beautiful and tender slow burn. I was just as invested in the royal intrigue and court drama as I was the romance which is rare for me! I fell in love with no just Kadou, the prince, and his reserved but fierce bodyguard, Evemer, but also all the side characters! And this was much funnier than I expected too! I laughed a lot especially when it came to Evemer and Tadek’s frenemies type relationship.

He rolled his eyes at her, and let her see it too, and she grinned. It was better out here, away from the palace and the court—easier to pretend they were both still children or adolescents, just the prince and the crown princess, with very few concerns beyond tutors and scholars harrying them at every moment, kahyalar fluttering nervously around them while Zeliha announced some new adventure and dragged Kadou along after her. To prove his loyalty to his sister and salvage his reputation, Kadou takes responsibility for the investigation of a break-in at one of their guilds. He enlists the help of his newly appointed bodyguard, the coldly handsome Evemer, who seems to tolerate him at best. But what appears to be a straightforward crime spirals into a complex counterfeiting operation, with a powerful enemy at its heart. I wasn't a big fan of the writing style. The author tried hard to make the prose lyrical. But it felt rather stoic and monotonous to me. The prose had a regal vibes to it which really suited the story. However, I myself as a reader felt quite lost if not a little annoyed while reading it. All in, the book wasn't accessible or easy to get into.I arranged it, didn’t I?” she replied dryly, shifting Eyne a bit so she could free a hand to wave Kadou over. “Come here, I said. The rest of you are dismissed, thank you.” In truth, this book is just one more forgettable gay romance in the sea of forgettable gay romances that make up the Tor frontlist. The writing is cringey, the romance is meh, and the world is empty of any real vitality. All of it is in service to this idea that if you just write a book like it’s a fanfic, people will automatically love it. Idk - I feel like The Sleuth Of The Ming Dynasty did better by this plot, and it was only dealt with for a handful of episodes. I could never put it down for long, despite how exasperating I sometimes found the characters. I didn't have much respect for them for about the first half of the story, and I certainly wasn't rooting for a romance to develop. More on that later — first I want to mention something that would have killed my interest in the book had I known about it beforehand.

Lastly The ending! The incredulous, perfidious, scandalous ending! You played me. You gave me hope, then broke my heart and trampled on over my heart...You unfaithful, cruel Ending! Drama, intense politics, and sexual tension . . . . Witty . . . While it is a romantic fantasy novel, it’s also a political thriller, heist, and family saga at once. More importantly, as with any good romantic novel, I was shaking the book asking when the characters would kiss already. It was well worth the wait when they finally did.”— Locus Someone had seen him talking to Tadek at the Visit. How could he explain? Was there any explanation that would be sufficient?

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She was lounging on a low couch, surrounded by ministers, with Princess Eyne cuddled in her arms. Her pavilion, heavy blue silk embroidered with silver and topped by a fountain of white feathers at its peak, cast cool, watery light over her. She looked up at the sound of hooves. “Kadou!” she called. “Little brother, do come here.” While the world-building was wonderful, I must admire the author’s efforts for a different reason. This novel is very clearly focused on the romance, and the plot and world-building run as an undercurrent to Evemer and Kadou’s relationship. The time that went into crafting the elements of the world so that they could compliment and elevate the romance is immediately evident. The most obvious instance of this is the dynamic that is built between the khayalar – who are ferocious trained ‘guards’ – and the people they serve. The trust and understanding that must be placed between the two are so important. Evemer is assigned to Kadou, and before meeting him, has an intense hatred for the prince, due to an incident that occurs in the opening of the novel. This completely flipped the dynamic between the two, as Evemer, who had trained his whole life for this moment, resents the man he must protect with his life. The khayalar are so complex, and I loved how much detail went into building the political elements of the world, because it made all the tropes the author included work. The hate to love trope was tangible, Evemer had a real reason to hate Kadou. The progression of their relationship was masterful. I loved how, slowly, they were forced to rely only on each other, which naturally made for some interesting scenes. Hatred changed to respect, which grew into fondness, in turn blossoming into love. This all happened slowly, and at the right moments. For this relationship to change, the characters needed to develop. But before he’d been able to answer her, Zeliha had declared that it was high time they all got out of the palace for a day and thought about literally anything besides kingdom-running. A hunt, she said, would be just the thing. At chapter two, I’d say I was hooked, from there on, this book was emotionally unputdownable. . . . The mental turmoil and emotional insights were so captivating! I highly recommend.”— Myth and Magic Alexandra Rowland is the author of eight fantasy books, including A Taste of Gold and Iron, A Conspiracy Of Truths, and Some by Virtue Fall, as well as a four-time Hugo... Read more