I loved this so much!! This MM fantasy romance squeezed my heart to bits!!

A bodyguard romance about a starchy, judgy, devastatingly swoony virgin (Evermer) falling for the guy he was protecting (part pampered prince, part sweetheart, part competence kink badass, part so riddled with anxiety and self-doubt that he was genuinely a screw up—Kadou).

But this book was so much more than that. First of all, this fantasy world building was such a specific type—one I’ve been searching for FOR YEARS. Guys, the world building in this book was like The Goblin Emperor 😍 .. If that sentence doesn’t means anything to you, I don’t know what to do.. because The Goblin Emperor, and now A Taste of Gold and Iron, are off trailblazing a completely different style of fantasy world building. Lush and nuanced, so many cultural details (like matronymic-style naming conventions or the frequent use of non-binary gender pronouns çe/çem in this fantasy language), and just this quiet, almost historical romance, feel to the setting.

Was this inspired by Jane Austen? There was the prejudice-y misjudgment between the two MCs, a romance plot I’m obsessed with. If Mr. Darcy judging Elizabeth in Meryton but then squeezing his fist after helping her into a carriage makes you feel feelings, then you are NOT PREPARED for the way Evermer went from thinking Prince Kadou is a silly flake to looking at him with blazing heart-eyes.

Also, the audiobook was really well narrated. Maybe too well narrated? While I was listening to it, I got almost nothing done 😅 It was just me, a paintbrush and/or marker clutched to my chest, heart-eyes, as I listened to these two sweetums feel all the feelings for each other.