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starful02 · 2 months

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Life is wild sometimes. I made a small decision almost a year ago, based on a recommendation of one of the most positive individuals to ever grace my life so far, and I firmly believe that it has changed the course of my life. The decision was to sign up for a class about fantasy writing and publishing that my university was offering, which is the exact genre I so desperately want to have a career in (I want to be a writer you see). That fall I took the 8 week class and it happened to be taught by none other than the absolutely wonderful, utterly amazing fantasy author Alex Rowland (aka @ariaste). If you asked myself or any of my peers, we will happily tell you that this class was one of the comfiest, kindest, most encouraging academic experiences we have ever had and that it has changed our lives. Anyone who has taken at least one creative writing class in their life will tell you of the horrors that ruthlessly plague them and all sorts of traumatic incidents endured. This class was a soothing balm to a disheartened soul with trampled ambitions. You might be wondering where I'm going with this? Well, when you take a class with an author, they tend to gush rather happily about their work. It did not take long for me to know in my heart of hearts that I NEEDED to get my hands on Alex's latest book, A Taste of Gold and Iron (aka ATOGAI). And when I finally got the perfect chance to read it a little over a month ago, when I tell you, it was chapter five when I became undeniably aware that this book had snatched my heart and I would gladly let it have it for the rest of my life. If I hadn't already bought all of Alex's books on a strong hunch that I would absolutely, completely and utterly fall in love with ATOGAI, I would have definitely right after I finished that chapter. This is inarguably one of the best books I have ever read, checking all my boxes (including ones I didn't even know I had). I don't think it's possible to praise it enough because it deserves it all. The wait I endured before I could read it was so worth it and I will be forever grateful for the sheer chance that it and it's author entered into my life. It shattered my high expectations and I will never be the same and couldn't be happier about it. Now, I still have to read the other books that Alex has written (and I will savor them like a piece of the finest of desserts and I haven't the slightest doubt, despite that I tend to be more on the quiet side, I will be absolutely mouthing off about them to anyone who will listen), but I want to specifically highlight their upcoming book, Running Close to the Wind (aka RCW). Because I was in their class and a part of their Discord, I have been treated to several chapters of the book and I can very firmly tell you that you need this in your life. It's terribly funny, utterly vibrant, very queer, full of gremlin chaos and pirate shenanigans, all good and wonderful things, right? I knew I needed it in my life half way through Alex reading chapter two to us. It comes out in June of this year and I so highly recommend you give it a look see. You can read an excerpt in the link below!

And if you too decide that you need this book in your life, go preorder it and then come join a Discord full of awesome queer pocket people that are also terribly excited for this book to be in our hands! I will also be posting fanart of ATOGAI and RCW if you also want to keep an eye on this little habitat of mine. :) Either way, best wishes and happy reading!

#a taste of gold and iron #running close to the wind #chantiverse #alexandra rowland #queer pirates #queer novel #queer author #fantasy #queer fantasy #blorbo #sorry I'm thinking about them again #morons with sauce #book #upcoming book #ATOGAI #RCW #gold and iron #tadek and the princess

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seirnarei · 3 months

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So if you’re into fealty and honor as a general theme I can’t recommend A Taste of Gold and Iron enough. But I’m mostly recing it so hard because then you can read Tadek and the Princess which made me cry so hard that I now have a headache.

#a taste of gold and iron #tadek and the princess

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frogeyedape · 3 months

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I'm doing a lot of crying! Gods! So, *if* you've read A Taste of Gold and Iron already (and if not why haven't you?!), please take the time to enjoy Tadek and the Princess (novella). I literally cried the whole time I read it. It is so so good, I don't have words for it!

It delves straight into Tadek's hidden heart, his reason for being, and marries narrative past & present so intricately and beautifully, and adds a weight, a gravity, to the narrative of A Taste of Gold and Iron.

And!! I'm super stoked! A Taste's sequel is available for preorder!! Hardback ships 6/11/24!!! Aaaah!!!

#tadek and the princess #a taste of gold and iron #alexandra rowland #forthcoming: running close to the wind #squee!#book review

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ariaste · 1 month

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I just wanted to let you know that I read A Taste of Gold and Iron for the fourth time in a little over a year this week and it was just as delightful and satisfying as every other time. I seriously love everything about it and kind of wish I could always be reading it.

Aw, thank you so much! Have you read TADEK AND THE PRINCESS yet? :) It is a novella prequel/sequel about how Tadek became a kahya and what he's doing after the end of ATOGAI. (You can buy it anywhere books are sold, but getting the ebook from my Patreon shop gives me the most profit) Also, side note, but you may be interested to know that all my books are set in the same fantasy world, and my upcoming novel RUNNING CLOSE TO THE WIND is a tangential spinoff from some of the events that happen in ATOGAI 👀

#a taste of gold and iron #tadek and the princess #running close to the wind #chantiverse

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evenaturtleduck · 4 months

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I just read Tadek and the Princess and I'm having So Many Feelings about Tadek and fealty and hearth and home and twenty years of "my lady" and I'm crying y'all.

#tadek and the princess #favorite books #alexandra rowland #a taste of gold and iron

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magicalyaku · 1 month

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Why is it April already? Where did my time go??? (Answer: My friend and I had a big convention (artist alley) in March and even after 10 years of doing this we still haven't learned to start early with our preparations, so it was crunch time! (And if you want to know, the con was okayish. We didn't sell as many prints as we had hoped but a bunch of books, and that felt pretty good.). Don't ask me something like in which order I read these book, because I have no idea, but I do remember reading them, so here we go.

Into the Glittering Dark (Kelley York): So what if I was lured in by the cover??! The illustration is done by Magdalena Pagowska who's also responsible for Dark Rise and some Captive Prince editions. But just like with Dark Rise it was eventually the summary that convinced me. It's an adventure with magic and two young man tangled up in it (and also with each other). Count me in! Now, this is probably the kind of book where you can find all sorts of weak points if you're looking for them, I will not. I was entertained. It did a lot of things that I like. It's written in third person, for instance, and uses that to its benefit by showing how the different people fare at different locations and times. That just doesn't happen often anymore in the sort of books I currently read, so it feels like good old times. Yes, sometimes it's enfuriating when it switches locations between the chapters when you just want to find out what's going on with the characters from that one. But that's the kind of sweet suffering I grew up with. It's not a top tier book, but nonetheless I enjoyed the writing, the characters and the world. There's lots of death and killing, yes, it calls itself a dark fantasy after all. But it's not as cruel as that one other book that I recently read and don't want to talk about again. :'D The amount of romance was also just right for my taste. (And I like what the author has to say about that in the afterword). Also, there's a bird.

The Prince of Nowhere (Rochelle Hassan): While waiting for the author's latest book The Summer Queen to arrive, I decided to read her first one. It's a middle grade fantasy and it's really good! The world starts out really interesting with that village surrounded by fog, the heroine getting mysterious predictions about the future, and an arrogant bird boy. It's kind of slow in the beginning but once it gets going …oh boy. I don't think I can say anything about it without spoiling all the fun. It's a mind-bending topic done well and I loved how it played out, the implications, the ending! I'm always saying how I wish middle grade books would be smarter and more challenging and this is definitely one of the smarter ones. I'm so looking forward to The Summer Queen now and the author's next middle grade series that starts in September.

Little Black Bird (Anna Kirchner): How many books with birds do i have on my TBR? Hehehe. Actually, I wanted to finally read the second volume of this series, but one look inside told me, I better reread volume 1. :'D It was a favourite of mine in 2022 and it's still good, I think. I don't feel like looking up, what I wrote about it back then, if any, but my thoughts haven't change much I dare say. The story is set in a Polish town and it feels so European. So much like home, I love it. There are really nice descriptions of the houses and neighbourhoods, the kids go by tram and walk along the river. And I don't know, it just feels like a place I know and that's nice. The protagonists are also pretty good, the heroine, Wiktoria, does not annoy me, her bond-mate Artur is a really sweet boy, both of them are aspec questioning. And there's a giant adventure going on around involving old slavic magic. It's really interesting. My only gripe would be the timeline. Everything happens in just a few days which left me confused sometimes. Minor details. I should mention, though, that there's at least two editions of the book and I read the old one with the other cover and I don't know if anything between these editions changed.

Tall White Tenement (Little Black Bird 2) (Anna Kirchner): While I loved the first volume easily, this is more difficult. A lot of things happened, but I can hardly tell you any of them. Everything was small steps, and always 3 steps forward and 2 backwards. And while there was logic behind all actions, many turned out futile in the end, which was a bit frustrating. Some of them, like the devil summoning, also might have benefitted from a little more impact. Overall, I still do like the story. Shit's getting really rough towards the end, so the third volume will probably be fun again. There's more demons and a new important character, who's pretty cool. There's also parenting of a baby dragon which I didn't like very much … Personally, I just hate it when people call me "cat mum" or my cats my kids. My mom is their mom and my cats are my siblings, thank you very much. So now, there's a book with a not-annoying aspec girl heroine and suddenly she's a pet mum and I'm just here suffering quietly. xD Anyway, there are developments on the aspec front for some of the questioning characters which was nice and highly anticipated. The shape of Wiktoria's and Artur's relationship is a major point after all. It just felt a little heavy on the author's voice. Oh well. The series does have a good foundation, the execution of this volume just stumbles a bit and doesn't reach as high where it wants to go in my opinion. It's still engaging and I'm looking forward to the next volume. Also, the author had a give away back when the book came out and I received some postcards, stickers and bookmarks with really nice illustrations. Thank you for those. <3

Tadek and the Princess (The Mahisti Dynasty novella) (Alexandra Rowland): Aw. Just aww. When I found out that the author has a new book coming out in summer I got strangely excited, because while I really liked A Taste of Gold and Iron, it never crossed my mind to go back to her older books (there are a few), so why is the new one different? xD (The pirates maybe. The promise of Adventure.) Anyway, alongside the news for that one, I also found the one about Tadek, and well, he was my favourite character of A Taste of Gold and Iron (surprisingly), so I had to read it, right? And damn, it's sweet. It alternates between the present (after the end of the main book) and the past of Tadek as a child and his path to his current position. Again, it's so sweet. So full of love. I think the word for that specific kind of love is Agape? The love for something higher that oneself. (Do correct me if I'm wrong.) It made me feel like "Ah, there's good people in this world after all".

Tales of the High Court Short Story Collection (Megan Derr): What the title says. If you like the Tales of the High Court series, you'll probably like this collection (if you don't already know the individual stories as all of them were previously published online.) There's a lot of Sarrica, some Allen, some Lesto. Basically, lot's of the characters I like and less of those I don't care much for. :'D I really like the world of these stories, so it was nice to return to it. As for the presentation … you can't tell me, all of these stories were published previously and then have so many errors right in the early ones. >_< (There's half a sentence missing at one point …) I hope, that get's fixed soon. Other than that, I enjoyed reading this collection!

That's it! The wrap up for March is going to be short. When the theme this time was birds and sequels, the next one will be ... ghosts and ballet. 8D

#yaku reads #february wrap up #books #lgbtq books #queer books #queer lit #bookblr #into the glittering dark #prince of nowhere #tales of the high court #tadek and the princess #little black bird #tall white tenement

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baladric · 3 months

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tadek hasira, babygirl that you are

#just finished tadek and the princess #INCONSOLABLE #tadek hasira #alexandra rowland

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 4 months

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Queer Books Coming Out January 2024

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

❤️ Tentacle Wonderland by Reese Morrison 🧡 Cupid’s Revenge by Wibke Brueggemann 💛 Okay, Cupid by Mason Deaver 💚 Soren by Miranda Page & Lina Ganef 💙 Just Happy to Be Here by Naomi Kanakia 💜 Stars and Soil by Dax Murray ❤️ Deep Sounding Chaos by Adrian J. Smith & Neen Cohen 🧡 Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments by Hema Sukumar 💛 Evergreen by Devin Greenlee 💙 Matsdotter and Adrastus (Adventures in Levena #2) by Aelina Isaacs 💜 Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu Vol. 3 by Meng Xi Shi and Me Mimo 🌈 Destined by Jen Carter

❤️ Her Spell That Binds Me by Luna Oblonsky 🧡 Her Mechanic Bear Mate (Crescent Lake Bears #3) by Arizona Tape 💛 That Bitter Sting by Melissa Polk 💚 Bioluminescence by Toni Duarte 💙 Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary 💜 Don’t Want You Like A Best Friend by Emma R. Alban ❤️ Bachelorette Number Twelve by Jae 🧡 How to Share a Cat and Other Life Lessons by Evelyn Fenn 💛 A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing by Amy Allen 💙 Bound by Kate Hawthorne 💜 Moonbreak by Lise MacTague 🌈 Falling All In by Laina Villeneuve

❤️ Murder on Castaway Island by Alicia Gael 🧡 The Butler's Vessel by S. Rodman 💛 Tadek and the Princess by Alexandra Rowland 💚 Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L. McKinney 💙 Amid Our Lines by Zarah Detand 💜 Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa ❤️ A Doctor’s Touch by A.A. Fairview 🧡 So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole 💛 Never Be a Saint by Mark Runte 💙 Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook 💜 Eli Harpo's Adventure to the Afterlife by Eric Schlich 🌈 City of Laughter by Temim Fruchter

❤️ Enthralled by Her by Chelsea M. Cameron 🧡 Knight of Staria by Iris Foxglove 💛 The Storm Gathers by Maelan Holladay 💚 Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang Vol. 2 by Priest 💙 Fence: Redemption SC by C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad 💜 Dreamer by Kris Bryant ❤️ Not Just Friends by Jordan Meadows 🧡 Winter's Spell by Ursula Klein 💛 Two is a Pattern by Emily Waters 💙 All Things Beautiful by Alaina Erdell 💜 Curse of Souls by Niranjan 🌈 Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

❤️ The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson 🧡 Curse of the Dragon Shadow by Selina A. Fenech 💛 No Shelter But The Stars by Virginia Black 💚 Shards of Trust by Fox Beckman 💙 My Fair Brady by Brian D Kennedy 💜 The Summer Queen (The Buried and the Bound #2) by Rochelle Hassan ❤️ A Luminous Heart by Cailee Francis 🧡 To Cage a God (These Monstrous Gods #1) by Elizabeth May 💛 Out of Our League by Dahlia Adler and Jennifer Iacopelli 💙 Earth and Water by J.L. Gribble 💜 Rend Me, The Wayward Knight by Mary Vanalstine 🌈 Prince of Endless Tides by Ben Alderson

❤️ Sweet Wicked Thing by Jessie Walker 🧡 Ocean’s Blood by Thelma Mantey 💛 Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms by Sarah Wallace and S.O. Callahan 💚 A Reckless Oath by Kaylie Smith 💙 Fallen Thorns by Harvey Oliver Baxter 💜 Faded Moon by T.L. Morgan ❤️ Game On by Amy Aislin 🧡 The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers 💛 The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland 💙 Spark of Wrath by E.M. Lindsey 💜 Honeybloods by I.S. Belle 🌈 Love Me At My Worst by Adrian J. Smith

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ankeschoenle · 5 months

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You guys, I've read parts of this and it's beautiful. It's the sequel to Alexandra Rowland's "A Taste Of Gold And Iron". Pre-oder now, comes out January 12th!

#atogai #A Taste Of Gold And Iron #Sequel #Tadek #my beloved

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alt-air · 2 months

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February 2024 Reading Roundup

Hello February. I am late with writing this because so many things have happened near the end of the month but now im here! And what a month it was everyone I started T, went to Puerto Rico, did some secret March activities that I will talk about next reading roundup. I also realized I am running out of time to try restaurants where I live so I have been spending like a madman so RIP to my bank account. This month I feel like has been an up and down for reading. I definitely slowed down a bit at the beginning of the month then panicked and realized I only have a couple weeks before Ramadan starts so I have to finish all my checked out books. I also realized I read too much fantasy so im gunna try to start diversifying my genres a bit but damn do i love my made up worlds. anyway best of luck to me i have like 3 days to finish 4 books.

Favorites of the month: Tadek and the Princess, And Then He Sang A Lullaby

Standalones

Saint Juniper's Folly by Alex Crespo ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hierarchy of the Unseen by B. Pigeon and Fell A. Marsh ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Membranes by Chi Ta-Wei ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Green Fuses Burning by Tiffany Morris ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Country Will Bring Us No Peace by Matthieu Simard ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Witch King by Martha Wells ⭐⭐⭐.5

Tadek and the Princess by Alexandra Rowland ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

A Vision of Moonlight and Other Stories by Tamara Jeree ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

And Then He Sang A Lullaby by Ani Kayode Somtochukwu ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Cinder the Fireplace Boy and Other Gayly Grimm Tales by Ana Mardoll ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Series

All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Savage Bounty by Matt Wallace ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Savage Crowns by Matt Wallce ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Malice by Heather Walters ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Misrule by Heather Walters ⭐⭐⭐.5

Nonfiction

Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis ⭐⭐⭐⭐

#ilyasreadsbooks #februaryreadingroundup #reading roundup

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starful02 · 2 months

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You know how they say not to judge a book by its cover? Well, this book is as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside! I absolutely adore it to pieces! It has taken its rightful place on my bookshelf alongside my first copy and other related books! And for fellow crow brained individuals who love pretty shiny things like myself, you should definitely keep an eye on June for the upcoming hilarious pirate novel "Running Close to the Wind" by the same fabulous author Alexandra Rowland! As they say, pirates always have a few pretty shiny things. 😉 Read an excerpt of it below!

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starful02 · 2 months

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Along with some art (which will be appearing soon!), now that I have a break, this is what's up on my roster for this week! So excited to finally have a chance to sit down and read Tadek & The Princess (the sequel to A Taste of Gold and Iron). I'm also thrilled to be introduced to some new blorbos in the other two novellas!

Speaking of blorbos, not only should you check out these books, but also keep an eye out for the upcoming book by the same author Running Close to the Wind! It has pirates and shenanigans! Some of the best things! You can read a excerpt of it in the link below!

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starful02 · 2 months

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It started as a joke conversation of what fruits fit the vibes of Kadou, Evemer, and Tadek and quickly evolved into this! I finally got around to coloring them this evening and they have stolen my heart again! For those that don’t know, these three wonderful dorks are from Alexandra Rowland’s fabulous book A Taste of Gold and Iron. It has become one of my all time favorite books and I cannot recommend it enough! It’s a slow burn romance between a very beautiful anxious prince and his equally handsome stoic bodyguard dealing with a high stakes counterfeit investigation as well as learning how to navigate each other (with the help of a sassy, incredibly charming past lover). For those who have read it, there’s several other books of Alex’s (@ariaste) to read too! You can find information on them on their site (which I’ll have linked below!). One that is particularly notable is their upcoming queer pirate comedy novel Running Close to the Wind. I’ve done some fanart of the fantastic chaotic disaster of a main character, Avra! It comes out in June! You can read an excerpt of it in the link below!

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starful02 · 2 months

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Yet another piece of fanart of the man that needs absolutely no introduction but I’ll give it to him anyway; Tadek Hasira. This sassy wonderful man is one of the three main characters of Alexandra Rowland’s A Taste of Gold and Iron and was the first character I drew from the novel. Closely followed by Kadou and Evemer, who will appear at some point in here too (especially since I tend to draw all three of them together in a piece). And if you enjoyed ATOGAI and are looking for more Alex Rowland books, they have two other big novels and four novellas! One of which focuses on Tadek! It’s called Tadek and The Princess. There’s also another novella potentially coming out this spring that is the sequel to The Lights of Ystrac’s Woods, the first book of The Tale of the Seven Gods series! And big news! There’s a big novel coming out in June called Running Close to the Wind! I’ve done fanart of its main character, Avra, who is a chaotic disaster gremlin who I adore (and Tev most certainly does not and Julian seems to think is interesting😆). You can read an excerpt of it in the link below!!

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ariaste · 4 months

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my best friend and I spent today reading Tadek and the Princess and screaming back and forth via text message, and we just couldn’t live with ourselves if we didn’t reach out to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts 💖

Ahhhhh thank you so much!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! (Are you in the Discord? :D If you're not in the discord, it's linked on my website!)

#a taste of gold and iron #tadek and the princess #the mahisti dynasty #books #alexandra rowland

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ariaste · 3 months

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I'm just starting to read Tadek and the Princess (57 pages in and already crying omggg) and I was wondering, what do you imagine he looks like? If you had to liken him to an actor, who would it be?

I'm so glad you're enjoying the book!! Unfortunately I am very bad at actors, so I don't have any face refs like that. He's about Kadou's height or a squinch taller, he has a short ponytail, and he has laughing hazel eyes and a foxy sort of face with foxy sorts of expressions. Hope that.... helps???? LOL. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the book!

#a taste of gold and iron #tadek and the princess #the mahisti dynasty #alexandra rowland

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