Reciprocity was a thing you had to learn. Someone had to tell you, first, that you deserved to be treated well, before you knew it for yourself.
― Alexandra Rowland, A Taste of Gold and Iron
CBR17 Bingo: Family
Family because the sultan loves her brother, Kadou, but she must remain emotionally distant from him and his drama so she can deal with raising her infant daughter, who is the heir to the throne.
I don’t remember when I read this book. Maybe it was four months ago. From the description on the back of the book, I expected a serious, political, slow burn with abundant treachery and perhaps a secret baby or two. While this book deals with serious issues, it moved quickly and had plenty of lighthearted, adorable moments.
Kadou is the brother of Zeliha, the sultan. While Zeliha is a confident ruler and strategist, Kadou is the shy, flighty prince. He abhors courtly duties although he is better at them than he believes. As an adult, one of his duties is to oversee the guild that manages shipping in and out of the kingdom. Although he is brilliant and capable, he suffers from severe anxiety. The only member of the court that knows is his former lover and member of the royal guard, Tadek.
After two members of Kadou’s personal guard are killed because of an overreaction to his paranoia, the sultan assigns Evemer, one of her most trusted guards, to personally watch over him. Kadou is devastated that his mistake caused the death of two people. Evemer doesn’t understand why the sultan assigned him to babysit the jittery prince. Evemer doesn’t trust Tadek, who is always lingering nearby. Together, the three of them form a tentative alliance to confirm who is conspiring against Kadou and the sultan.
This is a long book but it moves quickly. I finished in a matter of days and handed it off to a friend who also loved it. The slow burn romance between Kadou, the brilliant, hot mess of a prince, and Evemer, the stoic, duty-bound guard, unfolds in such a lovely way. I started out hating Tadek, but he grew on me and, by the end of the novel, was one of my favorite characters.
If you like the trope of idiots-to-lovers with a side of political intrigue, you will enjoy this.