I loved the subtle references to Little Red Riding hood and how even though the story is totally different, we are still reminded of the original. I really liked Liall and can't wait to find out more of his mysterious background. I didn't really connect with Scarlet. I'm not quite sure what it is but I found him hard to like at times. I hope he grows as a character in future books.

2,5 stars.
I didn't love this book, I didn't hate it either. The writing wasn't my cup of tea and I had a few problems getting into the story, but I'm going to continue with the series.

Captive Prince set the bar way too high for M/M romance - especially fantasy romance. While The Pedlar and the Bandit King does attempt to build an engaging world, it feels like most of the time the novel was just a confusion of names and peoples and rituals and customs.

Otherwise, though, the twist on the classic Red Riding Hood tale was interesting, and there was indeed much more fluff than angst (as per Vincie's observation), while the plot was relatively predictable (not to say that that was bad, though! because it was pretty nice at times) and the relationship stepped over expected emotional hurdles far too quickly - suddenly, they were head over heels in love with one another, and it was rather confusing.

Then again, maybe this is better read in context of the entire series. But I'm not ready to tackle that yet.

The beginning was quite long and slow but was needed to set the world of the book. However I still thought that some elements were quite confusing. I did enjoy the whole atmosphere of the novel and the fact that the relationship of the two protagonist is not physical from the start. It is slow built and I enjoy it.

oh no it was all set-up and zero payoff

authors plz, you really make me regret buying physical books

I'm? Sort of intrigued? Still deciding if I am $6-sequel-on-Kindle intrigued? this book did a lot of things Badly it came out pretty sexist and sex negative, I didn't really buy the chemistry/attraction, and the "Little Red Riding Hood Retelling" concept is... unneeded.

but oops i sure do like books about people protecting each other and it got THAT part right

So I'm not sure. Definitely don't buy in paperback. Maybe I'll see if they bone in the next one, or if they're saving it for - *checks* - book six.

+Warning! Could possibly contain spoilers!+


Woohoo! Done with another book! I have to say, I really enjoyed it, despite its slow parts. I loved Liall and Scarlett, and I also grew fond of Peysho and Kio. Though, to be honest, I have to admitt, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about a sixty year old getting together with an-eighteen? Twenty?-year old. Liall acts so...youthful, and I found myself forgetting that he was older than Scarlett's father. I just...can't really wrap my mind completely around the thought. That's why I wasn't really sure about the Peysho/Kio pairing, because I had thought Peysho to be much older, but now I'm all confused.
But despite that rather startling discovery, I loved reading the alterations between Liall's and Scarlett's point of views, and, though some of the chapters were kind of long, I found myself craving the next chapter, especially when shit hit the fan.
I must say, I was not fully expecting Lysia to be completely obliterated like that, though I guess a part of me was. I just kind of loved how all of the characters didn't let this tragedy overtake them and drag them down, and I really enjoyed the fact that it hadn't been just mere days when Scarlett realized that he loved Liall. You had his hatred at first, then his confusion throughout the book, with definate attraction, but there was no, "I hate you. But wait! I'm attracted to you. But wait! I'm in love with you." All. In the span. Of mere. Days. But this. This was different than anything else I had read. It gripped me in a way that no other book really had, shown me pure, raw, and such tender emotion playing between the characters. I could feel Scarlett's mortification when he heard of Liall's 'toll', felt his frustrated desperation to get past the Kasiri in order to earn money for his family, felt his exhilerated triumph as he made it onto the ship sailing away from the dock after leading the bravos away. I could feel Liall's horror when he had attacked Scarlett out of pure rage, felt my throat clench when he had thought Cadan had killed the pedlar, felt my blood sing with his rage.
Though there were some definate dull places in the pages, the raw emotion and power behind the words made up for it. The only reason I am not giving this book five stars is because, as mentioned before, I'm not entirely sure about the relationship between a sixty-year-old and a not-sixty-year-old, or the fact that there were young children becoming whores. Then again, this was a different time era, and realizing that, I'm not as uncomfortable with it. So maybe I will give this book five stars. I think it deserves more than thought, honestly. (I definately did not talk myself around in a circle there. You lie.)

Is it wrong of me to say that this was a quick, casual, fun, fluffy read when the main character's family and friends and entire village were brutally murdered and burned to a crisp during a raid halfway through?

Lovely book. A slow starter because of all of the worldbuilding detail, but once we are introduced to Liall, things start getting interesting. A lovely slow burning connection between Scarlet and Liall. I 'm straight on to the next book in the series.