God this was SUCH a dumb book. Honestly, at times reading it felt like I was submitting myself to a 500-page-long insult to my intelligence. Yes, I know this was supposed to be a fun, fan fictiony romp with slow burn and yearning but for the love of God, Montressor! This book contains some of the most ridiculous passages ever. Like, I am honestly shocked it was okayed by any sane editor. Consider this for example:

It was a ubiquitous bread down in the city, one that everyone ate. But Evemer hadn’t expected “everyone” to include the prince. Princes were not normal people, so they oughtn’t eat the same foods that normal people did.

HUHHH???? What does that even mean?? 😭😭😭 What do you THINK princes eat Evemer? balls of gold??

And this wasn't even the weirdest part. Evemer "blames" the prince for the death of his soldier friends. Because they died trying to protect the prince. The job they are hired to do. Am I the only one confused??? There wasn't even any enemies-to-lovers thing. Don't let the tags fool you. It was literally only Evemer hating on the prince before he even met him. Dumb as fuck. Similarly, while the romance was slow burn it felt as if there was only physical attraction between the two. I couldn't understand why they liked each other. I didn't even mind the tropey romantic scenes that came straight off AO3. I can do cliche if it's done well, otherwise, it's just mind-numbing. Oh. And there was that whole drama about Eevemer's daddy kink, and him having a concerningly extreme amount of devotion towards Kadou after Kadou saved his life. Like VERY extreme. Think willing-to-cut-my-arm-off-for-you intense, and that is from an actual scene from the book. Fellas is it romantic to be blindly devoted to a man (royal rich man, yes notice the power dynamic) so much that you are ready to sacrifice anyone including yourself at a moment's notice without any reason, but just because it's your dUtY and mY lOrD dEmAnDs iT. idk yall but it felt kindaaaa 🚩🚩🚩🚩.
“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 ONLY redeemable thing about this book was its depiction of anxiety, eating disorders, and panic attacks. It was perfectly spot on, made me fucking cry. The author definitely did their research about that or they have first-hand experience so that was pretty great. It's the only reason I couldn't exactly decide on 2.5 or 3 stars.

The plot was absolute dogshit. No other way to put it. The abysmally weak and dumb villains made me want to smash my head against a wall. Some reviewer commented on how the economics and politics part of the plot was delightful to read. Did we read the same book?? Have they read The Traitor Baru Cormorant?? There was zero, none, filch political intrigue in A Taste of Gold and Iron. Also, the fantasy aspect was lame af. There was terrible world-building, no explanation or depth to the touch-tasting metal powers. The fantasy element was more of a part of the setting than the plot.

Nothing more than a pretty cover and a chonky size, A Taste of Gold and Iron had been one of my most anticipated queer releases of the year and I am beyond disappointed over how it turned out.