Review: Of Knights and Books and Falling In Love by Rita A. Rubin

“Still, it’s dangerous.”
“It’s not the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done.”
Alexius chuckled, taking a seat on the railing as well. “Go on then. Brag to me about all the death defying adventures you went on over the years.”—chap 13

Blurb:

Jayce has little memory of life before entering servitude to the Dark Lord, and no hope of ever escaping. Until he meets Alexius, the knight with a heart of gold. He offers Jayce, his enemy, a chance to break free of the Dark Lord's clutches, and Jayce is not about to let such an opportunity pass. When the war comes to an end, Jayce finds himself finally free, with Alexius's help, and surrounded by a new world of opportunity. And the prospect of a new love. The more time Jayce spends with Alexius, the more he finds himself falling for this knight in shining armour.

Review:

I really enjoyed this book, but it was not exactly what I was hoping for. Maybe, I came into it with the wrong mindset and I will definitely re-read it again in the future, because it was enjoyable. Just not what I wanted.

I think the main thing that threw me off about this book is that I came into it expecting complete cozy fantasy. The cover and the blurb said that to me and the idea of following one of the bad guy’s henchmen (which, by the way, Jayce was so much more than that!) after the hero wins was so interesting. But we started off with an action sequence and a dark and gritty feel that set the tone completely differently for me. Add on a backstory to Jayce that did not fit the theme (for me) and I had the feeling I was reading a different book than the blurb and cover said.

Even so, I was definitely interested in this story and I decided to run with it and keep reading. I wanted to see where it went and what happened - and it went cozy. It was that whiplash that threw me off. Because of that beginning, I kept expecting more action to come from the rest of the book and it kept falling short. By the time it got to the end, it honestly felt like it dragged a little.

Due to the author dropping some epic hints throughout and good foreshadowing, I had a pretty good idea of what the ending was going to be. But it didn’t come when I expected. Or after that. Or after that! To me, it felt like the last few chapters were dragging on - I wanted to get to the end the book was working toward! Having said that, when the ending I was expecting did come, it more than delivered! It dealt with some common tropes in a way that I really enjoyed and even gave me a pleasant surprise.

Without spoiling the ending, there were two aspects of it that made it easy for me to forget the things I didn’t enjoy as much in the beginning. While it didn’t completely make it up for me, the final decisions from important characters gave me back the sense of control I lost earlier on.

Characters

Both Jayce and Alexius were amazing characters and very different. The author did an awesome job at showing their unique voices and personalities and making them mesh together so well. Their relationship, as well, felt like a natural growth for the setting. There were some aspects of it that were not my favourite, but I think they worked well for the pacing of the book and the growth between the two.

And, of course, I have to mention the spice. I think it was very tastefully done and just the right amount. I’ve never rated spice before on its own, but I think it worked perfectly within the world and setting that the author created for this story.

And, of course, I have to mention a favourite character who I’m sure that many readers would agree with. Iris, the owner of the bookshop Tails and Tomes (and love the name!) was a definite win. They were witty, sarcastic, grub, adorable - lovely. I loved Iris and Fable both, and they definitely made for amazing side characters that easily added more to the story!

Setting

When it came to the world itself, I have to admit that while I loved the queer-normative world, the rest of the world-building was pretty basic. I think it was the perfect amount for the cozy feel and for readers to understand what was happening, but because of my initial reaction to the book (and a personal love of world building) I was hoping for more.

There were enough familiarities within this world to a usual magical setting that made it easy for me to fill in the gaps and focus on what the story was actually about! Because the focus of this book was meant to be on the characters and the book definitely delivered.

Formatting

A last thing to point out and this is less on the story - but the ebook formatting definitely had issues for me that were a distraction. I had text in different colours and no table of contents to refer back to chapters and scenes, which made it a bit of a pain. 

“I’ve never seen you smile before.”
Jayce snorted. “Of course you have.”
“No.” Alexius shook his head firmly. “I’ve seen you smirk and curl your lip in a way that means you think something is ridiculous. But I’ve never seen you smile genuinely before. Or laugh.” His expression softened. “It looks nice on you.”—Chap 9