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The Eastern Quarter's Mana #1
Rosemary & Iron
When a ritual to restore Mana goes wrong and sends him into the distant past, Célestin Edevane seeks the help of a strange man inhabiting an even stranger estate in order to prevent the calamity that destroyed Mana. Faced with a fascinating world unlike his own, filled with vampires, fae, witches and old gods and an unexpected love affair...will he even want to return to his time?
470 pages, Paperback
Published October 22, 2023
18 people are currently reading
821 people want to read
About the author
Dorian Valentine
6 books77 followersDorian Valentine is a LGBT+ author living in a haunted house in rural Connecticut. He loves to write about vampires, fae and gothic themes—and he can’t be damned to write anything else. When he isn’t writing you can find him bothering his cats, walking in the cemetery or scaring the locals.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
dnf
March 12, 2024Not sure exactly when I DNF-ed this as it seems to have been removed from KU, from memory I was at least 30% through.
It started off with a good vibe but had too many unforgiveable elements.
First of which being incorrect French. Just don't, it's not sexy, it's just wrong and distracting.
Second is on-page MF sex from a man who, by his own internal monologue during the act, does not like women. Why? Just a ploy to generate ridiculous angst because of course the other MC sees lipstick on his collar. Save me.
There also seems to be a lot of worry about what people in the future are thinking and whether they're missing the MC. A fatal flaw in the time-travel logic because for them, nothing has happened yet!
Overall, this book is very long, and nothing much is happening. Things are purposefully shrouded in mystery that I honestly just don't care enough to unravel. I wanted to like this, but don't, sorry.
It started off with a good vibe but had too many unforgiveable elements.
First of which being incorrect French. Just don't, it's not sexy, it's just wrong and distracting.
Second is on-page MF sex from a man who, by his own internal monologue during the act, does not like women. Why? Just a ploy to generate ridiculous angst because of course the other MC sees lipstick on his collar. Save me.
There also seems to be a lot of worry about what people in the future are thinking and whether they're missing the MC. A fatal flaw in the time-travel logic because for them, nothing has happened yet!
Overall, this book is very long, and nothing much is happening. Things are purposefully shrouded in mystery that I honestly just don't care enough to unravel. I wanted to like this, but don't, sorry.
August 17, 2023
Rosemary & Iron is a wonderful, brilliant story of fantasy, romance, and strife. Dorian Valentine has done an amazing job setting the reader, and our main character Célestin, back in time into a magical nineteenth century that lovers of vampires and goths of today can only dream of. Valentine's writing style evokes a sense of elegance and flair that sucks you right in—keeping you on your toes, wondering how this book's world will right itself. I was hooked, and loved every minute reading!
August 24, 2023
Lush and sexy. Watch me travel back in time to give Oscar Wilde this book. Oscar, you would've LOVED Amias and Célestin.
August 16, 2023
Rosemary & Iron is in equal parts sweet and spicy. Set in a vibrant, fantastical take on the nineteenth century, we get to experience this exciting new world through the eyes of our main character, Célestin. In the whirlwind of learning how to survive in this new landscape, Célestin also becomes wrapped up with the mysterious Duke Amias. The pining is palpable, the flirtation so much fun, and the bits of angst made worthwhile by steamy smut in turn. I thoroughly loved this read- every moment was enjoyable!
December 25, 2024
Dorian Valentine, I was not familiar with your game. This book took me by surprise, the blurb is not super informative, but I was in the mood for something a bit gothic and I hit the jackpot. It's a strange, time-bending tale about a young mage, Celestin, living in a world bereft of magic. He can access a little bit, but it's just a trickle, so he finds a spell to try and increase the magic in the world, and it throws him back a few hundred years into a time when magic was everywhere. He ends up boarding with a reclusive, beautiful vampire - Amias - as they try to unravel the mystery of how Celestin ended up there. The book starts off slow, we spend a lot of time watching affection grow between the two and meeting some significant characters in Amias's world. The world-building draws on a lot of Celtic lore, even though we are never explicit told where in the world it is set. Eventually, a romance blooms between the two, but at the same time the story is winding itself up to an extremely violent and gory climax. The rest of the book is spent trying to reconcile timelines. I really enjoyed it, it was atmospheric and entertaining, and the writing was good. I'm not the biggest fan of vampire fiction, but Amias was charming enough. I think what stopped this from being a perfect read for me was its descent into acute corniness at times, and the neat way everything wraps up. There's a scene at the end where Celestin is describing some crazy outlandish shit to his normal human friends and everyone is just like okay. It just felt too Hallmarky. But other than that, it was a vibe. I am definitely keen on the sequel.
September 15, 2023
I really enjoyable and rich read that combines fantasy, romance, time travel and action all together.
The world building and magic system felt rich, especially since the writing style is very flowerly and paints beautiful images of the present and the past. The atmosphere, the clothing, it all comes vividly into the reader's mind. The plot, although kept vague at the start, blooms into something that connects the past and the present neatly together, especially in the end, where most of the action happens.
The cast of characters is diverse and all have their own voices and motives, causing alliagances or making enemies of each other. All the relationships, romantic or not, feel very natural and real, and weave nicely into the plot, giving it a little more weight. I'm not an avid romance reader but I enjoyed the balance the story had with romance and plot. Especially the devolpment of the main romance had a little air of mystery around it that I quite liked, together with the angst and comfort that balanced each other well.
Even though we switch through perspectives, sometimes better timed than other times, and jump through a lot of time in the end, leaving the pacing sometimes a bit off, I still had a great time reading this story!
The world building and magic system felt rich, especially since the writing style is very flowerly and paints beautiful images of the present and the past. The atmosphere, the clothing, it all comes vividly into the reader's mind. The plot, although kept vague at the start, blooms into something that connects the past and the present neatly together, especially in the end, where most of the action happens.
The cast of characters is diverse and all have their own voices and motives, causing alliagances or making enemies of each other. All the relationships, romantic or not, feel very natural and real, and weave nicely into the plot, giving it a little more weight. I'm not an avid romance reader but I enjoyed the balance the story had with romance and plot. Especially the devolpment of the main romance had a little air of mystery around it that I quite liked, together with the angst and comfort that balanced each other well.
Even though we switch through perspectives, sometimes better timed than other times, and jump through a lot of time in the end, leaving the pacing sometimes a bit off, I still had a great time reading this story!
January 7, 2024
Read if you’re looking for a story full of magic, fantasy, and a very sweet romance that stretches through time! Great for fans of a historical setting with a more modern dialogue.
December 3, 2023
would i reread it?
╰┈┈➤yes
would i recommend it?
╰┈┈➤yes
would i read the next part?
╰┈┈➤yes
𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊𓋼
🍄 vampires, mages, witches, nymphs, faes...
🍄 time travel to the past
🍄 "there's only one bed" for just one night
🍄 shitty ex up to no good
𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊𓋼
a guy tries to restore the magic the world used to have via a ritual but things go wrong (resulting in him traveling to the past and entering a weird manor with an even a weirder host). now he has the opportunity to stop whatever will make the magic flow dry and return to the present, but after getting to know the host better he is not so sure about wanting to go back.
𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊𓋼
my warmest thanks to Dorian for the copy!!
╰┈┈➤yes
would i recommend it?
╰┈┈➤yes
would i read the next part?
╰┈┈➤yes
𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊𓋼
🍄 vampires, mages, witches, nymphs, faes...
🍄 time travel to the past
🍄 "there's only one bed" for just one night
🍄 shitty ex up to no good
𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊𓋼
a guy tries to restore the magic the world used to have via a ritual but things go wrong (resulting in him traveling to the past and entering a weird manor with an even a weirder host). now he has the opportunity to stop whatever will make the magic flow dry and return to the present, but after getting to know the host better he is not so sure about wanting to go back.
𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊𓋼
my warmest thanks to Dorian for the copy!!
September 30, 2023
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this one! Dorian does an excellent job with the world building and the magic system. The characters are well developed and so much fun to read—Celestin & Amias’ banter is unmatched. If you’re a fan of vampires and M/M romance, you will love Rosemary & Iron!
May 4, 2024
3.3/5 rounded to 3. Prefacing my (long) review by saying this is an enjoyable read, and the highest I would give it if things that bothered me bothered me less would be like a 4/5. But numbers aren't adequate to explain the rating I'm giving, so let me get into why I'm giving this a 3. I started keeping a doc of notes about halfway through my read to get my thoughts together. As indicated, my peeves about this book do contain spoilers due to the nature of my issues with it re. characterization, worldbuilding, and other content further into the book.
Minor peeves that might not keep others from enjoying this book:
- Typos and malapropisms. Be aware this book is self- or independently-published and I'm unsure how thorough an editing/beta-ing process this went through. Because of this, I found at least 15 instances where either words were omitted from sentences entirely (though you could still tell what the author was intending to get across); ex., "He was smaller than himself by nearly a [missing words] with messy deep brown...". That, OR straight-up malapropisms [or typos] (more common than the former) that only became more frequent the further into the book I read. Ex., head instead of heed, pieced instead of pierced, and bequiffed instead of bequeathed as the more egregious ones. If you can handle errors like this once about every 10 pages after you hit halfway through the book going forward, then this won't matter so much to you.
- World-building inconsistency. I'm not incredibly learned re. customs by time period, but much of the dialogue felt obtrusively modern and that could take someone out of the narrative. I was able to look past this mostly but it definitely turned up a notch in the latter half of the book (particularly lines and quips from Syntyche that are very girl-boss despite misogyny from the current time period having little to no emphasis that would spur her to say some of the things that she does). There are statements about what century and decade we're in, and if these years were less specific or more separated from our notions of time and place (usage of French repeatedly in the form of nicknames grants a definite Western European vibe despite the town setting being fictional) I would feel less like I should be judging the social norms of the time by the corresponding practices of our world from those periods. Minor historical issue additionally: hansom cabs are mentioned in the "present day" (at least 1863) on p. 268 and mentioned again in a flashback set in 1784 on p. 299. Hansom cabs were only invented in 1834. Again, not a critical error and I wouldn't have known unless I looked it up, but it felt like an odd mistake to make when the method of transportation was so specifically indicated.
- Nickname usage right off the bat from love interest to mc that made their mutual attraction (and the speed of it) feel unbelievable to me. I generally didn't think too hard about it because I knew if I did, it would become a much bigger issue to me. Flirtation occurred immediately in dialogue from the onset of meeting and I genuinely couldn't tell if there was any big point at which either character truly fell for the other, apart from the scene around p. 215 where after a tryst they mutually declare each other as "lovers"... but when did you start feeling the way you did!! Anyway, all of this only contributed to the vague "insta-love" vibe I was picking up.
- Celestin only fully realizing Amias is a vampire on p. 241 had little to no emotional impact for me. He has his brief emotional rollercoaster of thoughts about it, but because Amias' coding as a vampire is so obvious to me (and probably readers in general) from the literal start of his introduction (page 10 from description. page 12, if I'm being really nice, because that's when the suggestion that this stranger is a vampire is thrown around and then brushed off by side characters. Amias states he is a vampire on p. 40). This is not a bad thing, but because this information was not news to me, I couldn't really empathize with Celestin's shock over it because it changes nothing narratively about the way Celestin acts toward Amias and is only confirmation of his prior suspicions.
Major peeves that I feel are not ignorable:
- Villain motivation and "plan execution" to attain desired outcome. This, I'll have to think about because while it's certainly present, I don't feel as though it was very effective. Our main villain--an unseelie king--wants to kill all humans, and he also thinks they're undeserving of having access to mana and he wants to "banish [humans] or destroy them whatever it takes". I kept wondering the whole time why he didn't just go full-on murder spree and take matters into his own hands and extinguish humans himself instead of setting up an elaborate ritual involving blood sacrifices to summon gods that may or may not listen to him? Beginning of ch. 28 indicates that the other Unseelie aristocrats don't care about the disrepair the court has fallen into and they seem overwhelmingly unfavorable toward humans, so unless I've missed something major, I don't see what's preventing the main villain from going this route. And furthermore, it's established early on that hating humans is not an unpopular opinion among the non-human masses-- quite the opposite! P. 166, Celestin's statement about his introduction to others attending La Cour de Lunaire: "...I've seen so many creatures I never even saw in my research. If they didn't seem to hate me so much I'd probably be bothering a few with questions." Another character tells him that they hate him because he's human (presented as factual, implies that it's an unsurprising conclusion, therefore probably a widely-held opinion).
- Build-up around Amias's curse and the implication that his vampire sire + he committed a massacre together (of presumably innocent people) upon his turning never comes to fruition or causes real tension in the story between Amias and Celestin. For a book as long as this, I feel that this was a missed opportunity for some conflict between the pair. Our only "major" source of conflict in their relationship occurs before they're "official" and it's over how Celestin infers that Amias went and slept with a prostitute while they're staying at an inn together. The curse itself, negligible, but (EDIT) we as readers DO get full flashback-walkthrough of the massacre by Amias and his creator way early on, but Celestin never gets full background on the circumstances surrounding Amias becoming a vampire. It's thrown in Amias's face once by the main villain but otherwise, no exploration, which is an undeniable waste of exploration of potential tension.
Overall positives for me:
- A couple of the twists or later reveals were things I didn't see coming, so it was nice to be surprised by those narrative decisions.
- The plot made sense and the order in which events occurred was logical. Pacing was decent, though I think it sped up at the midpoint of the book. There was a single discrepancy in the sequence of events in character internal monologue close to the end, but I'm hoping that maybe someone reading less closely would not notice it (climactic scene spoiler: p. 347, Amias refers to Celestin as his "failed fledgling" as he's dying despite the fact that he has yet to attempt to bite and turn him to save his life, which then proceeds to occur).
- Sex scenes were good and no language made any of them unbearable to read (all personal preference in the end though).
- I enjoyed the imagery supplied by scene descriptions! Though alternatively, I feel that aesthetics were relied upon a little too heavily to contribute to the sense of the world in place of world-building.
Generally, sweet plot and I enjoyed the interactions between the characters, even Ortherion, who was a very enjoyable emotional wedge and I liked that source of external tension. As a bad actor, he was interesting. I liked the descriptions of the character / race (?) designs and that is something I wish was expanded a little more on considering Celestin's curious nature and penchant for research into "the old world" and who lived during this time of magic. I feel like I learned a lot about the genre and what goes into writing and pacing a longer book like this one. Would probably reread to understand the plot structure more, and would recommend to others to read if I felt that the things that impeded my reading experience would not be so big a problem to someone else (though I think others I know would have the same issues, but I would still want them to read if they felt inclined).
Minor peeves that might not keep others from enjoying this book:
- Typos and malapropisms. Be aware this book is self- or independently-published and I'm unsure how thorough an editing/beta-ing process this went through. Because of this, I found at least 15 instances where either words were omitted from sentences entirely (though you could still tell what the author was intending to get across); ex., "He was smaller than himself by nearly a [missing words] with messy deep brown...". That, OR straight-up malapropisms [or typos] (more common than the former) that only became more frequent the further into the book I read. Ex., head instead of heed, pieced instead of pierced, and bequiffed instead of bequeathed as the more egregious ones. If you can handle errors like this once about every 10 pages after you hit halfway through the book going forward, then this won't matter so much to you.
- World-building inconsistency. I'm not incredibly learned re. customs by time period, but much of the dialogue felt obtrusively modern and that could take someone out of the narrative. I was able to look past this mostly but it definitely turned up a notch in the latter half of the book (particularly lines and quips from Syntyche that are very girl-boss despite misogyny from the current time period having little to no emphasis that would spur her to say some of the things that she does). There are statements about what century and decade we're in, and if these years were less specific or more separated from our notions of time and place (usage of French repeatedly in the form of nicknames grants a definite Western European vibe despite the town setting being fictional) I would feel less like I should be judging the social norms of the time by the corresponding practices of our world from those periods. Minor historical issue additionally: hansom cabs are mentioned in the "present day" (at least 1863) on p. 268 and mentioned again in a flashback set in 1784 on p. 299. Hansom cabs were only invented in 1834. Again, not a critical error and I wouldn't have known unless I looked it up, but it felt like an odd mistake to make when the method of transportation was so specifically indicated.
- Nickname usage right off the bat from love interest to mc that made their mutual attraction (and the speed of it) feel unbelievable to me. I generally didn't think too hard about it because I knew if I did, it would become a much bigger issue to me. Flirtation occurred immediately in dialogue from the onset of meeting and I genuinely couldn't tell if there was any big point at which either character truly fell for the other, apart from the scene around p. 215 where after a tryst they mutually declare each other as "lovers"... but when did you start feeling the way you did!! Anyway, all of this only contributed to the vague "insta-love" vibe I was picking up.
- Celestin only fully realizing Amias is a vampire on p. 241 had little to no emotional impact for me. He has his brief emotional rollercoaster of thoughts about it, but because Amias' coding as a vampire is so obvious to me (and probably readers in general) from the literal start of his introduction (page 10 from description. page 12, if I'm being really nice, because that's when the suggestion that this stranger is a vampire is thrown around and then brushed off by side characters. Amias states he is a vampire on p. 40). This is not a bad thing, but because this information was not news to me, I couldn't really empathize with Celestin's shock over it because it changes nothing narratively about the way Celestin acts toward Amias and is only confirmation of his prior suspicions.
Major peeves that I feel are not ignorable:
- Villain motivation and "plan execution" to attain desired outcome. This, I'll have to think about because while it's certainly present, I don't feel as though it was very effective. Our main villain--an unseelie king--wants to kill all humans, and he also thinks they're undeserving of having access to mana and he wants to "banish [humans] or destroy them whatever it takes". I kept wondering the whole time why he didn't just go full-on murder spree and take matters into his own hands and extinguish humans himself instead of setting up an elaborate ritual involving blood sacrifices to summon gods that may or may not listen to him? Beginning of ch. 28 indicates that the other Unseelie aristocrats don't care about the disrepair the court has fallen into and they seem overwhelmingly unfavorable toward humans, so unless I've missed something major, I don't see what's preventing the main villain from going this route. And furthermore, it's established early on that hating humans is not an unpopular opinion among the non-human masses-- quite the opposite! P. 166, Celestin's statement about his introduction to others attending La Cour de Lunaire: "...I've seen so many creatures I never even saw in my research. If they didn't seem to hate me so much I'd probably be bothering a few with questions." Another character tells him that they hate him because he's human (presented as factual, implies that it's an unsurprising conclusion, therefore probably a widely-held opinion).
- Build-up around Amias's curse and the implication that his vampire sire + he committed a massacre together (of presumably innocent people) upon his turning never comes to fruition or causes real tension in the story between Amias and Celestin. For a book as long as this, I feel that this was a missed opportunity for some conflict between the pair. Our only "major" source of conflict in their relationship occurs before they're "official" and it's over how Celestin infers that Amias went and slept with a prostitute while they're staying at an inn together. The curse itself, negligible, but (EDIT) we as readers DO get full flashback-walkthrough of the massacre by Amias and his creator way early on, but Celestin never gets full background on the circumstances surrounding Amias becoming a vampire. It's thrown in Amias's face once by the main villain but otherwise, no exploration, which is an undeniable waste of exploration of potential tension.
Overall positives for me:
- A couple of the twists or later reveals were things I didn't see coming, so it was nice to be surprised by those narrative decisions.
- The plot made sense and the order in which events occurred was logical. Pacing was decent, though I think it sped up at the midpoint of the book. There was a single discrepancy in the sequence of events in character internal monologue close to the end, but I'm hoping that maybe someone reading less closely would not notice it (climactic scene spoiler: p. 347, Amias refers to Celestin as his "failed fledgling" as he's dying despite the fact that he has yet to attempt to bite and turn him to save his life, which then proceeds to occur).
- Sex scenes were good and no language made any of them unbearable to read (all personal preference in the end though).
- I enjoyed the imagery supplied by scene descriptions! Though alternatively, I feel that aesthetics were relied upon a little too heavily to contribute to the sense of the world in place of world-building.
Generally, sweet plot and I enjoyed the interactions between the characters, even Ortherion, who was a very enjoyable emotional wedge and I liked that source of external tension. As a bad actor, he was interesting. I liked the descriptions of the character / race (?) designs and that is something I wish was expanded a little more on considering Celestin's curious nature and penchant for research into "the old world" and who lived during this time of magic. I feel like I learned a lot about the genre and what goes into writing and pacing a longer book like this one. Would probably reread to understand the plot structure more, and would recommend to others to read if I felt that the things that impeded my reading experience would not be so big a problem to someone else (though I think others I know would have the same issues, but I would still want them to read if they felt inclined).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2023
Rosemary & Iron is one of the best indie books I have ever read. Especially as this is the authors debut novel, it's impressive there is little room for want when you close the books final page. The characters and world are intricate and intertwined in a way that makes you eager to continue on, hoping to discover a new thread to tie people and events together even more.
Having read the beta and then the final, the author has come such a far way with the story and character development. Even the improvement from then to now, I cannot imagine how the next book in this series will turn out, and I'm so excited to read it!!!!!
Also... the gay sex... fire bro.... 🔥
Having read the beta and then the final, the author has come such a far way with the story and character development. Even the improvement from then to now, I cannot imagine how the next book in this series will turn out, and I'm so excited to read it!!!!!
Also... the gay sex... fire bro.... 🔥
dnf
March 4, 2024DNF @ 40%.
December 17, 2023
4.25/5
This was such a sweet and cozy read, like getting a warm hug from a fuzzy blanket with a toasty mug of hot chocolate. It's just the cure I've been looking for during my reading slump, and my only major complaint was I devoured it all too soon. The story is relatively low conflict; while there are some angst it's overall a cozy fantasy of low stress. Célestin and Amias are my darling babies, and my heart swelled with glee and bubbling warmth with every flirt and banter of theirs. Who doesn't wish they could be in Célestin's shoes, being pampered and swept off their feet by a mysterious and rich Vampire Duke, who will grace you with his pleasurable company, and drown you with the most delectable food, gorgeous clothing, and trinkets at no expenses spared? It's all so sweet and cuddly I practically had a toothache by the end of it. They are the shining stars of the story, and the book definitely thrives and hinges on their relationship.
There were some minor issues though. Even though I did not go out of my way looking for them, I still found several typos, which likely meant there were more I did not catch. The numerous times of sudden POV shifts from one paragraph to the next also gave me a double take quite a few times. It never hindered my understanding, but I would be lying if I said it did not give me pause and forced me to re-read the passages once again to recalibrate myself. However, none of this affected how I adored the story.
I also have one other quibble.
***Spoilers***
Overall, this has been a joy to read. I'm so happy to know there will be at least two more books coming with different MCs. There is so much to delve into in this world, and I'll be eagerly coming back for more. I also sincerely hope this isn't the last of Célestin and Amias. A future cameo pretty please?
This was such a sweet and cozy read, like getting a warm hug from a fuzzy blanket with a toasty mug of hot chocolate. It's just the cure I've been looking for during my reading slump, and my only major complaint was I devoured it all too soon. The story is relatively low conflict; while there are some angst it's overall a cozy fantasy of low stress. Célestin and Amias are my darling babies, and my heart swelled with glee and bubbling warmth with every flirt and banter of theirs. Who doesn't wish they could be in Célestin's shoes, being pampered and swept off their feet by a mysterious and rich Vampire Duke, who will grace you with his pleasurable company, and drown you with the most delectable food, gorgeous clothing, and trinkets at no expenses spared? It's all so sweet and cuddly I practically had a toothache by the end of it. They are the shining stars of the story, and the book definitely thrives and hinges on their relationship.
There were some minor issues though. Even though I did not go out of my way looking for them, I still found several typos, which likely meant there were more I did not catch. The numerous times of sudden POV shifts from one paragraph to the next also gave me a double take quite a few times. It never hindered my understanding, but I would be lying if I said it did not give me pause and forced me to re-read the passages once again to recalibrate myself. However, none of this affected how I adored the story.
I also have one other quibble.
***Spoilers***
Overall, this has been a joy to read. I'm so happy to know there will be at least two more books coming with different MCs. There is so much to delve into in this world, and I'll be eagerly coming back for more. I also sincerely hope this isn't the last of Célestin and Amias. A future cameo pretty please?
August 22, 2023
** I have received an ARC in exchange for an honest review **
Excellent for fans of Interview With a Vampire, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Lord of Eternal Night, Rosemary & Iron is an MM romance between a human mage who’s been whisked away to unexpected paranormal courts in the face of Mana’s disappearance, and the shamelessly romantic and mysterious French duke that’s trying to help him home. There’s amazing fashion, magic exploration, morally ambiguous fae, Sapphic witchy best friends, and a wonderful queer-normative world. Dorian has produced a beautiful story, and I’m so excited for what he’ll write next.
As with most debut books, I feel like there’s room for growth in prose structure. But I think that will improve as the author continues to build on this universe and find his footing even more as an author. I’m looking forward to reading more of his work!
Things I love about this book:
- The cover slaps, as it’s so pretty and moody!
- The story is unabashedly romantic and FULL of simps.
- It pairs perfectly with dark classical music and a cup of tea.
- The fashion is so good, it makes me wanna pick up my sewing machine. I’m so in love with Célestin’s cloak!
- It contains excellent spice. Those scenes are well-written and blush inducing!
- The story concludes well, but leaves a lot of room for the sequels.
This is actually my second time reading the story, as I read its beta version too. I gotta say, it’s even more fun as a reread since it’s a mystery that doesn’t show the whole picture till the end. It’s so fun to see how the pieces lined up even in the beginning, so it’s good for rereading.
I’m looking forward to watching this author continue with this universe! I also secretly love Ortherion and I can’t wait for his book. (Kinda wanna write Amias/Célestin/Ortherion fanfic now.)
Spice: 3-4/5
Angst: 3-4/5
Excellent for fans of Interview With a Vampire, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Lord of Eternal Night, Rosemary & Iron is an MM romance between a human mage who’s been whisked away to unexpected paranormal courts in the face of Mana’s disappearance, and the shamelessly romantic and mysterious French duke that’s trying to help him home. There’s amazing fashion, magic exploration, morally ambiguous fae, Sapphic witchy best friends, and a wonderful queer-normative world. Dorian has produced a beautiful story, and I’m so excited for what he’ll write next.
As with most debut books, I feel like there’s room for growth in prose structure. But I think that will improve as the author continues to build on this universe and find his footing even more as an author. I’m looking forward to reading more of his work!
Things I love about this book:
- The cover slaps, as it’s so pretty and moody!
- The story is unabashedly romantic and FULL of simps.
- It pairs perfectly with dark classical music and a cup of tea.
- The fashion is so good, it makes me wanna pick up my sewing machine. I’m so in love with Célestin’s cloak!
- It contains excellent spice. Those scenes are well-written and blush inducing!
- The story concludes well, but leaves a lot of room for the sequels.
This is actually my second time reading the story, as I read its beta version too. I gotta say, it’s even more fun as a reread since it’s a mystery that doesn’t show the whole picture till the end. It’s so fun to see how the pieces lined up even in the beginning, so it’s good for rereading.
I’m looking forward to watching this author continue with this universe! I also secretly love Ortherion and I can’t wait for his book. (Kinda wanna write Amias/Célestin/Ortherion fanfic now.)
Spice: 3-4/5
Angst: 3-4/5
August 21, 2023
Thank you for the ARC! All opinions are my own.
CW: consensual sex, gore, interspecies racism, toxic relationships, familial abuse
Synopsis:
Célestin is one of the few people left who can still access the ever dwindling Mana. So when he finds an old grimoire containing a spell that might restore Mana, he has to try it. However it goes wrong and Célestin is send to the past, to a time where magic was still alive. There he finds himself in the estate of a beautiful man who offers to help Célestin find his way back. However they soon start growing fonder of each other. So while they try to figure out their relationship, they still have to find a way to return Célestin to his own time and maybe even restore Mana.
My thoughts:
This book is so full of wonderful healthy and queer love! Célestin and Amias are so cute together and it is so nice to read about a relationship were they actually communicate (which seem to be low standards but still!). And also both of their friends groups: Célestins friends who are in a poly relationship and Amias lesbian aunts (they aren't actually his aunts but the vibes are the same).
Also: I respect Célestin. That man is so chill. There's a creepy ghost/vampire on campus who seems to be looking for him? It be like that. A dangerous spell goes horribly wrong? Well, let's see what happens now. But god forbid a pretty man flirts with him, then he becomes a mess.
Sometimes there was a perspective switch from one paragraph to the next which is a bit irritating and some of the dialogue felt a bit off (can't really put my finger on what exactly).
But I really don't care, I had such a good time reading this. I laughed, I grinned and I even shed some tears! (And it also had some very nice smut scenes.)
CW: consensual sex, gore, interspecies racism, toxic relationships, familial abuse
Synopsis:
Célestin is one of the few people left who can still access the ever dwindling Mana. So when he finds an old grimoire containing a spell that might restore Mana, he has to try it. However it goes wrong and Célestin is send to the past, to a time where magic was still alive. There he finds himself in the estate of a beautiful man who offers to help Célestin find his way back. However they soon start growing fonder of each other. So while they try to figure out their relationship, they still have to find a way to return Célestin to his own time and maybe even restore Mana.
My thoughts:
This book is so full of wonderful healthy and queer love! Célestin and Amias are so cute together and it is so nice to read about a relationship were they actually communicate (which seem to be low standards but still!). And also both of their friends groups: Célestins friends who are in a poly relationship and Amias lesbian aunts (they aren't actually his aunts but the vibes are the same).
Also: I respect Célestin. That man is so chill. There's a creepy ghost/vampire on campus who seems to be looking for him? It be like that. A dangerous spell goes horribly wrong? Well, let's see what happens now. But god forbid a pretty man flirts with him, then he becomes a mess.
Sometimes there was a perspective switch from one paragraph to the next which is a bit irritating and some of the dialogue felt a bit off (can't really put my finger on what exactly).
But I really don't care, I had such a good time reading this. I laughed, I grinned and I even shed some tears! (And it also had some very nice smut scenes.)
September 28, 2024
3.5 rounded up!!
i liked this a lot and would have LOOOOVED it if not for the fact that i just read angels before man which had the best prose ive ever read, and am watching interview with the vampire which has my favorite vamps. but it was cute!
one complaint, why is everyone so mean to prince ortherion??? like seriously can everyone ease up. excited to read the sequel because i liked him and everyone was being really mean to him😠
i liked this a lot and would have LOOOOVED it if not for the fact that i just read angels before man which had the best prose ive ever read, and am watching interview with the vampire which has my favorite vamps. but it was cute!
one complaint, why is everyone so mean to prince ortherion??? like seriously can everyone ease up. excited to read the sequel because i liked him and everyone was being really mean to him😠
March 24, 2024
This is a new to me author and from what I can see it’s their debut novel of their debut series. The world building is good and the characters Cèlestin and Amias are great and have plenty of chemistry and steamy times, I also enjoyed the plot of the story and am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
October 29, 2023
Really enjoyed this story! Can't wait for more from Dorian Valentine :)
January 15, 2024
im in love
avoid
March 19, 2024Self note: on-page sex with other(s)
May 4, 2024
I legitimately created a GoodReads account just to review this book! It’s become my new absolute favorite, I adore the characters so much. It was such a nice, cozy read, and I would def recommend!
August 22, 2024
3.5 rounded down
I enjoyed this one but my main beef is it was too long. I think if some things were cut out it would've been perfect.
Also the very modern language took me out of it just a hair
I did think they were super cute though and I loved when they were reunited
I enjoyed this one but my main beef is it was too long. I think if some things were cut out it would've been perfect.
Also the very modern language took me out of it just a hair
I did think they were super cute though and I loved when they were reunited
April 3, 2024
The book is slow paced, and for the length of it I do wish more would be happening, there is a lot of build up, it builds up for about 70% of the book.
The time Célestin got thrown in to is one he got used to very quickly, there is very little doubt and despair over his sudden change of fate.
There is yearning for a good portion as the two dance around each other. A love made to span over centuries.
There are side characters that I liked, though for me none more than our fae prince, I found him more interesting than our main characters to be honest.
Which is why I most likely will read the second book.
It took me a while to get through the book because there is so little happening, but you get the sense of the relationship building between Célestin and Amias, which I liked. From the start you know where things will end up. Just not how it got there.
Now to my pet peeves:
The time Célestin got thrown in to is one he got used to very quickly, there is very little doubt and despair over his sudden change of fate.
There is yearning for a good portion as the two dance around each other. A love made to span over centuries.
There are side characters that I liked, though for me none more than our fae prince, I found him more interesting than our main characters to be honest.
Which is why I most likely will read the second book.
It took me a while to get through the book because there is so little happening, but you get the sense of the relationship building between Célestin and Amias, which I liked. From the start you know where things will end up. Just not how it got there.
Now to my pet peeves:
August 6, 2025
it started off so good, such a shame
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Things, Notes, and Observations:
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Things, Notes, and Observations:
March 15, 2024
This was an enjoyable cozy read that I will definitely be giving a reread while bundling up in a blanket during a snowy day. It's got time travel, spice, lesbian dream team couple, fantasy creatures, and mystery.
July 3, 2024
Les premiers 50%: "OMGS, c’est génial super slow burn, les personnages sont adorables"
Le reste du livre: "Euh…WTF?!😳😰Pourquoi les personnages sont tout d’un coup hyper insensibles et sans empathie à la limite de la sociopathie????"
Je ne peux pas donner beaucoup de détails sans spoiler, mais je n’ai pas du tout compris cet abrupte revirement du caractère des personnages qui deviennent violents et insensibles. La façons dont ils ont traité Ortherion m’a énormément choqué.😨😥 Okay le type prend souvent les gens à rebrousse poil mais pas au point qu’il faille le brutaliser. Le type a enduré plein de choses révoltantes, il souffre, demande de l’aide, et on lui crache à la figure.😧
Vraiment je n’ai pas compris ce qui n’allait pas chez eux, je me suis demandé si l’auteure n’avait pas laissé trop de temps s’écouler entre l’écriture de la première moitié du livre et la seconde pour qu’il y ait autant de dissonances.
Mais finalement, durant un flashback, on se rend compte qu’Amias l’a toujours traité comme de la merde même quand ils étaient ensemble.😢(Ortherion parle de se mutiler et Amias balaye ça d’un revers de la main)🚩😱
C’est ce qui a terminé de me déconnecté avec les personnages principaux. Célestin est sympa mais il ignore complètement le gros red flag qu’est son copain parce qu’il est "différent avec lui". Je ne sais pas comment il fait pour ne pas avoir peur de finir comme Ortherion.😅
J’ai terminé le livre d’une manière tout sauf saine en souhaitant constamment qu’il arrive quelque chose d’horrible à Amias et aux autres.😌
J’ai même ris à tant d’hypocrisie de la part d’Amias quand il a joué l’offusqué surpris quand Ortherion ne s’est pas rangé de sont côté à la fin, et qu’Amias a osé lui sortir “Bastard! How could you? You, who were once my friend, how could you be so cruel?”. Lol, j’aimerais autant être son ennemi si c’est la manière dont il traite un ami.
Bref, le prochain tome est centré sur Ortherion et j’espère qu’il obtiendra, sinon rétribution, au moins son HEA.🥺
Le reste du livre: "Euh…WTF?!😳😰Pourquoi les personnages sont tout d’un coup hyper insensibles et sans empathie à la limite de la sociopathie????"
Je ne peux pas donner beaucoup de détails sans spoiler, mais je n’ai pas du tout compris cet abrupte revirement du caractère des personnages qui deviennent violents et insensibles. La façons dont ils ont traité Ortherion m’a énormément choqué.😨😥 Okay le type prend souvent les gens à rebrousse poil mais pas au point qu’il faille le brutaliser. Le type a enduré plein de choses révoltantes, il souffre, demande de l’aide, et on lui crache à la figure.😧
Vraiment je n’ai pas compris ce qui n’allait pas chez eux, je me suis demandé si l’auteure n’avait pas laissé trop de temps s’écouler entre l’écriture de la première moitié du livre et la seconde pour qu’il y ait autant de dissonances.
Mais finalement, durant un flashback, on se rend compte qu’Amias l’a toujours traité comme de la merde même quand ils étaient ensemble.😢(Ortherion parle de se mutiler et Amias balaye ça d’un revers de la main)🚩😱
C’est ce qui a terminé de me déconnecté avec les personnages principaux. Célestin est sympa mais il ignore complètement le gros red flag qu’est son copain parce qu’il est "différent avec lui". Je ne sais pas comment il fait pour ne pas avoir peur de finir comme Ortherion.😅
J’ai terminé le livre d’une manière tout sauf saine en souhaitant constamment qu’il arrive quelque chose d’horrible à Amias et aux autres.😌
J’ai même ris à tant d’hypocrisie de la part d’Amias quand il a joué l’offusqué surpris quand Ortherion ne s’est pas rangé de sont côté à la fin, et qu’Amias a osé lui sortir “Bastard! How could you? You, who were once my friend, how could you be so cruel?”. Lol, j’aimerais autant être son ennemi si c’est la manière dont il traite un ami.
Bref, le prochain tome est centré sur Ortherion et j’espère qu’il obtiendra, sinon rétribution, au moins son HEA.🥺
May 15, 2024
*3.5
finally finished getting through rosemary and iron!! I can say that this book had a lot of elements that were right up my alley and immediately gravitated me towards picking it up!
the queer characters and relationships paired with the atmosphere of the setting, gave it such a comforting feel that was a nice change of pace.
the conflict in itself was not complex or difficult to resolve but I enjoyed the space it gave for characters backgrounds. my favorites were definitely syntyche and idalia and I loved their extra chapter the most. though by the end there is still much left to explore in the world, I don’t find it too upsetting as it leaves lots of possibilities for future works and characters, and I’m content where we leave off with celestin and amias.
If you love character driven books or want to read about a fateful loving encounter with lots of representation, creatures, and magic, definitely give it a try!
overall this book was a peaceful read and you can tell the story was a work of love.
finally finished getting through rosemary and iron!! I can say that this book had a lot of elements that were right up my alley and immediately gravitated me towards picking it up!
the queer characters and relationships paired with the atmosphere of the setting, gave it such a comforting feel that was a nice change of pace.
the conflict in itself was not complex or difficult to resolve but I enjoyed the space it gave for characters backgrounds. my favorites were definitely syntyche and idalia and I loved their extra chapter the most. though by the end there is still much left to explore in the world, I don’t find it too upsetting as it leaves lots of possibilities for future works and characters, and I’m content where we leave off with celestin and amias.
If you love character driven books or want to read about a fateful loving encounter with lots of representation, creatures, and magic, definitely give it a try!
overall this book was a peaceful read and you can tell the story was a work of love.
October 23, 2023
Wow! This book was so, so excellent! Set in a fantasy version of our world where magic, aka Mana used to be prominent but then faded away, our protagonist Célestin is one of a small amount of people who can still access Mana. When trying to restore the world's Mana, he accidentally teleports himself back to the past, where he meets Amias, vampire of the manor. Cue adorable love story.
Things I loved:
✨ Phenomenal world-building, including world history and different races of creatures
✨ Epic badass female side characters
✨ Célestin and Amias were tooth-achingly sweet together in the best way
✨ The nineteenth century settings & fashion descriptions
✨ The cleverness of the time travel plot
✨ 10+++/10 spice
This is the first in a series of interconnected books with different MCs and I am verrrrrry excited for book 2!
Things I loved:
✨ Phenomenal world-building, including world history and different races of creatures
✨ Epic badass female side characters
✨ Célestin and Amias were tooth-achingly sweet together in the best way
✨ The nineteenth century settings & fashion descriptions
✨ The cleverness of the time travel plot
✨ 10+++/10 spice
This is the first in a series of interconnected books with different MCs and I am verrrrrry excited for book 2!
March 28, 2024
When Célestin Edevane finds an old grimoire, he thinks he has found the answer to restoring the lost Mana. However, his spell does not work quite as expected and he finds himself in the distant past. He meets Amias, a vampire, as well as lots of otherworldly beings like nymphs, shifters, gods and fae. He also finds love with Amias and may never want to return to his own time. His presence, though, in the past is necessary to his present.
Rosemary & Iron really captures you on the first page. Célestin and Amias come to life so realistically that they quickly become old friends. When danger comes calling and tragedy strikes, we cry with them and then celebrate with them when the tide turns. This is Book One in The Eastern Quarter’s Mana. That is good news for us as we will have more books set in this incredible world.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy.
Rosemary & Iron really captures you on the first page. Célestin and Amias come to life so realistically that they quickly become old friends. When danger comes calling and tragedy strikes, we cry with them and then celebrate with them when the tide turns. This is Book One in The Eastern Quarter’s Mana. That is good news for us as we will have more books set in this incredible world.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy.
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