Key of Iron and Fate

Sons of Sídhetír #1

by Katherine A. Darling

I have a problem, and it has wings.

When I come across an injured dark fae in the woods, I cannot leave him behind to die. Instead, I save him. After I wake up the next morning, he’s gone, but he left me a peculiar gift. Now the dark fae, Cethin, owes me a debt and haunts my every move, not to mention my thoughts.

I have more important things to worry about than the alluring fae. The transition of power from the current Lord of Sídhetír to his seventh son, Oren Byrne, is happening, allowing fae to pour through the gate between realms. As the former ward of the Byrne family and close friend of Oren and his six elder brothers, I want to help him through this time, but Lord Byrne orders me away from Oren’s side and I have no idea why.

As blood spills and deals are struck, I must work with Cethin to protect the Byrne family while trying not to get distracted by my ever-growing feelings. When secrets come to light, I am forced to make a choice that will change the entire course of my life and maybe even the whole of Sídhetír.

If you like fated mates, spicy romance, fae, action/adventure, and guaranteed HEA, then you will love this book. This is a standalone MM romantasy with regency vibes and explicit scenes for adult readers only. Trigger violence, gore, swearing, and adult content.

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Fae, LGBT, M M Fantasy, High Fantasy

331 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 12, 2024

About the author

Katherine A. Darling can usually be found with a book in her hand, and a cat on her lap. She was born and raised in Northern California. She got her BA in business from Simpson University only to decide business was not for her. She has possessed a wild imagination since childhood, which later led to a desire to write books. When she’s not writing, you can find Katherine reading, playing LOTRO, crocheting, or hanging out with her truly impressive number of cats.

Reviews

[Audi♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I was balance"

It's been forever since I felt this giddy over a book. I loved it! The world-building was great; the politics were easy to follow. Their romance made my heart melt. I love ooey gooey fated mates. The tattoos 🥹 Secrets came to light that made me audibly gasp. The twist on who Aiden was?!?! oh.my.gosh. I wasn't expecting that juicy plot twist!
It's easy to give the biggest secret away.
If you like fast-paced, cozy, fae romance with magic and mystery. You'll love this.

“A lie is not the absence of truth, but rather the absence of courage.”

No cheating, sharing/om.
No epilogue 💩

[peoniesandmm · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up ~

this was delightful!! usually when i read single pov books i find myself yearning for the other mc’s pov & feeling like something is missing, but in this case that didn’t happen at all!!! this was written so beautifully and the story line had me not wanting to put the book down. i’m a huge sucker for fated mates & possessiveness so this was exactly what i needed, all of the “mine” vibes had me DROOLING!

😍😍🤤🤤

[Nicole Engelbart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect amount of spicy, sweet, and funny, I loved it

[S.G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging Romantasy!!!!

The blurb hooked me. MMC with wings? Yes, please! But this book was so much more than that. It was full of romance, epic moments, interesting characters, and an engaging world that swept me in.
I loved the relationship between Aidan and his winged hero. There were so many swoonworthy moments, hot spice (woo, it was nice), and also, a well developed relationship. A lot of spicy romantasies are a little light on the actual romance, but this book made me believe that Aiden and Cethin were truly in love. And I loved seeing them fall in love ... and the spice, lol!
Aside from the romance, I was caught up in the plot of the fae and the switchover of the heir. It was really well developed and led to a truly awesome climax. I predicted some of the twists but not all and was on the edge of my seat for that climax!
The world was super interesting, both the human estate, Sidhetir, and the fae world. I was super fascinated by Sidhetir and really want more books set there. It reminded me a bit of AJ Lancaster's House of Stariel. Please let there be more books! I loved the twist too on the standard fae. They were similar to fae in other romantasies I've read, but also unique with little details and worldbuilding that kept me engaged.
I highly recommend this book if you love spicy MM fantasy with unique worlds, fleshed out characters, and swoonworthy romance.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

˗ˏˋ ꒰ 𝟒.𝟓/𝟓 ★ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

this book really delivered with the cozy fall vibes🍂🍁🧡 the atmosphere of the story really added to the coziness but so did the romance which was very smooth with an insta love feeling - tho Aidan & Cethin were fated mates so that's a bit understandable, yet i longed to see how their relationship developed, how they got to know each other initially.. despite that, as the story progressed, the way they interacted as a couple was warming my heart on these cool autumn days🧡

❝ 𝑴𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒅. 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆? ❞

in contrast to the sweet coziness of their relationship, the dark vibes were vibing!🌑🖤 Cethin was an amusing character, his concept of humans & morals were different with him being a dark fae which sometimes made things fun(ny). i really enjoyed how solid & strong the MCs' relationship felt like most of the time, and the angst & darkish themes were mainly focused in the storyline, outside their relationship. some things were predictable imo without crazy twist & turns which could've been disappointing yet i wasn't annoyed, it was overall a chill read that i enjoyed🥰

i'm curious how the author plans to expand this universe👀 i must say i loved the Byrne brothers since the very beginning, they were so protective of Aidan! & yes, he was basically part of their family!! i was kinda sad (& maybe a bit confused) why he questioned that & the brothers' love for him, and while i understood he longed for his own family, i kept thinking & wishing he'd realize that sometimes family doesn't end with blood! also Iris (i think her name was) was totally like family to Aiden too, like a caring (witchy) auntie🖤 i'm glad it all worked out for both Aiden & Cethin in the end - familywise & (romantic) relationship-wise as well! and i'm for sure looking forward to more books by this author!✧

❝ “𝒀𝒆𝒔, 𝑨𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒏. 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆.” ❞

🍂🔥🌙✨🗝☕🍪🧸🪵🧺🍎🍁

➥ ᴍᴍ
➥ ғɪʀsᴛ-ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ, sɪɴɢʟᴇ ᴘᴏᴠ
⚘ ʜɪɢʜ ғᴀɴᴛᴀsʏ
⚘ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ғᴀᴇ × ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ
⚘ ғᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴍᴀᴛᴇs (ғᴏʀᴄᴇᴅ ᴍᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ)
⚘ ʀᴇᴅ ʜᴀɪʀᴇᴅ ᴍᴄ ᴡɪᴛʜ ғʀᴇᴄᴋʟᴇs
⚘ ᴡɪɴɢs & ʜᴏʀɴs
⚘ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ᴛᴀᴛᴛᴏᴏs
⚘ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ/ᴘᴏssᴇssɪᴠᴇ
⚘ ᴏʀᴘʜᴀɴᴇᴅ ᴍᴄ - ғᴏᴜɴᴅ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ ᴠɪʙᴇs
⚘ ғɪʀsᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇs
⚘ sᴛᴀɴᴅᴀʟᴏɴᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇᴀ
➽ ᴛᴡ: ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏғ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ (ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀsᴛ), ɢʀɪᴇғ, ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ, ɢᴏʀᴇ, ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ, ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ/ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟs, ғɪʀᴇ, ʙᴜʀɴ ᴍᴀʀᴋs, ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ, ᴍᴜʀᴅᴇʀ, ᴅᴇᴄᴀᴘɪᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴅɪsᴄᴜssɪᴏɴs ᴏғ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴs ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴇᴀᴛᴇɴ

[Tetiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Це була дуже мила і солодка історія, яка затягнула з перших сторінок і не відпускала до кінця. Я дуже рада, що авторка успішно реалізувала ідею про палке кохання між темним ельфом і людиною. Мене завжди засмучувало, що цю расу часто зображають в книгах, як чисте зло, але на щастя тут такого немає. Зате є гарячі сцени 18+ і пристрасне кохання тропу star-crossed lovers.

Особливо варто зазначити, що події книги розвиваються динамічно, а хімія між героями просто шалена. Єдиний маленький мінус для мене - це забагато «солодкості» у відносинах і в якийсь момент трошки втомлюєшся від цього, але історія все одно мені сподобалась.
Дуже гідна новинка, яку рекомендую до прочитання тим, хто полюбляє романтичне фентезі і не має упереджень щодо жанру М+М.
Читала англійською і ні про що не шкодую))).

***

This was a very sweet and charming story that hooked me from the very first pages and didn’t let go until the end. I’m so glad the author brought to life my hidden dream of a passionate romance between a dark elf and a human. It always saddened me that this race is often portrayed in books as purely evil, but thankfully, that’s not the case here. Instead, we’re treated to steamy 18+ scenes and the passionate love of a “star-crossed lovers” trope.

Particularly noteworthy is the dynamic pacing of the story and the intense chemistry between the characters—it’s simply electrifying. My only small critique is that the relationship felt a bit too sweet at times, to the point where it became slightly tiring. Nevertheless, I truly enjoyed the story.

This is a very solid new release that I highly recommend to anyone who loves romantic fantasy and has no prejudices about the M/M genre.

[A.G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time rating this one.

My biggest hang-up, I believe, was the formal writing style. While it did give me the feel of being an older setting - which may have been the intention - some of the dialog was so formal between the characters that it took me out of the book a few times.

The story was one that I normally would have eaten up, but I did find myself losing interest occasionally. I figured out the plot twist by 25% in, but that's not unusual for me so I don't hold that against the author. The characters were both likeable, even if they lacked some development. Even being inside Aidan's head, I felt like we didn't learn much about him.

Cethin was the least developed character, and I feel like I didn't know much about him, even by the end. The I Love Yous felt sudden, especially from his side, and some of the intimacy was a little stiff.

This sounds like a lot of complaining, but I did overall enjoy this book. It was well-written, even with the formality, and the story was developed well with no issues or plot holes. The vibe was just slightly off for me, which I know is completely useless to everyone else.

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of telling, not showing

This book had a great premise, but a few glaring issues made it hard to enjoy. There were quite a few grammatical issues that I came across that I feel a better editor could have picked up on.

The chemistry between the main characters felt very forced and not as organic. I understand the fated mates trope, however, the romance still was more told to you than shown to you. We were expected to believe they were in love but with few scenes that actually showed them falling in love. I don’t feel like they really learned all that much about each other through the story—at least, not about each other’s personalities.

This was the same issue with a lot of the world building. It was shown through Cethin’s or another character’s exposition rather than through clues or environmental storytelling.

I think this writer has promise, but this book just didn’t land the way I hoped it would. I will be reading the second in this series.

[Leelah🍁♋️ Orion · Rating 5 out of 5]

keep them coming

New to me author and omg I would totally read more from them. More from this world. The world build on this was sensational. I want to live there. The two MC’s I’m in love with them both. The only thing Missing was the other pov, and after reading C’s brief word, I want to hear more from him.
The writing was great. The smexy was Hawt and I loved the diverse side characters. Please let there be an Oren book!

For future me
No cheating/sharing
Smexy doesn’t happen before some form of relationship
One person POV
Smexy is vers

[Cabert A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I recommend avoiding spoilers, since one thing I liked was the plot twists, even if some were easier to figure out than others. The world-building behind controlling the gate to the fae lands was a pretty neat source of external conflict. There was a large cast of characters, although most didn't really affect the story. Some of the MC decisions had me rolling my eyes, but not too many. I liked the writing, which is spare, despite the fact that I typically prefer more flowers prose.

I am impressed and think more should try this one!

[Charlie Lux · Rating 5 out of 5]

LITERALLY SCREAMING WITH JOY

This book has been devoured by me in record time, kept me up at night while I found out “what happens next,” and has filled my heart with so much joy! What a wonderful read, truly delightful, and I am so glad to have found this book. The book’s description pulled me in, especially with the descriptors at the bottom of Fated Mates and HEA, and I will definitely be rereading this at some point! What a great story!!!

[MaryK · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love how the author says “Your mental health is a priority, and I want to do my best to help protect it” and gives a vague “triggers” list consisting of “discussions of parental death, scenes of gore, discussions of humans being eaten, explicit sexual content (all consensual), violence, and forced marriage.” But doesn’t mention the detailed scene of a man being cooked alive. I guess that falls under “gore”?

[Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noooo come back, I want more 😭 I didn't know this author also wrote A Memory of Tea and Magic, which would probably explain why I enjoyed this so much. The fae were definitely interesting in this one and the history was gripping, even if it left me wanting more of it. Though I still don't know how to pronounce Cethin's name 🫠

[Madley Overstreet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn’t expecting literary prowess and I’ve definitely read worse. So no hate, I got the shitty romantasy I wanted. But yeah this was messy. Book so underbaked I could not imagine anything and did not care about anyone. But again I chose my fate so whatever. 🤦‍♀️

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved how the author fit so much in a shorter book - and without it feeling rushed.

[Lynn P · Rating 4 out of 5]

very enjoyable

This book was very enjoyable and the writing was good. It was an interesting plot with humans and Fae contract.

[Aziza · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars but I rounded up. The plot was predictable and obvious to me. Adien's recklessness was a little exasperating some times but he wouldn't be who he is without it. The world building was really interesting. Different but not overly complicated. I enjoyed reading this.

[Jecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved!!

First book that I have read by this author but I wanted something magical for the spooky season and this book was perfect!!