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The Lady And The Tiger
Alanna Daskaz, daughter of the duchy of Askaz, is perfectly happy to ignore her noble heritage. She prefers to serve as administrator to Gregory III, current king of Askazer-Shivadlakia and her brother in everything but name. It's just another day on the job when she hears that Duke Tomas, ruler of neighboring Galia and generally appalling person, has died. The same day, however, siblings Ofelia and Milo Ansevali arrive as diplomatic emissaries from Galia, with historian Bruno Sheff in tow, to inform Alanna that she is the daughter of the duke's only cousin, and thus heir to his title and his throne. Alanna doesn't even want the duchy she already has, let alone another one.
She's going to have to straighten this out, and that means going in person to visit her new kingdom. Traveling to Galia with her best friend Jerry, Duke of Shivadlakia, Alanna discovers that the Palazzo is full of intrigue and in desperate need of strong governance, and that's before they even talk about the issues with Athena, the local pet tiger. Surrounded by people she isn't sure she can trust, Alanna finds Jerry's ability to ferret out information useful – until she discovers Jerry has a few secrets of his own.
There's a lot to fix in Galia, but politics was always Gregory's job. Alanna doesn't want to become ruler, especially not with a precious new romance blossoming in the shadow of Galia's impending power struggle. Her best option might be the persistent rumor that the duke had a secret child – if she can figure out who it is, and how to get them on the throne instead of her.
The Lady And The Tiger has a total wordcount of roughly 70K words.
She's going to have to straighten this out, and that means going in person to visit her new kingdom. Traveling to Galia with her best friend Jerry, Duke of Shivadlakia, Alanna discovers that the Palazzo is full of intrigue and in desperate need of strong governance, and that's before they even talk about the issues with Athena, the local pet tiger. Surrounded by people she isn't sure she can trust, Alanna finds Jerry's ability to ferret out information useful – until she discovers Jerry has a few secrets of his own.
There's a lot to fix in Galia, but politics was always Gregory's job. Alanna doesn't want to become ruler, especially not with a precious new romance blossoming in the shadow of Galia's impending power struggle. Her best option might be the persistent rumor that the duke had a secret child – if she can figure out who it is, and how to get them on the throne instead of her.
The Lady And The Tiger has a total wordcount of roughly 70K words.
201 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 15, 2022
5 people want to read
About the author
Sam Starbuck
25 books118 followersSam is a nonprofit researcher, blogger, and former theatre punk who lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
Secretly, he is a Time Lord.
He writes romance and light SFF, literary fiction, and sometimes even fanfic.
Secretly, he is a Time Lord.
He writes romance and light SFF, literary fiction, and sometimes even fanfic.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 16, 2022
I really have to hand it to this series, The Shivadh Romances by Sam Starbuck. Never in a million years did I expect the third Shivadh book, The Lady and the Tiger, to be one of the top five novels I read all year... but here we are!
A little background is perhaps in order. The Shivadh Romances starts with a little novel (novella?) called Fete for a King, about an uptight prince who falls in love with the tacky American TV chef who was accidentally hired to cater his coronation. A wee bit formulaic, perhaps; but what sets the book apart from the gazillion and one other "royal romances" its setting. Instead of Generic European Monarchy, Sam Starbuck said, "hmmmm... what if I created a tiny JEWISH monarchy with a DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED KING?" And just like that, we were off to the races, baby!!!
As a history nerd who's fascinated by Jewish culture, I love the incredibly rich and intricate worldbuilding of this series. It devotes itself with entire seriousness to imagining what a parliamentary Jewish state with a democratically elected monarch nestled in the mountains of southeastern Europe might look like. I'm not exaggerating when I say Askazer-Shivadlakia feels as real to me as any historical nation I've ever studied.
Against this vivid cultural backdrop, the plot of the first two books did feel a little rambling and lacking in tension (which is fine, I'm not complaining, I still had fun). But The Lady and the Tiger DRAMATICALLY ups the ante with international espionage and layers upon layer of political intrigue, not to mention a sizzling slow-burn romance between two lifelong besties. Friends to lovers doesn't have to be vanilla, y'all. ;)
I'm telling you, I ship Jerry and Alanna like FedEx. Her levelheaded competency and wry sense of humor paired with his warm, laid-back steadiness and endless ingenuity? Not to mention, a male love interest who knows how to be fun and charming without being an irresponsible douchebag? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?
I know I have a reputation as a critical reviewer, but I genuinely cannot find a single fault with this book other than it feeling all too short. Characters? Check. Plot? Check. Tension? Check. Drama? Check. Romance? Check!!!
A little background is perhaps in order. The Shivadh Romances starts with a little novel (novella?) called Fete for a King, about an uptight prince who falls in love with the tacky American TV chef who was accidentally hired to cater his coronation. A wee bit formulaic, perhaps; but what sets the book apart from the gazillion and one other "royal romances" its setting. Instead of Generic European Monarchy, Sam Starbuck said, "hmmmm... what if I created a tiny JEWISH monarchy with a DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED KING?" And just like that, we were off to the races, baby!!!
As a history nerd who's fascinated by Jewish culture, I love the incredibly rich and intricate worldbuilding of this series. It devotes itself with entire seriousness to imagining what a parliamentary Jewish state with a democratically elected monarch nestled in the mountains of southeastern Europe might look like. I'm not exaggerating when I say Askazer-Shivadlakia feels as real to me as any historical nation I've ever studied.
Against this vivid cultural backdrop, the plot of the first two books did feel a little rambling and lacking in tension (which is fine, I'm not complaining, I still had fun). But The Lady and the Tiger DRAMATICALLY ups the ante with international espionage and layers upon layer of political intrigue, not to mention a sizzling slow-burn romance between two lifelong besties. Friends to lovers doesn't have to be vanilla, y'all. ;)
I'm telling you, I ship Jerry and Alanna like FedEx. Her levelheaded competency and wry sense of humor paired with his warm, laid-back steadiness and endless ingenuity? Not to mention, a male love interest who knows how to be fun and charming without being an irresponsible douchebag? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?
I know I have a reputation as a critical reviewer, but I genuinely cannot find a single fault with this book other than it feeling all too short. Characters? Check. Plot? Check. Tension? Check. Drama? Check. Romance? Check!!!
March 13, 2023
The fact that this book is classified as romance is laughable. It absolutely is not. Two characters get together, but that only really impacts one and a half scenes in the book. It's really more of a light political intrigue/question of inheritance book. And it continues on the trend of the first two of being a fun world-building exercise. That said, I enjoyed it. It's just wildly miscategorized.
April 2, 2023
Another fun and charming Askazer-Shivadlakia novella, this one with more plot. I especially like the attention given to the importance of good bureaucracy/governance in this series. It's extremely rare. The romance is nice too but a little underplayed for my taste.
January 15, 2023
My favourite of the Shivadh romances, with a strong helping if political intrigue and a neurodivergent main character.
July 1, 2025
Did not think I could enjoy this series more. Should have known better.
Everything I enjoy about Hallmark-esque Romances without any of the things that.make me want to tear my hair out.
Everything I enjoy about Hallmark-esque Romances without any of the things that.make me want to tear my hair out.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews