Hello everyone, and welcome to the Vows of Gold and Laughter book tour! When I was first invited to take part in this tour, I was super excited to do so; the plot descriptions sounded really interested, and the world of this story totally intrigued me. Plus, one of my friends on Bookstagram (Jaida aka @paranormer_bookcorner) read and loved this book, so I was definitely ready to get on the hype.
But before I get into my review, I’d like to say thank you to both Love Books Tours and to the author, Edith Pawlicki, for including me in this tour. I had a great time reading this book and I really enjoyed it, so I’m super thankful for the opportunity.
Now, on to the review!
Review
To begin with, I want to talk about world-building in this book. It was, to put it simply, brilliant. I loved the amount of detail that Pawlicki put into developing magic and the way that it works; it was, to be fair, a bit confusing at times, but I enjoyed that complexity. And the world-building when it came to more physical things like the landscape and the history of the world, that was equally interesting.
Though, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure about how much of that world-building (obviously, not the magical parts) was taken from real history. I know that Pawlicki mentioned some things being inspired by history, though, and more things being inspired by real-world culture.
Now, moving on to the characters, I enjoyed them quite a bit. I thought they were very interesting, and I loved all the different personalities Pawlicki worked into the story. Nanami definitely holds the spot of my favorite, though Xiao was a close second; both of them had such compelling (and terrible) pasts that drove them to make the decisions they made. I just found both their characters to be very fascinating.
Though, I will say that certain relationships between certain characters weren’t my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t awful, but they did lean a little too close to insta-love. But, overall, they were still enjoyable, and insta-love aside, the characters did have chemistry. The only relationship I full-stop didn’t enjoy was between Jin and Bai; I loved both of them as individual characters, but I didn’t love them together.
But, back to something more positive, the plot was excellent. It had plenty of excitement and kept me intrigued the entire time; I especially loved the political intrigue! (Totally surprising, I know, I know.)
So, all things considered, I definitely recommend checking this one out. It has beautiful world-building, brilliant characters, and a thrilling plot; essentially, everything a book needs to be good.
Blurb
The meeting of four lonely immortals will change them – and the world.
High in the Heavens, an immortal court celebrates the betrothal of Jin, Goddess of Beauty, and Xiao, God of Pleasure. But as soon as the vows are made, the Sun Emperor collapses from a death curse.
Raised away from the Sun Court after her mother’s murder, Jin is called a useless goddess, but she is now the emperor’s only hope. The curse’s cure is locked in the Underworld, and even though the court dismisses him as a hopeless alcoholic, Xiao vows to help his betrothed find the lost key.
They hire a thief who is more interested in stealing the groom than recovering the key, and begin their search at the legendary grave of the Great Warrior – only it turns out he never died. Tens of millennia old, he is a master of everything but his own heart.–from the blurb about Vows of Gold and Laughter
Their journey takes them from the icy peaks of the White Mountain and the lush banks of the Kuanbai River to the palace of the Sea Dragon and the halls of the Moon Deer, through court intrigue and bloody battles, power struggles and magical traps. The Heavens, Earth, and the Underworld will forever celebrate their triumphs – and mourn their mistakes.
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