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

I had the honour of being approached by Rita A Rubin to blurb Of Knights and Books and Falling in Love and honestly … they didn’t have to do much of a sales pitch to get me on board for this one. Utter the words “queer cosy fantasy” and I’m yours. Add in sunshine/grump and enemies to lovers tropes and, sir, I will hand you my first born, too. And Of Knights nails everything so, so well, I can’t wait to talk about it anymore, so let’s get this show on the road!

One of the only things Jayce can remember from his life before the Dark Lord took him is his name, but that’s a secret that he keeps to himself. To everyone else, he is Grey, the Dark Lord’s right hand, with whom he shares his plans, his magic and his power. But while Jayce may seem like a loyal follower of the man who’s ripping the kingdom apart, all he longs for is a quiet life: an orchard, a dog, and to be rid of the enchanted collar that keeps him shackled to the world’s biggest evil.

So when Alexius, the man known to the Dark Lord’s forces as “The Hero’s Lover” is captured, and offers Jayce everything he’s ever wanted in exchange for a way out of the Dark Citadel … all Jayce need is the courage to take the first step and put his trust in the enemy.

I think it’s reasonable to say that Of Knights and Books and Falling in Love is a book that relies heavily on the beauty of contrast, and Rubin is really quite fabulous at making that beauty shine. For a low stakes fantasy, the book has a surprisingly high stakes opening, but the drama and cruelty of Jayce’s beginning make his eventual end, and his journey to the other side of trauma, all the sweeter. On top of this wider contrasting structure, we also get Rubin’s very clever choice of binary tropes, including sunshine/grump, with love interest Alexius acting as the polar opposite to Jayce in many regards, highlighting the quirks and flaws of both characters perfectly. And there is even some wonderful juxtaposition in the tiny details of this novel, like the ribbons and graffiti in the middle of the rubble of the conquered Dark Citadel, a triumphant punch of joy in a once dark place. The whole damn book sparkles from beginning to end.

And while Rubin seems to be a big fan of contrast, that doesn’t mean Of Knights and Books and Falling in Love is a black and white story. Far from it. For an often fluffy book, Of Knights provides plenty of nuance. Happy puppy Alexius is just as traumatised by the war as Jayce, and takes his pain out on Jayce thoughtlessly. Meanwhile, once brooding villain, Jayce, proves himself to be soft and brave and loving. Over the course of the novel, you learn to love them together as they learn to love each other and that’s an incredible bit of writing.

Of course, you all know that I’m a sucker for a book that can make me chuckle, too. This, Of Knights managed in SPADES. Jayce’s continual teasing of Alexius is one of my favourite things about this book, not only because of the witty on liners, but Rubin’s ability to create visual humour on the page, through descriptions of Alexius’ reactions. It’s not easy to craft a breath in merciless banter, let alone make it the punchline at the same time, but Rubin always stuck the landing.

I could continue on, full nerd, with superfluous literary terminology, but we’d be here all day and none of us want that. So, essentially, I loved this book and if you have any sense (or an unending yearning for comforting romances about dark witty characters finding literal rays of sunshine who love them dearly like I do) you’ll go pre-order your copy here right now. And then enter Rubin’s pre-order campaign here. The book publishes on the 29^th of June so GO GO GO!