REVIEW: Love and Clockwork by Essie Sloane (Marriage Market Misadventures Series)

LOVE AND CLOCKWORK

Marriage Market Misadventures Series

by Essie Sloane

Release Date: July 24, 2026

Review

I’m really enjoying the Marriage Market Misadventures series, and Essie delivered a delightful addition.

It’s got a cozy feeling, with some pinning, adventure, and eventually love.

Oleander and Castien meet at the Marriage Market, where they share a kiss that they both think about over the years, but Oleander was never allowed to come back, so pinning it was.

When they finally meet again as adults, there is definitely intrigue, but neither is willing to share their thoughts. Instead, they develop a plan for Castien to help Oleander find someone to marry. Best laid plans and all!

Well, he does help him find love!

Seriously, it’s a quick read, but really lovely.

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Synopsis

One hopeless romantic elf (emphasis on the hopeless.)

One ambitious merchant elf (emphasis on the ambitious.)

One week that changes everything.

Oleander has been to the Everend Market exactly once. He was a young boy, brought along to help with his parents' apothecary. It was, like most things in Oleander's life, a disaster, and his parents never allowed him to go back with him. However, now, he's an adult, and he knows what he wants. He wants to find love. He wants to get married. He wants his life to contain more than a small Emberleigh dwelling for one and a series of odd jobs in the city's shops. Where better to find this love than the Everend Market?

Castien is a regular at the Everend Market. He runs a stall selling the same time pieces his father sold before him... and some pleasure devices of his own creation hidden behind a curtain. He is content traveling to market with his sibling, Acantha, and spending the week earning coin from the elves of the realm. While others may find his life small, he prefers it this way: quiet, contained, and full of learning.

But when Oleander stumbles his way into Castien's stall, knocking over a display and causing a stir, they recognize one another. They met, once, as boys, and now, as men, they are reconnecting. Castien is meant to help Oleander find his spouse, but the more time he spends with him, the more time he realizes he doesn't want to watch him leave with someone else.

Marriage Market Misadventures is a light hearted series of queer romances where elves from all over the realm gather at the Everend Midsummer Markets to meet, match, and marry—with plenty of shenanigans along the way! Love and Clockwork is a low angst MM romantasy featuring a socially awkward merchant, an elf that fails at everything, a childhood kiss, and a week that could change both of them forever.

About Essie Sloane

Essie Sloane currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her daughter, cat, and ancient black lab. She’s a life long reader and has dreamed of being a writer since she was a child. When they're not reading, they enjoy doing small craft projects - crocheting and diamond painting, mainly. She also enjoys listening to music, studying queer history, and playing on her computer.

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