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Book: “Behooved” by M. Stevenson
Publishing Info: Bramble, May 2025
Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: Bianca knows her duty comes before her heart. So when the threat of war looms, she agrees to marry the neighboring kingdom’s heir. But not all royal weddings are a fairytale, and Prince Aric, Bianca’s betrothed, is cold, aloof, and seems to hate her on sight.
To make matters worse, on their wedding night, an assassination attempt goes awry―leaving Aric magically transformed into a horse. Bianca does what any bride in this situation would do: she mounts her new husband and rides away to safety.
Sunset returns Aric to human form, but they soon discover the assassination attempt is part of a larger plot against the throne. Worse, Bianca has been framed for Aric’s murder, and she’s now saddled with a husband who is a horse by day and a frustratingly attractive man by night.
As an unexpected romance begins galloping away with their hearts, Bianca and Aric must rely on each other to unravel the curse and save the throne.
Review: Right off the bat, the comparisons to “My Lady Jane” are inescapable! Who knew there could be two fantasy novels where the love interest is cursed to turn into a horse by day?? Unfortunately, while this one did have a few high points, I mostly set it down wishing that stupid Amazon hadn’t cancelled the “My Lady Jane” show!
I do think this book is at its best when it was leaning into its romcom elements. The absurdity, the banter, and the swift-moving romance are all best appreciated in line with tropes found romcoms. In these moments, the characters were amusing and the love story sweet, if a bit underdeveloped. On the other hand, I think the book struggled when approached from a fantasy perspective. There simply wasn’t enough “there” there. The magic system was incredibly ill-defined and there were many plot moments where, if you allowed your brain to turn back on, you’d be left scratching your head.
I also struggled to enjoy the main character. While I appreciate the author’s creation of a character who suffers from chronic illness, I think the execution was too heavy handed to be very effective. In the first few chapters, especially, it feels as if this is the only aspect of Bianca’s character that anyone cares about, including Bianca herself! It’s referenced a truly boggling number of times in a very small number of pages. Of course, this is an important part of her life and is a source of friction between her and her parents, who see this only as a weakness. However, I began to feel as if Bianca didn’t have anything else making up her character either, defining herself completely around this one aspect of herself, which seems completely contrary to how one should understand people who live with chronic illnesses.
I also struggled with the romance itself. Alas, the story leans heavily into the miscommunication trope, one of the banes of my existence. The wild leaps of logic were truly baffling at times. For example, on the night of the attack, Aric and Bianca are both attacked. But for some reason Aric goes on to think that Bianca was behind it all? And, as is so often the case with this trope, much of the confusion and animosity between them could have easily been solved with a few very short conversations.
Overall, this was an ok read. Strangely, this is one of those cases where I feel like the book would have been better served to have leaned more fully into the comedy aspects of the story. The attempts at serious fantasy elements or its handling of important themes all became stumbling blocks to my enjoyment of the book. That said, straight romcom readers may enjoy this one more than me! Especially if you don’t care as much about the fantasy portions of the story!
Rating 7: While the book did have some sweet and funny moments, I struggled to enjoy it due to its weaker main character and the heavy use of the miscommunication trope.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Behooved” can be found on this Goodreads list:2025 Cozy Fantasy Romance
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