I unfortunately had to DNF this book after 10 chapters. The idea is there, but the execution is not. This title needs a lot more revision, sense of voice, and ironing out plot wholes/lines of logic before it's ready to go to print.

This book caught my attention first for its cover. There was just something so striking about it. The more I looked at it, the more I saw, from the castle, to the white stallion, to the representation of day and night. It’s an absolutely stunning cover for a delightful story!

This was a lovely easy read that had adventure and antics galore. Between Bianca’s internal monologue, her sister Tatiana’s experimenting and Aric’s self deprecating I found myself giggling out loud. I especially loved the connection Aric and Bianca had when he was in his horse state, as it gives us real insight to what Aric is feeling/thinking (panicking?) without having a true “second POV”.

The setting for this story was vivid in its description and the magic system well thought out and very straightforward. I appreciated that in a book like this as I was looking for something lite and knew we couldn’t get too heavy since it’s a standalone!

All in all, I would absolutely pass this on to any of my friends looking for a lighthearted, Romantasy standalone! Big thank you to the author, M. Stevenson and the team at Tor Publishing for granting me the opportunity to read this as an eARC on NetGalley!!

In this lighthearted fantasy adventure, noblewoman Bianca has always struggled with chronic illness. Told repeatedly that her disability makes her useless and the only thing she has to offer is obedience, Bianca is bullied into an arranged marriage with the newly crowned king of a neighboring country. When Bianca meets her intended, Aric, he treats her coldly, leaving Bianca to believe that he hates her. On their wedding night, Bianca and Aric are threatened with an assassination attempt. It fails, but the chaotic magic curses Aric to turn into a horse by day and a man by night. Going on the hoof (run) with her part-time equine husband, Bianca must rise to meet new challenges and restore her husband before the curse becomes permanent. I thought this book had a good balance of humor, magic, pining, and a touch of serious topic. Bianca's illness is handled with sensitivity (which makes sense, as the author also has celiac disease) and I enjoyed the slower pace of Aric and Bianca's relationship. I heartily agree with a reviewer who called it a confection, but I say my fork is poised - bring on the extra frosting!

Thank you NetGalley and Bramble for the ARC (I also recieved a physical ARC of the book)! Behooved is a delightful cozy romantasy! Bianca is told she must agree to a marriage agreement to keep the peace between the two countries. When she arrives for her wedding, her soon-to-be husband, Prince Aric, does not greet her at the docks and when they finally do meet, is cold and distant. When their wedding night finally arrives, the two are attacked by would-be assassins and, in casting a spell to deflect the assassins, Bianca accidentally turns Aric into a horse! Now for their own saftey, the two are on the run until they can work out just who was the target of the assassination and more importantly, who was behind it. As they travel, Bianca and Aric get to know one another and discover that they may have been fed incorrect information, and they may be more compatiable than they thought. With fast=paced action, heart fluttering scenes, and delightful characters, Behooved is a great read for those looking to dip their toes in romantasy or are looking for a lighter, cozier romantasy read.

This adventurous fantasy romance story drew me in with its beautiful cover and interesting premise. Horse by day, husband by night? I HAD to know how that turned out! I enjoyed Bianca and Aric’s dynamic. Their journey from reluctant allies to lovers was very sweet. I enjoyed their banter and adaptability through their blunders. I also liked all of the side characters introduced. If there were more books in this world, I would hope at least one would be about Tatiana. In this book, I felt there were plotlines that didn’t fully reach conclusions. Most notably to me, the mystery of Bianca’s illness. It felt like it was going to be explored further, but wasn’t. Overall, it was a fun fantasy romance book that fantasy readers would enjoy.

Lighthearted romantasy with a equine twist.

I saw "horse by day, man by night" and was instantly sold on this. That this also had an arranged marriage and hostility-to-love plotline, as well as a bi protagonist with celiac disease, I had no idea, but found it to be a pleasant surprise.

I enjoyed the variety of horse-related similes and metaphors that come up way before the whole horse-curse even comes up in the plot. It gave me a good chuckle, while also fitting with the fantasy setting (that, just for the record, isn't really all that overtly horses based.)

I don't want to talk too much about the plot - there's an arranged marriage, a curse, and a plot against the king-to-be, so mainly a fairly lighthearted political intrigue storyline with romance and some adventure. While the lives of the main characters are threatened, it overall felt pretty low stakes, as it never turned dark and even the more intense scenes were resolved rather quickly. The reader is never really left to stew in tension for long.

I absolutely loved the side characters, and I really wanted to see more of them! Julieta was amazing but has way too little on-page time, and her personal storyline resolution was a bit too quick - but I also really appreciated the overall lack of drama that generally is in the book. So many things could have turned into huge deals, but didn't, simply because the characters chose kindness and to listen to others.
Marya and Tatiana were delightful as well, and I think it's a crime that Tatiana only appears on-page towards the end. They, too, deserved more time and bigger roles in the plot, but that would have become a very different book, to be fair.

I admittedly wasn't the biggest fan of the romance. Generally, the book was much more driven by the plot than by the characters, and I didn't get the most emotional investment into any of the characters - maybe that is why I enjoyed the side characters so much, they added some variety and seemed fun. That said, I didn't dislike the main characters or their romance! I actually loved the non-traditional roles and dynamic between Bianca and Aric, with her being much more stern, brave and proactive, and him being nervous (even insecure), bookish and introverted. He is very much not a typical male fantasy hero, even when he is not a horse.
The beginning of their relationships is the only part of the book where communication and common sense do not prevail, but they have their reasons to not even want to try to hear the other out.

That said, there were quite a few inconsistencies, particularly in how people interacted. Several times, the way people reacted (or rather, did not react) to things happening felt super out of place or plain wrong to me, to the point it threw me out of the reading flow. It just felt too convenient that NO-ONE would react to these things, or the way the characters reacted was good for the plot but made no sense when looking at it for longer.

Overall I did have a good time with this, it's a quick read with a lovely non-traditional romance, plenty of fun horse puns, and an exciting plot!

4.5 🌟 and 2.5 🌶️
💚 Forced Marriage
💚 Chronic Illness representation
💚 LGBTQIA+ Representation
💚 Cozy Fantasy
💚 Grumpy x Grumpy
💚 One Bed
💚 HEA
💚 Magical Fairytale vibes
💚 A couple chapters of 🌶️

For all you lovers of Dreamwork’s notorious film “Spirit…. for everyone that loves bedtime fairytales with a little spice… For those of you that love when two grumps fall for each-other slowly but surely…. BOY DO I HAVE A STORY FOR YOU. 😆 Alright, kicking off at the beginning I was weary of this storyline. Her husband turning into a horse? But as the story progressed, I fell in love with the characters and the plot. The ending was not expected for me at all either which I always love. Overall, a fantastic read. I hope the author takes the time to write stories about the other characters, because as the story went on I found myself adoring them. Especially the FMC’s sister! She was hilarious. Also important to add, the PERFECT amount of spice. Not too much, not too little. Just enough that it makes sense with the story. But still hot. 😆 Fantastic read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Tor Publishing Group for the ARC.

Thank you, M. Stevenson, Tor Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the early preview of this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Title: Behooved
Author: M. Stevenson
Format: e-book

Review:

I was invested in seeing where this book went from the first chapter. The somewhat elegant fantasy prose of writing threw me off in the beginning to think this would be a more involved read for my brain. I was actually happy to learn that this turns into a cozy and cute romcom-esque book. I loved it!

I appreciated the representation of chronic illness in this book. I think it is so important to let people who suffer from various illnesses be represented in stories where those characters can do amazing things. I also loved that this world was SO queer-normative. I find it difficult sometimes when books try to do this and fall short. I was not disappointed.

Now for some spoiler-y info:
TONS of green flags for the MMC.
Yes he is moody at first, but he thinks he is being forced into a marriage too! (WHAT?! Yeah - exactly) but he asks for permission and lets FMC tell him what she wants without being guarded and judgy. Yes yes yes!

I at first thought that FMC was going to be turned into a horse. So in that, I was caught off guard. Then we learn that MMC is turned into a horse. Truly a riot. A sassy guy made into a horse and can only talk to the person he is being forced to marry… makes for a great time with lots of banter. And don’t get me started on the puns!

The ending did throw me off. Multiple people had their own agendas. I was bothered that there wasn’t one outright “bad guy”? But should I be bothered? I don’t know.. it wasn’t bad.. it’s very realistic to reality that multiple people will take advantage of a situation. I just don’t feel like it was super gratifying.

All in all, great story, fun read - definitely would recommend for romcom-y lovers!

Bianca is a duchess whom is tasked with marrying the soon to be king of another country, or else a war would break out. An ever dutiful daughter, she agrees to the marriage, cue a crazy wedding night leading to an even crazier journey.

There’s chronic illness/pain representation here which is awesome.

This book just wasn’t for me but would be perfect for readers looking for a fantastical, a bit off beat, fast-paced journey.

When I say this is a book for all the horse-girls out there, it's meant with love (and maybe a little teasing.) The storyline was a simple one to follow, especially for people who have read or watched My Lady Jane, which Behooved echoed maybe a bit closely. Obviously, that is an opinion, and Behooved was still published, and there is a readership for people who like horse-related fantasies. At one point I think Belinda got a bit close to an internal beastiality thought, at which I turned to my partner wide-eyed and said 'I think she wants to fuck a horse' and their response was 'You're reading a romantasy called Behooved, and you didn't think that was a possibility?' Which, fair.

The cover is gorgeous. The prose is fun, if simple. It was an easy read, but not one I'm chomping at the bit (pun intended) to read again.

Whimsical Fantasy is so back! Behooved is full of humor, whimsy, and magic.

Bianca Liliana never expected to accidentally turn her husband into a horse on her wedding night. When the protection charm her sister gave her goes awry defending them from a would-be-assassin, she and her new husband must put aside their differences and travel across the land in search of a cure.

An arranged marriage, a spell gone wrong, and enemies becoming lovers? Plus, the inn only has one bed? What’s not to love about this! And our main protagonist has a chronic illness- representation!

Behooved releases on May 20, with a diverse cast and a plot that will have you hooked all the way. Thank you to Bramble/Tor Publishing and Netgalley for the e-arc!

Behooved was a fun and cute adventure. It's cozy, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and the magical and whimsical vibes are through the roof.

Bianca ships off to a neighboring kingdom to prevent a war by fulfilling an arranged marriage to the studious and aloof Aric who seems to hate her and the prospect of their marriage. On their wedding night, Bianca tries to save Aric from an assassin and accidentally turns him into a horse and gets herself framed for his murder. The two must now work together to break his curse, take back the throne, and save their kingdom.

So, that's a fun set up.

There were a lot of puns and tongue-in-cheek moments. I really enjoyed their banter and their romance (although, I wouldn't really consider it that slow burn), and Aric is a genuinely good guy which was refreshing compared to many romantasy heroes.

Bianca's own struggles with a mysterious chronic condition (a fantasy version of celiac disease) help her empathize with Aric, and for me, her chronic illness rep was a standout feature of the story. It was refreshing to see a chronic condition NOT get magically "cured" in a fantasy book.

Some of my favorite quotes from my advanced copy of Behooved (text not final):
"Relieving pain seemed a much more worthy use of magic than inventing new ways to kill people."
"I knew firsthand that one could appear collected while falling to pieces inside."
"Wounds, like words, like magic, always left a mark."

Overall, Behooved was different, fun, and refreshing. I laughed out loud, I swooned, and I'd recommend it to any former horse girls looking for a whimsical rom-com.

☁️ Cozy Romantasy • Arranged Marriage • Queernorm World • Bi Rep • Chronic Illness Rep • Bookish MMC

Thank you, NetGalley, Bramble, and Tor, for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Plagued with a mysterious illness, Bianca makes up for what her parents thinks she lacks by being a dutiful daughter. So when a neighbouring kingdom demands a marriage pact to prevent war, Bianca knows her duty. Her intended, heir apparent Prince Aric is cold and aloof, and seems just as against the marriage as Bianca is herself. Duty bound, the two wed. But on their wedding night an assassin attacks. To save her husband, Bianca uses a bespelled locket given to her by her sister that saves Aric from the assassin...but turns him into a horse in the process. The two go on the run, trying to break the curse, discover who sent the assassin and save their kingdoms, all while getting to know each other as husband and wife.
Behooved is a charming new fantasy of enemies to lovers that absolutely bewitched me. I love fantasy and romance, but most of all, I loved the representation of a disease I personally suffer from in a fantasy novel.

I had an enjoyable time reading Behooved. If you've read any of my other reviews, you may know that I'm a bit of a critical reader. I don't usually let the vibes take me, but that's precisely what happened with Behooved. Was the world-building fully developed? No. Was the magic confusing and not entirely explained? Yes. Did all of the characters' motivations make sense? No. Were they fully developed? Still no.

I could probably go on. However!

This book was fun. It didn't claim to be a crazy, political, world-heavy story, and it wasn't. It was cozy. It was slightly magical. It was cute. It was a palate cleanser of a book, and I was 100% here for it.

Do I wish that the things I mentioned were more developed? Of course. But I got exactly what the synopsis said I was going to get, and that in itself is so rare that I appreciated the book for what it was.

One thing I will gripe about, though, is that the plot was predictable. I knew who did it and how it would end within the first three chapters. Now, a lot of times, even when I know how the story will end, I enjoy getting to that end enough that I end up not really caring about the predictability. The twists and turns keep me coming back for more. Unfortunately, in the case of this book, the in-between parts, while enjoyable, were also so predictable that nothing felt fresh and new, and that's why I couldn't give it a full five stars.

If you're looking for a cute and cozy adventure, look no further than Behooved.

I received an advanced copy of Behooved from Netgalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I got both an ARC and an ALC of this from NetGalley and ended up doing a tandem read of the story. So thank you to Tor publishing and Macmillan Audio.

I love Natalie Naudus as a narrator and she did a lovely job with the audio of the story.

This was more of a cozy fantasy to me. There were stakes to it, and there were situations that were technically life or death, but all of the situations were resolved rather quickly.

A lot of it was fairly predictable, but it was still a cute story. The love wasn’t quite insta love but close to it.

I know all of that may seem like I didn’t really enjoy it, but I did. It was cute and entertaining and had some funny moments.

I think if you enjoy a cozy fantasy with some spice, you’ll enjoy this.

3.75 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the eARC of Behooved.

The good:
This book was so much fun, very action packed, easy to read and a great adventure. There were so many small details woven throughout the book, and each one played an integral part in bringing the story together. Bianca and Aric were mismatched from the start under false pretenses, resulting in a book that was deliciously enemies to lovers. If you love a good enemies to lovers, and one bed trope, this will be for you. The gradual love that bloomed between them was romantic, though I feel like it maybe could’ve been stretched out a little bit more from enemies into lovers if that makes any sense. I am a horse girl, so as inconvenient as it was for Aric to be transformed into a horse, I thoroughly enjoyed it. All of the minor characters released it out in this; I loved Bianca’s relationship with her sister, Tatiana, along with Aric’s relationship with Marya. There was proper diverse representation of the LGBTQIA+ community, along with the FMC having a disability. There’s something for everyone here, and it’s one that I might return to you to read again at some point.

The ehhhh:
The amount of horse references and just the first three chapters alone was enough to roll my eyes after the first few. We get it, he turns into a horse, so clever but definitely not warranted for as many horse puns and references there were. Also, the amount of self loathing in this book was a little repetitive, but that’s just a personal opinion of mine!

I did not find anything bad with this book, just minor annoyances that are easy to live with.

I was hooked from the cover and description and was so well done in this type of book, it uses the slow-burn fantasy genre perfectly and was able to create the world perfectly. I enjoyed getting into this world and how everything worked with the romance concept. M. Stevenson was able to weave a strong storyline and I cared about what was happening with the world and characters. It uses the fairy tale element in a unique way and was glad it was so well done and left me wanting to read more from M. Stevenson.

Behooved has moments of funny; lighthearted and whimsical moments but too much is lost in miscommunication. The story feels more like a dream than a journey but hard to hold onto.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

Behooved is a magical slow-burn romantasy featuring a chronically ill duchess and a prince who has no choice but to take the throne.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this at 25%, though I did skip forward and skim every few pages afterward to see if the issues I initially had continued throughout the story.

I generally avoid YA novels, and while this isn’t one, it certainly reads like one. It was refreshing to have main characters in their mid to late twenties, but then the FMC started behaving like an angsty teenager. Every other page was filled with what felt like imaginary scenarios in her head and one-sided anger toward a character she’d barely interacted with. The MMC spoke all of five sentences. The character descriptions were also quite basic.

I was unsure about the setting due to the lack of world-building. There were many odd and confusing word choices that made it difficult to follow at times. Even as I skimmed through the rest of the book, it still felt lackluster. And to be honest, the writing was just… not great, unfortunately.

I really wanted to enjoy this because it sounded like a fun, cozy fantasy, but the first quarter was so aggressively angsty for no reason that I couldn’t get into the story. It is also about war, politics, and assassins..which is not cozy. But if this is something you are interested in, you may really enjoy this.

While this isn’t technically a YA book, it may be better suited for readers looking for something in that category.

When an assassin tries to take Aric out on the wedding night of their arranged marriage, Bianca acts desperately and releases a curse that hits her new husband on accident and turns him into a horse. Fleeing from danger, Aric becomes her ride or die (literally). The journey that ensues builds trust between the two, and feelings beyond duty grow. Aric falls head over hooves for Bianca, but is she ready to take over the reins of her life and do something for her own happiness for once?

I had fun with this book. I think it's great for a good time if you aren't going to take it too seriously. The horse shifting premise was unique and the jokes had me laughing. The romance was sweet, the bi and chronic illness rep were great, and both of the MCs were likable. I liked that the MCs were over 25, I've seen some people say it reads as YA but I think it's just the nature of the book being a bit silly. I do think some of the plot doesn't completely track for me, but I don't always mind that if the book is engaging and fun. I'll be looking forward to more from this author!