This was an interesting read. I give kudos to the unique take with a horse shapeshifter. They spend most of the book trying to figure out what happened after escaping an assassination attempt on his wedding night. The pacing and timing could have been better as well as overall development.

A very slow burn romance. The story did remind me of “The Swan Princess” mixed with a dash of “Disenchantment” and a feeling of watching a YA show on The CW. The storyline had potential but I found myself asking too many questions too often during the story. The beginning was a slow start but the end third of the book did keep me intrigued to get to the end to see how the story played out. The FMC and MMC are both duped and have a strong sense of duty to their people, over time they learn they are more alike then they realize.

I did enjoy ⭐️ LGBTQ+ representation ⭐️Chronic illness representation ⭐️Magic ⭐️Love wins in the end

Behooved by M. Stevenson is such a cute book. Not only was it an easy read, but it also had me laughing out loud at times and biting my nails at others. The rom-com style fantasy, with higher stakes than your average rom-com, was a unique sub-genere of fantasy that I will definitely be exploring more of in the future thanks to this book. I loved Aric and Bianca more and more as their characters and their relationship developed. They aren't your average royals which I appreciated, and the character growth was evident as the book progressed. Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a cute, unique fantasy novel. I look forward to reading more stories from Stevenson in the future.

Thank you NetGalley, Bramble, MacMillan Audio, and M. Stevenson for the ARC and ALC in return for my honest review.

Tropes:
💫 Forced Proximity
💫 Arranged Marriage
💫 chronic illness


Key themes:
☀️ Usurping the throne
☀️ Neighboring Kingdoms
☀️ Kingdoms with a threat of war
☀️ Curses
☀️ Blood Magic

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶/5

This book was such a nice change of pace for a fantasy book. Overall, I enjoyed this book. This is definitely a cozy fantasy/romantasy book. It isn't dense and daunting like other fantasy books out there. It was cute and short with the story tying together at the end.

I just want to say how much I appreciate 1 book fantasy stories. It gives you only what you need to know without convoluting the story.

What happens when your newly wed husband has a failed assassination attempt turns into a horse the night of your wedding just before you consummate it? (Lol.) You ride said husband 👀 and galavant off to break his curse. This book only takes place over 2 weeks (ish) time. Where Bianca (FMC) and Aric (MMC) try to work together to undo or at least replace the curse that has caused him to turn in to a horse from dawn to dusk.

I enjoyed the world and the premise, the magic system was fun, but the romance just didn't hit the way I wanted it too. For some people this will be a big hit, and since I am a mood reader I think at another time I would like this book more.

This was charming. I really liked it. A fun little tale of actions and intent gone wrong. I felt the characters refreshing too.

I enjoyed how the miscommunication was tackled. The world building and characters were all great too. I felt the audio narration was great and the story flowed well. The curse magic got a bit confusing when that was explained but otherwise this was a wonderful story

3.5⭐ rounded up to 4. The miscommunication trope is a strong pet peeve of mine. I also tend to dislike books where plot seems to have been written around popular tropes. That being said, this was a short (only 10 hours) and easy-to-listen-to audiobook that made me laugh and kept me entertained. The voice actor was also great!

Two things made me kick my rating up a notch:

1. the last 30% (which were fast paced and where the MCs *finally* stopped hating each other), and
2. the horse/riding puns and *accidental* innuendos (which made me cackle a few times).

I disliked how the FMC was needlessly offended by eeeeeeveryyyything the MMC did for most of the book. It felt like an attempt at creating drama and extending the slow burn. I also didn’t feel much chemistry between the MCs---it seemed like physical attraction and similar trauma were the only things uniting them. Still, I liked the disability / chronic illness rep, the LGBTQ rep as well, as the MMC’s sweet, bookish disposition. (Justice for fair-haired walking green flags who like to read!) Some of the side characters were also great. (Looking at you, Tatiana!) And while I often cringe at male voices from female narrators, Natalie Naudus delivered a solid performance here. Finally, I feel like mentioning again how I loved all the horse/riding puns. Because they were amazing. Seriously.

If you enjoy short and easy reads, romantasy standalones, cozy fairytale vibes, disabled / chronically ill MCs, horse and riding puns, and characters in their mid and late twenties, this book is for you! However, if you can’t stand the miscommunication trope, it might be a skip.

Tropes to expect: forced marriage, magic misfire, cursed prince, wrongfully accused, only one bed, only one stall in the stable (!), grumpy x grumpier, slow-burn romance.

❤️ Chronic illness rep (although a predictable plot twist lessens the impact)
❤️ Funny innuendos and horse puns
❤️ Voice actor
❤️ The last 30%
❤️ Aric and Tatiana
❌ *All* the miscommunication
❌ Abrupt shift in romance between the MCs about 70% in
❌ Predictable plot twists
❌ Spoonfeeding / repetitions
❌ Wonky telepathy system
❌ Bianca

Trigger warnings: chronic illness, emotional abuse, animal cruelty, violence, death, murder, blood and gore, vomit, poisoning, injury and injury detail, ableism, self-harm, etc.

I really liked this! I am a bit iffy about romantacy but this book was so much fun! The characters were fun and the story was funny. I really liked that this was a queer normative world as well. Overall a solid fantasy read.

Behooved

Woah, this was a magical JOURNEY! I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was certainly along for the ride, if you know what I mean.

Bianca enters into an arranged marriage with the heir inherent of the neighboring kingdom to resolve some trade agreements. Her parents encourage her to hide her chronic illness until after the wedding, which isn't a problem when the wedding is about 3 days after she arrives. Her and Aric don't get any time to get to know one another before they are in his bedchamber, about to consummate the marriage when an assassin breaks in on their wedding night. With a protection spell gone awry, Aric is turned into a white stallion who carries Bianca away to safety. They must flee to protect her name, uncover a plot to steal the throne from Aric and maybe fall in love along the way, even with Aric being a horse by day and man by night. At least it's that way around because there was only one bed at the inn, if you know what I mean.

This was an absolutely preposterous ride, but I was along for the journey. With characters in their late 20s, the emotions of the characters leaned YA, while the spice leaned closer to adult. Again, all good, I was just along for the ride.

The audio was absolutely delightful, kept me laughing and carrying on with their nonsensical adventures. I recommend if you're looking for a laugh and a happily ever after.

Good for fans of Wooing the Witch Queen or Assistant to the Villian.

Check this one out for:
- Single POV NA romantasy
- Magical adventures, including a horse husband
- Laughable antics and side characters
- Chronic illness rep FMC
- Bisexual FMC

Thanks to Macmillian Audio for my ALC! My opinions are my own.

To be honest, I hadn’t a clue what to expect. But the cover got me - she’s GORGEOUS! What I can tell you I didn’t expect was to have so much fun with this read.

Think a Shrek-like read, but they had an arranged marriage, and someone is usurping in the crown. All the drama. All the laughs. And holy moly all the tension.

This was a fun, light-hearted read. And while it had miscommunication, it made sense with where and how the story began.

ook review

“I can’t stop wanting you, even if it breaks me”

📣Y’ALL!📣

👏Do👏NOT👏SLEEP👏ON👏THIS👏BOOK👏👏👏

Behooved by @mstevenson is as #romantasy as romantasy gets! This has been a very fun arc read for me and I 💯 cannot wait for more!

In this epic tale we meet Bianca- the flower of Damaria who is duty bound to marry the prince of Gildenheim. Her sister Tatiana- the future queen of Damaria- is grief stricken to hear the news of her sisters departure, gifts her sister with a magically embued locket that will protect her against any attacker.

Well, what happens when Bianca is faced head on with an assassin? You guessed it- she uses her locket to fend off the attacker. However, something in the spell goes amiss leading to a very interesting turn of events to reverse the effects.

😂This book had me cackling every other paragraph. Bianca embodies every bit of a noble woman stuck in a sticky situation! She is smart, cunning, and absolutely hilarious! If you are someone who makes jokes in awkward situations or says the wrong thing at all the right times, Bianca is your new best friend!

🌶️🌶️🌶️ Although this book is almost entirely an epic Romantasy- there is some spicy spice that had me blushing! It was so unexpected and very very hot 🥵

🔥Tropes🔥

✨Forced marriage
✨Only one bed
✨grumpy x grumpy

This book was an amazing pallet cleanser and it will remain at the top of some of my all time favorite books!

*I received an ar copy in exchange for my honest review*

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the ALC! #MacAudio2025

After seeing the cover and title for BEHOOVED by M. Stevenson, I was intrigued, but I made myself read the book blurb for once. Then I was laughing so hard I was crying. This line got me, “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.” 💀🤣 I was so excited for the book from that moment on!

BEHOOVED entertained me, but sadly, I had no more moments of laughter with tears. I expected it to be as funny as the blurb, and it only had moments of true silliness and fun. The plot is silly, but I thought I would laugh more.

I enjoyed M. Stevenson’s writing and storytelling. I like how they included chronic illness as part of the storyline. Like celiac disease that I have, it made me feel seen in a fantasy novel.

Had I not been listening to the book, I would have DNF’d it, but Natalie Naudus saved the day. They are an exceptional narrator who brings every book to life wonderfully with their different characterization.

Would I reread it? I don’t know. If I needed to not think and listen to an easy story? Yes, but I think there are others I would choose first.

Would I recommend this? I’m not going to tell you not to read it.

Would I read another book by this author? Yes. I see their potential and creativity.

THE COVER IS GORGEOUS. That’s all I have to say.

Not really. I LOVED this!!and all I want to do is talk about it.

I loved the characters, the world building, the plot development, and the narrator.

The characters relationship was developed so well that I forgot that I was reading for a hot while. Plus everything was just so gorgeous.

This writing is really not good. The story is fine I guess, but the telling of it is dry and boring and poorly worded. It is extremely YA-coded but with nonsensically aged-up characters for spice purposes I guess? Nothing about the female lead reads as an adult woman. Her apparently sole purpose in life is to marry for a political connection but her parents wait until she's well into her 20s to make use of her that way? What has she been doing with her time, twiddling her thumbs? Either write YA or don't, but don't age your characters up just so you can add sex scenes. 26 year olds don't act like 16 year olds. If an author can't tell the difference that a decade makes then they should stick to writing what they do know.

A high 3 stars from me!

This is for fans of My Lady Jane (obviously), had the same silly fun as Ella Enchanted, and also provided similar cozy, romantasy vibes to Megan Bannen's Hart and Mercy series.

I appreciated the dynamic of a strong FMC and a soft-hearted, wary MMC, though I felt like there was something missing between them. Passion, maybe? A quick, fun listen as an audiobook!

Behooved follows a noblewoman, Bianca, who agrees to marry Prince Aric to prevent a war between their two kingdoms. On their wedding night, a failed assassination attempt leaves Biance astride Aric… as a horse. The two must go on the run to help Aric break the curse and find out who did it. 

This isn't a 'save the world' story, but it is 'save the kingdoms,' so the stakes felt a bit high, but I also thought it was pulled off. 

While this is 'cozy fantasy,' it doesn't fall into the pitfalls some have with the genre. There is depth to the characters, world-building, and story-line! It's cozy in that it is character driven. We get to know Bianca and Aric truly through big moments, yes, but also the little ones as well. 

I loved getting to know Bianca and Aric. Their insecurities, pride, and relationship were the center of this story, making it all the more fun to read. 

This is a charming book that tackles some important things like chronic illness, demeaning families, and industrialization with what felt like care. It also looks at loyalty, following your own wishes, and falling in love despite (in spite) of it all. 

What I would have loved to see was more details on the magic system. We get hints of it (espeically because of Aric’s curse) but not a lot of concrete details. I also felt like the end was rushed a bit. There seemed like such an emphasis on what they want to do (the good they could do as rulers) and I would love to see that!

Overall, just a fun, cozy, and love (romantic and self-acceptance) book.

The audio is done by Natalie Naudus who is a consistent and excellent audiobook narrator!

Thank you, Net Galley, Macmillan Audio, and Tor/Bramble for the eARC audio book of this book.

Fulll review on halfextinguishedthoughts.com

I absolutely loved this book. We are living through a renaissance of cozy fantasy books and this one is completely worthy of the hype.

I listened to this as an arc and it gave me My Lady Jane vibes. It was a quick-paced, easy to listen to story. It was cute with sassy characters, miscommunication trope, and fairytale romance.

First of all, I’d like to appreciate the wordplay of this book’s title. While “behooved” more obviously refers to Aric, our prince who is transformed into a horse, it is also the perfect word to describe our female lead, Princess Bianca, our chronically ill protagonist who has lived her whole life masking her illness to fulfill her duty to her family and kingdom. The final duty her parents ask of her is to marry Prince Aric, the heir of their neighboring kingdom in the north.

As a spoonie myself, I enjoyed seeing a chronically ill protagonist I could relate to almost a bit too well. There were times I wanted Bianca’s ailments to be explained more clearly, but then I remembered that the ridiculous flare-ups of various symptoms with no known cause are the quintessential chronically ill experience. The invisible disability representation was so accurate that I can’t complain (-‿-")

What sold it for me was that Bianca wasn’t just a sick girl. She’s a literal swordswoman. The number of times she had to save her bookworm prince despite her health condition made me giggle. On that note, I loved the complete toss-up of gender norms. Yes, the boy can be the sensitive bookworm.

I especially loved how Aric saw the strength in Bianca, where everyone else saw weakness. I’ve been so fortunate to have never been questioned about whether I’m “faking my illness” or dealt with claims that I’m being “lazy” or “dramatic.” I’m surrounded by family and friends who see my resolve and how much I fight to accomplish the things I want. They’re the ones who remind me of my strength. However, I know that not everyone can say the same. I hope this book can give those people some healing and hope.

The plot didn’t maintain my interest, but Bianca’s growth and the bond between the main characters were so heartwarming to me. Much love to these characters and my fellow spoonies who might find solace in this story ♡

Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for this ALC!

This was a cute and feel good fantasy book. The story is predictable. I sometimes really enjoy when I can predict what occurs in books. However, in this book, the predictability paired with a lack of seriousness in the plot made me feel like pieces didn’t always feel fluid/cohesive. I thought the premise was hilarious. I liked the light tone and obvious humor with Aric being transformed into a horse. Yet, I didn’t like the insta love. I wish we were given a slower burn. I feel like that part was fast forwarded through, and it would’ve helped to have some more tension in some of the middle parts to really add an interesting sub plot. The things I loved about this book are the narrator (chefs kiss), the silliness and the overall concept. All in all, I think this is a fun and mindless read!