Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

Okay, I feel like I'm the odd one out with my review of this compared to everyone else, but this just felt...okay. It wasn't anything amazing, nor did it wow my mind. I also feel like it suffered for being a standalone—which is bizarre, as normally, I love standalones.

Unfortunately, I feel this could have benefited from being plotted out more and being turned into a duology. The world here is ripe for expanding upon, as are the characters and this could've been something much better than it ended up being. My main issue here is that everything seemed to happen so fast - they go from hating/being suspicious of each other to being in love within the space of like...a week or something. This is made even more ridiculous because he spends his day as a horse, and they don't seem to have a scintillating conversation.

There are also a few plot holes that had me side-eyeing it. The whole thing about the treaty had me going, 'So...who was in on this?!' as it didn't feel like it was explained. The magic system also wasn't explained - we got glimpses of some magical strife between two opposing camps, yet nothing came of it. Bianca comes from a country where anyone with magic talent is trained to become an Adept, who in turn creates technological pieces imbued with magic and sold off. But then she finds out that there are plenty of positive benefits that magic can offer from the greenwitches in her journey with Aric, yet that's all the book talks about in regards to that. There's also that magic is wilder in her new home and full of magical creatures, but we get glimpses of them, and that's it.

Aric wasn't broody - he was just nervous and socially inept. Still, he really could have done with more characterisation, particularly as he spends most of his time as a horse. Bianca was fine, though far too quick to temper and a little spoiled - which is ironic, given her history.

The inclusion of her illness was a nice touch and something I've often thought about. As a lactose intolerant, I'd really hate being in a fantasy world!

Overall - there was a lot of potential in this but it just didn't deliver for me.

Couldn't put this book down. I got drawn into it because of the cover (long-haired blond bishonens are the love of my youth) and because the author said on her socials this is a bi4bi romance. However, in the book, Aric's (mmc) sexual preferences are never discussed. Bianca (fmc) has an ex-girlfriend so she's clearly presented as bisexual. There are at least 3 lesbian side characters (one of them is fmc's ex, another is fmc's sister, 3rd one appears a bit later and I don't wanna spoil). Bianca has a chronic illness that resembles an allergy / auto-immune disease (as per author's note, it's meant to represent Coeliac disease), and her parents implanted ableist beliefs in her that she's weak, incapable and undesirable because of it - a big part of the plot is untangling the internalized ableist beliefs and inferiority complex.

A dominant theme across the plot and the romance is the protagonists facing their inferiority complexes over not living up to expectations. Bianca because of her illness and presumed lack of magic, Aric because of his bookishness and not being into expected masculine interests like politics or military. He's smart but not much of a fighter or schemer and he was judged for it both by the court and by his late mother. I will always adore a MF romance where the important plot point is that mmc is "not masculine enough". We don't have enough romantasy showcasing women attracted to other kind of men than muscular alphas and brooding shadow daddies, and the truth is that there's a much wider spectrum of preferences and attraction than just 1-2 kinds of "most desirable man". Aric is kind and caring and insightful, but he worries it's a weakness and vulnerability.

And the truth is, it made the bonding scenes so much more believable when both protagonists struggled with vulnerability, fitting in, having to choose between duty and self-expression, parental and societal judgement, etc.

I also liked Bianca's development from thinking the country she's coming to is very "backwards" to acknowledging it has some advantages over her own, and Aric also admitting some of the truly backwards things could be something he should improve if he becomes the king.

The horse curse plot reminded me of the old historical fantasy movie called Ladyhawke where a couple was cursed that the woman was a hawk at day and the man was a wolf at night. The horse can telepathically communicate with Bianca, but only with her - presumably a part of their magical marriage bond. It has a few other fairy tale references, for example its own version of "seven league boots".

For some unknown reason, I've seen this book advertised as "cozy romantasy" and I'd swear this is even less "cozy" than Wooing the Witch Queen because everyone is trying to kill Bianca from assassins to bandits to villain's soldiers. Not counting her own illness and stubbornness. And tbh good for this book to not be cozy, last time I picked a truly cozy fantasy I got bored to sleep. I think the only reason both books are marketed as "cozy" is because the romance is more wholesome and non-toxic and low angst?

Bianca and Aric fall under "miscommunication to lovers" and arranged marriage trope. I saw the miscommunication setup from a mile and I didn't really like the part where Bianca acted very entitled and offended by everything just to plant the miscommunication grudge. As a person relating to her struggles with inferiority, I couldn't imagine her not blaming herself for every shortcoming and mishap since she arrived to Aric's country and blame him for snubbing her rather than worry she's at fault somehow.

Luckily they weren't digging their heels too deeply and dragging this miscommunication too much. They turned towards understanding and supportive discussions reasonably fast.

There are 2 open door spice scenes and 1 vaguely mentioned. The protagonists are mid-to-upper-20s of age. Bianca is around 26 because it mentions her break up with her ex 10 years ago when she was 16. She does read fairly young though, but that's likely because she was sheltered by her parents who saw her as too weak to live a proper life.

I must say the assassination plot was very predictable, after the attempt happens all the details of the scene immediately implicate what's going on and the question who was behind it feels more like a red herring than a true dilemma. My biggest complaint is that there's seemingly no resolution / a dropped plot point about any consequences for those who assassinated the queen, Aric's mother. Yes, she wasn't a good mother, but are we just letting regicide slide?

To sum it up, the romance was very sweet and cute and the plot had enough of mounted dangers combined with time pressure that I kept turning the pages. The chapters were short, breezy and often ending on cliffhangers to invite the reader into a "one more chapter..." dare. Very well done debut. I enjoyed this one immensely, and the theme of seeing your own strengths rather than weaknesses and caring about people who appreciate you more than about the people who harshly judge you was very timely and relatable.

Thank you Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton / Hodderscape for the ARC.

Oh my GOD this was cute. I had no idea what I was going to step into with Behooved but I loved every single page!

We mainly follow Bianca, a Duchess soon to become queen when a spell goes wrong and she's fighting for her life. This was such a fun story and with disability awareness too.

Thank you for the ARC!

Behooved is a cozy fantasy featuring an arranged marriage, a curse gone awry and both bi and chronic illness rep. The story follows main character Bianca as she is sent to the neighboring kingdom to marry their new king and ensure peace in the realm. On their wedding night her new husband is turned into a horse by a misplaced spell after an assassination attempt. What follows is a slow burn romance as the two of them are forced to travel across the country in search of a cure for the spell and figuring out who was behind the assassination attempt.

There’s a lot of traveling, bonding and political intrigue that kept me invested in the story. The romance is also really sweet and I love how natural the growth of Bianca and Aric’s relationship is as they slowly start to trust and appreciate each other. The book is also really heartwarming with how it deals with people's perceived flaws, and especially unlearning the perceive them as weaknesses. There’s both banter and spice, but the latter is not the focus of the story. Overall it’s a cute, lighthearted and enjoyable book that I just wished had been a bit more tongue in cheek with the humour. With that said, I'm looking forward to the authors future books.

Easiest 5 star of 2025.
The narrative style was so easy to love I was flying through the pages from the start. And enchanting and easy to follow world build, I was sucked into the story immediately.
A mysterious request for an arranged marriage brings Bianca to Aric and on their wedding night, things go very wrong!
The reluctant allies trope is one of my favourites and being driven together out of necessity was so good. It really gives me similar vibes to The Hurricane Wars. I love that Bianca knows her own mind and SHE is the one with the swordplay skills!
I can’t wait to share this book with absolutely everyone who will listen. I thought it was dramatic, funny and heartwarming.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

What an absolutely delightful read!
a truly enjoyable book—funny, magical, and full of charm. From the start, the story pulls you into a world that feels both playful and unique.The writing is delightful, the characters are lovable, and the humor keeps you smiling the whole way through.a tale that feels fresh and exciting, with plenty of surprises and laugh-out-loud bit also heartfelt moments.If you’re looking for a book that’s lighthearted, entertaining and full of heart Behooved is a perfect choice. It’s a story that stays with you in the best way!

This was such a fun and cosy read! We have a well-loved trope such as arranged marriage between two kingdoms, and grumpyxgrumpy characters, but we also have a bisexual heroine with chronic illness (confirmed by the author to be celiac) and a book-smart and soft hero who’d rather his wife did the stabbing for him.

After an assassination attempt gone wrong, Aric gets hit by a spell that turns him into a horse during the day. Bianca and him then have to find out how to reverse the spell and save their throne from an usurper, all in a matter of days. The plot was fairly straight-forward, but I loved the secondary characters, which I felt were well-defined and each with their own personality. The romance between the two was incredibly cute and I loved seeing them lower their defences and learn to know one another, however I would not classify this as a slow burn at all, since the attraction is there from the beginning (even when they think the other one hates them) and once they admit their feelings the relationship progresses very quickly.

I particularly loved the chronic illness representation: Bianca suffers from her “condition” (as she calls it) all throughout the book, and while Aric in particular wants to find out what causes it, it is made clear that it’s not something that can be cured, only managed.

All in all it was a fun romantasy and a quick read, on the cosier side with a little bit of action, loveable characters and just the right amount of horse puns for a book that does not take itself too seriously. It definitely filled the “My Lady Jane”-shaped hole in my heart and I will be recommending it!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Hodder for the review copy