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