May Book Reviews: Behooved by M Stevenson
I've had this book on my radar since it was announced based on the pun-tastic cover copy and arranged marriage premise. In Behooved, younger daughter Bianca is sent to marry the prince of a neighboring country to seal a vital trade deal--but on their wedding night, a botched assassination attempt results in Prince Aric transforming into a horse. Framed for the assassination, Bianca takes her behorsed husband and flees to attempt to clear her name.
I was a bit disappointed that apparently all the horse puns were used up on the cover copy, leaving behind a more serious book than I was expecting. Well, serious for a romantasy where the guy gets transformed into a horse, at least. Behooved is also a book that's relatively uninterested in a mystery plot, as the identity of the main villain is clearly signposted from early on. Instead, most of the book is focused on the Aric and Bianca roadtrip, as they travel to the border in an attempt to contact Bianca's sister and get to know each other better. Light on the political machinations, but there's bandit attacks, only one bed, and lots of Aric inconveniently turning back into a horse (he turns into a man at sunset and horses out at sunrise).
Fun concept, but this fantasy romance didn't stand out from the herd for me, except in the thoughtful depiction of Bianca's chronic illness.