This is a cozy fun fantasy. The overall premise that your husband is magically transformed into a talking horse is a great set up for plenty of hijinks.

I was kind of taken out of the story because there was seemingly no world building. It was hard to stay connected to the characters and immersed into the world.

Now the narrator was fantastic. She brought a lot of passion and emotion to the words. And the voices she made for all of the characters were distinct.

This book is a fun fantasy romance and a great audiobook. It could be me, but the beginning was a little slow, not knowing what I was preparing for. As soon as the FMC and MMC cross paths, the story really moves along. She’s been trained to weild a sword where his strength is in his mind and the books he loves.

Definitely a one horse trope story with some fun banter. The story centers on the journey for the two main characters. Not only do they get to know one another since they start off as strangers, but also learn to overcome the flaws they see in themselves. I enjoyed the dual narration of this audiobook. The voices are well balanced and have a great tone. Overall, it’s a lighter standalone fantasy story with a light splash of romance, that doesn’t get lost in too much plot or world building. Your story is about the characters, their journey, and their happily ever after.

The story started out really well, I liked the arranged marriage and unknown illness storylines. It was a different spin on a familiar story. However, the romance was not believable and felt unearned. No yearning or want, just reluctant allies and then boom- lovers. The ending was rushed. I think the book tried to have too broad of a scope for a standalone, there was too much information given and none of it fleshed out.

The voice actor was great, she didn’t do the overacting, damsel in distress voice (which I hate) and had enough variety to distinguish who was speaking.

Thanks to Bramble and NetGalley for the ALC.

The audio: NATALIE NAUDUS!!!! That is almost all I need to say, because Natalie is one of my favorite narrators, and always does an incredible job. With the most pleasing voice to listen to, excellent pacing, range, and quality, this audiobook was great!!

The book: 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!

Book: 4/5
Audio: 5/5

3.5 Stars
This was a lot of fun and I enjoyed following the MCs throughout their journey but I'm not entirely satisfied with this as I feel like I have so many unanswered questions lol. The romance was cute though it felt sudden but I did really like our FMC Bianca and seeing her character growth.

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Behooved is a fun fantasy with a propulsive plot and a compelling main character.

I enjoyed this one, but a few elements fell flat for me. Aric and Bianca’s romance felt underdeveloped and rushed, especially given that Aric was a horse for a large portion of the story, which naturally made their relationship development more difficult. I also felt that Aric’s character lacked depth (which, once again, could be because he is a horse for much of the story). Still, during the parts where Bianca (and thus, the reader) gets to sit down with Aric and truly understand him, I enjoyed his sweet character and development. Bianca was a wonderful main character, and I appreciated her character development and the chronic illness representation. The world-building was intriguing and immersive, and the pacing fit the story well. The magic system was interesting, but I would have loved more exploration of its mechanics. M. Stevenson’s prose was lovely, presenting an entertaining plot. Although a few parts of the story felt a little silly, this was an enjoyable read!

Natalie Naudus once again narrated this audiobook beautifully. Her voice fit the main character perfectly, and her energy and emotion made this story even more atmospheric and fun. I highly recommend the audiobook!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

Behooved by M. Stevenson was an absolute delight! I went in blind, and snorted a few times in shock of some of these situations our beloved heros found themselves in 😆 There were plenty of heartwarming moments that hit in all the right places for romantasy lovers.

There was the right amount of fantasy to shine a light on the romance and make it a thrilling adventure. If you are looking for a romantasy that feels lighter and leaves you smiling wide, then I definitely recommend this one!

Very cute Beauty and the Beast retelling. Loved the chronic illness representation, loved that the FMC needed to rest, there wasn't any "be stronger push yourself to breaking". Too many fantasy books push that agenda and its not realistic or healthy.
Also the MC being a lil book worm, obsessed.

This book does such a great job of portraying chronic illness/pain and the effects of past trauma on new relationships - the book was cute and quirky while still being deep and meaningful

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 rounded up
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️/5
Bianca's parents have forced her into a marriage with a kingdom threatening war; her sister, Tatiana, sends her off with a magical locket of protection she can only use once. On meeting her husband, Aric, she can tell her loathes her. After an assassination attempt the night of their wedding, Bianca finds Aric has been turned into a horse. As Aric is not yet coronated, they have a short window to try and break his curse and save their kingdoms.

I found this to be a a relatively cozy fantasy read with plenty of tropes. Bianca is particularly driven to be a dutiful daughter and a chronic illness she initially masks and works to cope with throughout. Even in a world with magic, there's no easy fix to her condition. She doesn't have magic herself but it's handy with blades and knows how to ride horses. The narrator does an excellent job with the character voices.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will be published on 5/20/25. I'll be posting to Instagram closer to release

This was such a sweet love story! The narrator did an amazing job (I’ve listened to many books with this particular narrator and they always do a great job!)

It was fun with a lot of hilarious moments but it also has a deeper message. Despite seeming “weak” that real strength lies within.

I absolutely enjoyed the progression of the love story between the main characters.

Behooved is a solid adventure story, but the courtly maneuvering leading into that adventure is lackluster. Much of the overarching story, rooted in that courtly maneuvering, is predictable as a result. I was skeptical of the romance but it won me over as we got to know the Pony Prince better.

Bianca's "affliction" troubles her throughout the story but is never defined beyond vague tummy troubles. It's probably good chronic illness representation.

I appreciate the author's light sprinkling of horse related terms in the prose without declaring an all-out horse pun war.

This book had such a promising start - a fun premise about a man who is cursed to turn into a horse, chronic illness representation, a strong FMC who isn't also a warrior assassing type...and it fell so so so so short.

Before I dive into the details, my overall impression is that this story would have been much better served as being written and marketed as a YA. Instead of the main characters being in their mid 20s, make them 18 and 19. Take out the (unnecessary and kind of cringey) sex scenes and given the romance more time to breathe (don't put them together until the very end). Instead of having them get married early in the story, keep the arranged marriage aspect but don't finish it until the end. Spread the action out over a few weeks or months, instead of days - give us time to see the characters together and establish a dislike or enemy vibe before forcing them together. Give us more interactions with side characters - Bianca spends a lot internal monologue worried about her retinue, but we as readers have no reason to care about them (and Bianca's reasons feel weak). A lot of the main character's internal dialogue is very focused on things like growing independence from her parents, overcoming self doubt and being strong in the face of hardship - all of which I think of as being quintessential YA themes. I kept kind of comparing the story to Ella Enchanted, as I feel like the type of adventures and the character dynamics had some similiarities. The story and magic system also don't work if you look too closely - a lot of illogical decisions made by characters and built into the story. While I'm not saying that YA stories shouldn't also have tight in-world logic, the focus can be elsewhere and the details more hand-waving.

Some other positives - I think the chronic illness is represented well, as something that is constant and enduring, but is not magically solved or just ignored. The society is queernormative, which is also always nice to see in fantasy, especially ones that still fit a lot of the western medieval type vibes.

And the negatives - (light spoilers)

So much of the details of the magic system, how the curse worked and even the plot just don't make sense if you think about it for more than a second. The whole "who tried to kill the king" political intrigue is overly drawn out, when there is an obvious answer, and the ending doesn't make sense (we learn that FMC's parents and the governing body of her home country were involved, but somehow she is under the impressin that making her sister the ambassador to their kingdom will be fine? Like, we are just completely ignoring the fact that your home life/country is toxic af?). The magic system doesn't make sense, or the rules seem loose when it suits the plot. Bianca's sister is a great magician, except when she's not. Bianca somehow strengthened the spell to turn Aric into a horse, but we never get any sort of explanation as to how or why that happened (also it takes her way too long with side characters basically spelling it out for her before she figures out this detail). Why can she hear Aric's voice in her head, but no one else can, but when he happens to be muzzled but nearby, he can't communicate with her? He also does a lot of things very naked (since he loses his clothes each time he transforms) and it made my uncomfortable to think about (I'm sorry, but a guy riding a horse bareback naked cannot be a fun thing).

Speaking of the romance - the two main characters have the chemistry of paper dolls. Bianca spends 75% of the story purposefully miscontruing every single thing Aric says or does as meaning that he hates her....even after it starts to become very obvious that he is just awkward and doesn't hate her. And then suddenly, after 4 days, they are madly in love. They go from being awkward allies to having sex with no build up (and also right after Bianca has been gravely injured). We also get a lot of whining about Bianca's previous crush/relationship with her guard captain. Except that it was 10 years ago and we eventually learn that they kissed once before Bianca supposedly broke Catalina's heart at 16? Like I'm sorry, but I think she's over it by now. I would get it still be a sore spot if they were only 17 or 18, but its been 10 years. It felt so unnecessary to the plot, especially since we only see them interact on page once before all the chaos happens.

Related to above, the timeline makes no sense. It took Bianca several days by boat to get to the castle to marry Aric, but then it is only a couple days ride to the border? And then despite literally everything going wrong, they somehow still make their ridiculous timeline. It is also never explained how they magically happen to find a healer after she is injured - like give me something to believe that they didn't just magically stumble upon the only place that could heal our close to death heroine.

Finally - Bianca's internal monologues are exhausting. Maybe it was because I listened to it on audio, but they are so repetitive. Every single decision she makes, she spends 10 minutes talking about how her parents hate her and how she's not strong and how Aric hates her, how her sister is so much better than her etc. And while I get being caught up a storm of your own thoughts, it happened constantly and I would find myself rolling my eyes with how ridiculous they were. We don't need to hear it every single time, especially when it does nothing to move the story forward. And I swear, the amount of times we hear about the fact she wore a dagger up her sleeve when they first met - like....get over it already. Its not that weird!

If only I could magic up more than 5 stars! I loved this book from start to finish. The writing is masterful and elegant, the plot is full of adventure, and the magic absolutely whisks you away! I was particularly thrilled by nostalgic moments that brought me back to some of my favorite fantasy stories - the spitoon! I'll be buying the hardcover and I simply cannot wait to see what Stevenson writes next!

For Fans of:
- My Lady Jane

Bianca is determined to do her duty no matter what. Even in the face of chronic pain, she drags herself out of bed to serve as princess. When she is married off to her kingdoms hostile neighbor, she is both terrified and determined. Predictably, things immediately go haywire and Bianca is stuck running for her life with none other than her betrothed, (soon to be) King Eric. Forced to confront their differences, the Bianca and Eric resolve to enter a truce and work work together to save their kingdoms.

This book includes:
- whimsical and sorta silly conflict
- sisterhood
- unexpected alliances
- duty before all else
- chronic illness rep
- unlikely love stories
- miscommunication

As a lover of "my Lady Jane" I was very excited to explore this book. The storyline is whimsical and fun, and hits a lot of my most beloved romantasy beats. Eric is a bookish and academic king, which I loved as a book worm myself. I enjoyed reading about his quiet strength, and willingness to do whatever he needed to protect his people, despite his shortcomings when it comes to fighting and expressing his feelings. Bianca's character is likable, but a bit bland. While I found myself deeply engrossed in the story, it was pretty predictable and lacking in depth. If you don't mind a bit of cringe or corniness in your books, you'll probably enjoy this one.

I listened on audiobook and I thought the audiobook narrator is very talented and I think they did a great job.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, M. Stevenson, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted across my socials under the username @tinynightingales, check out my GoodReads profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863
my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/
and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

This book was cute, cozy, and humorous all wrapped into one and it was done perfectly!

The acting was amazing and fit really well.

This was a fun romp. The story follows Bianca as she takes part in an arranged marriage that begins with an assassination attempt on her new husband. It has all the fun getting to know you mishaps you expect from an arranged marriage romance. If you like romantasy, with just a hint of spice (some spice, but relatively mild), this is an excellent choice of book to read.

I did find that her 'condition' was an obvious allergy to something she eats, so it annoyed me a bit to have it be such an unknown to her. I appreciate that they actually talked about things, I didn't have to get mad at them hiding things from each other, which I appreciated. The ending was a whirlwind, engaging and plausible. All storylines were satisfactorily wrapped up.

The narration was pleasant, and easy to listen to.

I received a free copy of the audiobook version via NetGalley.

4.25 stars

What to Expect:
- Standalone (but possibility for additional books with side characters)
- Queer normative world: bi4bi 🏳️‍🌈
- Green flag book lover MMC 💚
- Chronic illness rep
- Arranged marriage 💍
- Love interest turns into a magical horse 🐎
- Horse puns 🐴

Behooved is a cute and sweet cozy-ish fantasy where the FMC, Bianca, unhappily agrees to an arranged marriage. On their wedding night, they are attacked by an assassin and the MMC, Aric, is by accident magically turned into a horse. Bianca and Aric (who is now horse by day, man by night) are on the run because Bianca is wanted for his murder.

I really rooted for Bianca and Aric. I love a green flag cinnamon roll MMC and Aric delivered. I loved the bi4bi romance and chronic illness rep in the queer-normative world. The world is whimsical, and I’d love to hear more about the magic system in possible future books.

The narration by Natalie Naudus is excellent. Her intonation, pacing, and her lyrical voice are a great choice for Bianca.

Thank you to M Stevenson, Macmillan Audio, and to NetGalley for providing an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Behooved is a surprising funny and interesting romantacy book that has some of the best puns and unexpected magic. This is an incredibly interesting adventure that just completely takes you for an incredible ride! One of my favorite books this year so far!

3.5⭐ (Rounded up)

This book was cute and fun and not something to think too deeply about.

Behooved is about a political arranged marriage between Aric (Prince of Gildenheim) and Bianca (Duchess of Damaria), where both parties think the other person has forced the arrangement. On their wedding night, an attempted assassination ends with Aric being cursed to turn into a horse during the day, returning to his human form at night. What follows is a journey to end his curse and ensure he returns in time for the coronation.

I will say that I really enjoyed this book, BUT if the world building and politics are important to you, you may not. This really focuses on the interactions between the two main characters, to the detriment of the fantasy elements.

What I liked:
• The chronic illness representation.
• The banter.
• The humor.

What I didn't like:
• THE MISCOMMUNICATION.

What I waffled on:
• The magic system? It was so so neat, but so so lacking.
• There not being any chapters from Aric's POV.

The narration was done well and kept me thoroughly entertained.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this ALC.