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heabooknerd's review against another edition
4.0
THE HORSE MISTRESS: BOOK 1 was a really unique and interesting fantasy romance! We have a dominant human man, a eunuch conflicted over his shape-shifting abilities, and a genderfluid horse trainer all being thrust into the role of ambassadors for their village. The world building was fairly basic and tightly focused on the villages of Draebard and Meran but we do get some hints about the larger Eburosi world, so I'm hoping we learn more as the series progresses.
The whole book is told from the POV of Carivel who was born biologically female but has always felt more like a man in their mind (though Carviel does choose she/her pronouns when asked). But Draebard doesn't allow women to be horse trainers so Carivel has been living in secret as a man. Carivel's genderfluid (or possibly trans) identity is made more complex because of the world she lives in and the fact she hasn't had many opportunities to really explore identity without fear of being discovered or ostracized.
At the start of THE HORSE MISTRESS Carivel is already attracted to Senovo and Andoc but believes nothing can happen between them. As for Andoc and Senovo, they're already together though this isn't something they're completely open about in their village. I enjoyed the contrast between the two -- Andoc is the confident and charming First Warrior poised to be the next Chief one day while Senovo is the brooding Priest who desperately tries to control his wolf and keep it a secret from the village. Adding Carivel to their relationship is natural and easy as all three of them get to know each other.
While I found the trip to Meran and the subsequent trials where Carivel, Andoc, and Senovo all demonstrate their skills interesting, what I really loved about this was the polyamorous relationship between our three main characters. Their relationship was so tender and gentle and I loved how important consent was to each of them. The amount of care and respect they all put into the relationship was so beautiful and made my heart swoon each time they interacted. I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next for this trio.
Content Warning: on page funeral and grief; references to past parental abuse; descriptions of suppressing your identity and the fear of being discovered; Senovo was sold as a child slave to the priesthood in his birth village and then was forcibly castrated at 17 as a part of the initiation (this is briefly described on page)
The whole book is told from the POV of Carivel who was born biologically female but has always felt more like a man in their mind (though Carviel does choose she/her pronouns when asked). But Draebard doesn't allow women to be horse trainers so Carivel has been living in secret as a man. Carivel's genderfluid (or possibly trans) identity is made more complex because of the world she lives in and the fact she hasn't had many opportunities to really explore identity without fear of being discovered or ostracized.
At the start of THE HORSE MISTRESS Carivel is already attracted to Senovo and Andoc but believes nothing can happen between them. As for Andoc and Senovo, they're already together though this isn't something they're completely open about in their village. I enjoyed the contrast between the two -- Andoc is the confident and charming First Warrior poised to be the next Chief one day while Senovo is the brooding Priest who desperately tries to control his wolf and keep it a secret from the village. Adding Carivel to their relationship is natural and easy as all three of them get to know each other.
While I found the trip to Meran and the subsequent trials where Carivel, Andoc, and Senovo all demonstrate their skills interesting, what I really loved about this was the polyamorous relationship between our three main characters. Their relationship was so tender and gentle and I loved how important consent was to each of them. The amount of care and respect they all put into the relationship was so beautiful and made my heart swoon each time they interacted. I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next for this trio.
Content Warning: on page funeral and grief; references to past parental abuse; descriptions of suppressing your identity and the fear of being discovered; Senovo was sold as a child slave to the priesthood in his birth village and then was forcibly castrated at 17 as a part of the initiation (this is briefly described on page)
kzimm2024's review against another edition
4.0
This first book of the series really started off interesting for me- I loved the idea of a girl masquerading as a boy in a mans world. In fact, I stopped a few times at the beginning- was this a TA White book- Pathfinder series? Did I read this already?
No- its a new book but it threw me since the storyline has been used before.
The love interests, well, I felt like it was insta-love and this shy, loner virgin girl got really hot and kinky with 2 guys after really not much time and not much hesitation. And for it to be real love- I am skeptical.
I gave it 4 stars because- horses.
Total sucker for how well the interaction was with the horses and I really liked this world and characters.
Easy to read but beware- not your traditional love/sex scenes- so yeah.
No- its a new book but it threw me since the storyline has been used before.
The love interests, well, I felt like it was insta-love and this shy, loner virgin girl got really hot and kinky with 2 guys after really not much time and not much hesitation. And for it to be real love- I am skeptical.
I gave it 4 stars because- horses.
Total sucker for how well the interaction was with the horses and I really liked this world and characters.
Easy to read but beware- not your traditional love/sex scenes- so yeah.
fraereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
birdloveranne's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it, but it wasn't as great as all the reviews seem to say it is.
acouet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lezreadalot's review against another edition
3.0
A solid beginning to a series. I enjoy what we've seen of the world so far, the characters leave a strong impression without being total archetypes, and I could really get into the relationships. I do have a lot of questions about the surrounding world, but I trust that answers are coming soon. I love that gender identity and fluidity are at the forefront, and the scene where Andoc asks Carivel what to call her in private and she almost cries before answering almost made ME cry lol.
My only nitpick is... IDK, I am clearly here for the poly and I'm clearly up for it, but it seemed a very quick jump for two people who've been together for so long to invite another person not only into their bed but their HEARTS so very quickly. Unless I'm misunderstanding, Andoc and Senovo knew of Carivel before the events of the book, but didn't know her on a personal level, and for them to become so close, SO quickly (no even a week has passed!) was kind of jarring. Forgivable, but jarring. The courtship period is often the best part of a romance, and I feel like we didn't spend enough time there!
I listened to the audio-book as read by Gwendolyn Druyor, who has a great voice and did a great job creating personality and accents for the different characters. And I like that she puts EMOTION into her reading. She would, however, sometimes sound like she was vaguely holding back laughter, which I wasn't too fond of. But the narration was awesome.
Pretty excited to see where the plot goes from here.
3.5 stars.
My only nitpick is... IDK, I am clearly here for the poly and I'm clearly up for it, but it seemed a very quick jump for two people who've been together for so long to invite another person not only into their bed but their HEARTS so very quickly. Unless I'm misunderstanding, Andoc and Senovo knew of Carivel before the events of the book, but didn't know her on a personal level, and for them to become so close, SO quickly (no even a week has passed!) was kind of jarring. Forgivable, but jarring. The courtship period is often the best part of a romance, and I feel like we didn't spend enough time there!
I listened to the audio-book as read by Gwendolyn Druyor, who has a great voice and did a great job creating personality and accents for the different characters. And I like that she puts EMOTION into her reading. She would, however, sometimes sound like she was vaguely holding back laughter, which I wasn't too fond of. But the narration was awesome.
Pretty excited to see where the plot goes from here.
3.5 stars.
phatlady's review against another edition
1.0
Couldn't finish it. There's a lot of transphobic thoughts and bad takes going through the main character's head right off the bat. I gave it a chance, since the opening claimed to represent genderfluidity and polyamory, but it's definitely not starting from a good place.
vagaybond's review against another edition
There is no way this author has any trans friends or consulted any kind of sensitivity reader. This is Not genderfluid representation. My concerns are mainly a lot of really transphobic statements about "birth sex" and "like a real boy" and other shit. I hate that this was so cringey about how trans stuff was handled because a lot of the stuff related to consent and kink safety was gone over pretty well.
But jfc was this representation an atrocity
But jfc was this representation an atrocity
windsinger's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0