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adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For me, there was a slight mismatch in tone with this one. A young princess is sent to marry the heir apparent of the neighboring kingdom of Gilden at that kingdom's demand, and instead on their wedding night accidentally turns him into a horse and they go on the run.
Princess Bianca, who, interestingly seems to have a gastroenteritis condition that, along with tough parents who only want dutiful daughters to use as political pawn, defines her *entire* existence, has to wield daggers, skulk about the country, unravel a mysterious spell, and engage in court politics whilst falling in love with her husband. Only, her whole life she's been told she has to hide her condition, her weakness, and never show any vulnerability at all.
So she can't admit to her husband she loves him. Or her condition. Because her parents have disdained her for both not being magical and also being weak.
Her husband, Aric, secretly also has a disapproving parent and is bookish and beta hero and empathetic and caring and been compared to his more courtly and disdainful half brother his whole life.
They spend alot of time on the road reassuring each other that caring, and traveling whilst in pain are proof that they are both very strong individuals indeed.
Let's just say, if the story had stuck to Bianca learning this, and being reassured multiple times, it probably would have been less wearisome. But after all of Aric's reassuring Bianca she's strong when she cares-- to have him suddenly turn around and need reassurance made the overall tone of this more YA for me than adult.
But then they get to the steamy times because they are, in fact, in luuuurrrv, and then its fairly adult and explicit. So for my own personal taste, I wish we had either an entirely more YA tone and feeling to this or conversely, more grownup and complicated emotional arcs. It was cute, but you could just watch My Lady Jane tv show and kind of get the same thing with an overall more adult (and humorous) situation.
Princess Bianca, who, interestingly seems to have a gastroenteritis condition that, along with tough parents who only want dutiful daughters to use as political pawn, defines her *entire* existence, has to wield daggers, skulk about the country, unravel a mysterious spell, and engage in court politics whilst falling in love with her husband. Only, her whole life she's been told she has to hide her condition, her weakness, and never show any vulnerability at all.
So she can't admit to her husband she loves him. Or her condition. Because her parents have disdained her for both not being magical and also being weak.
Her husband, Aric, secretly also has a disapproving parent and is bookish and beta hero and empathetic and caring and been compared to his more courtly and disdainful half brother his whole life.
They spend alot of time on the road reassuring each other that caring, and traveling whilst in pain are proof that they are both very strong individuals indeed.
Let's just say, if the story had stuck to Bianca learning this, and being reassured multiple times, it probably would have been less wearisome. But after all of Aric's reassuring Bianca she's strong when she cares-- to have him suddenly turn around and need reassurance made the overall tone of this more YA for me than adult.
But then they get to the steamy times because they are, in fact, in luuuurrrv, and then its fairly adult and explicit. So for my own personal taste, I wish we had either an entirely more YA tone and feeling to this or conversely, more grownup and complicated emotional arcs. It was cute, but you could just watch My Lady Jane tv show and kind of get the same thing with an overall more adult (and humorous) situation.