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timeforgsopinion 's review for:
Behooved
by M. Stevenson
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
if I had a nickel for every book I've read about a girl getting Arranged Married to a guy who turns into a horse I'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice
readability: very good
enjoyability: fair
craft: eh it's fine
0%: I know nothing about this other than that it seems to be My Lady Jane minus the silly Whimsy. Goin' in blind let's go
2%: you're telling me this girl's last name is "Liliana" and her sister's name is "Tatiana"? "Tatiana Liliana"? does she put on a blonde wig and perform concerts for all the hippest tweens
5%: oh sure so her house emblem is a flower and her husband's is a My Little Pony. between this and the pink sprayed-edge pages we're not being super subtle about our target audience here are we
100%: Hmm, what can I say about Behooved? (And I do love that 2010s-Pixarcore title, though I wish it actually worked as a pun here.) A chronically ill duchess of Spainitaly must arranged-marry the ice block new king of Germireland only oops, they're attacked by assassins and he gets turned into a horse and now she's been framed for his murder and they must go on the run together. It's fine. It's cute. The writing is solid-ish, if a little after-school-special-y. The humor (pretty much all of the "getting flustered and making Freudian slips" variety) didn't really land for me. But the book has some nice chronic illness rep, and I like the theme of redefining "strength" in a fantasy context. The story itself is a medium-believable fast burn with some head-scratching contrivances, but nothing I haven't come to expect from 2020s romantasy.
And that's kind of my problem with it? It just feels like there's so much more you can DO with "guy who turns into a horse." That concept alone should make for a BONKERS wild time. What we get instead is a very traditional "going on the run through some vaguely European fantasy villages" story where the horse thing is one physical comedy scene and the occasional punchline, but otherwise doesn't really matter (the furries are gonna be so disappointed.) Behooved isn't a BAD book by any means, I'm simply left wondering: why write something weird if you're not gonna get weird with it?
readability: very good
enjoyability: fair
craft: eh it's fine
0%: I know nothing about this other than that it seems to be My Lady Jane minus the silly Whimsy. Goin' in blind let's go
2%: you're telling me this girl's last name is "Liliana" and her sister's name is "Tatiana"? "Tatiana Liliana"? does she put on a blonde wig and perform concerts for all the hippest tweens
5%: oh sure so her house emblem is a flower and her husband's is a My Little Pony. between this and the pink sprayed-edge pages we're not being super subtle about our target audience here are we
100%: Hmm, what can I say about Behooved? (And I do love that 2010s-Pixarcore title, though I wish it actually worked as a pun here.) A chronically ill duchess of Spainitaly must arranged-marry the ice block new king of Germireland only oops, they're attacked by assassins and he gets turned into a horse and now she's been framed for his murder and they must go on the run together. It's fine. It's cute. The writing is solid-ish, if a little after-school-special-y. The humor (pretty much all of the "getting flustered and making Freudian slips" variety) didn't really land for me. But the book has some nice chronic illness rep, and I like the theme of redefining "strength" in a fantasy context. The story itself is a medium-believable fast burn with some head-scratching contrivances, but nothing I haven't come to expect from 2020s romantasy.
And that's kind of my problem with it? It just feels like there's so much more you can DO with "guy who turns into a horse." That concept alone should make for a BONKERS wild time. What we get instead is a very traditional "going on the run through some vaguely European fantasy villages" story where the horse thing is one physical comedy scene and the occasional punchline, but otherwise doesn't really matter (the furries are gonna be so disappointed.) Behooved isn't a BAD book by any means, I'm simply left wondering: why write something weird if you're not gonna get weird with it?