"I was in the public eye. I needed to appear strong, even if on the inside my bones had turned to eggshells." GENRE: Romantasy RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5, rounded in platforms with no quarter/half stars FORMAT: eBook Arc Would I recommend to others?: Yes, I'd recommend this book as a slow burn romantasy with adventures, a little bit of banter between the MCs and a lovely balance making it a romantasy! Review: Behooved, a romantasy, is a unique novel in that it brings different elements together and it resulted in a lovely book. We have our FMC, Bianca, who is part of the noble family and has chronic illness (yay, chronic illness rep) and this plays a HUGE role in her life. It shapes the way her parents and the community treats her, it leads to the outcomes in her life and I think due to that, I really did enjoy the chronic rep illness in the book as someone who has one herself! The idea is that Bianca must maintain a facade, or a mask, with her chronic illness around majority of people for the fear of many things and essentially, her parents make her feel as if she would not be loved, appreciated nor valued due to it "It would be impossible to maintain the facade of strength my parents valued while leaning on the walls for support." "Of the two of us, I was the dependable one. But only when I wasn't sick. Keep your mask in place. Let no one see your weakness. My parents had driven in those words since my condition first started to trouble me, and by now they overlaid my mind like scars: no longer painful, but impossible to overlook. I must hide my ailment at all costs." And not only does Bianca feel that she must hide her illness, she tries to compensate for it in order to still be useful. Behooved is very much set in a society in which you are valued by the work you put forward, or at least in Bianca's world, that is the way it seems to be. "... I had always clung to my duty like a lifeline, doing exactly as my parents expected, part of me still hoping it would earn me their love long past when the evidence showed otherwise. Even now, I couldn't quite bury that hope entirely." Bianca also has a sister, Tatiana, and we get to see their relationship. We see the difference between them and I loved getting to know them and the humour that comes out of their sistership and how they'd be there for each other, no matter what. I very much related to their relationship as I do have a sister and we are just as different as Tatiana and Bianca are. Tatiana despites her parents and makes them angry, on purpose! She calls Bianca "a good little bee" due to how she is dutiful to her parents, no matter what And Aric? I enjoyed getting to know our MMC in here, seeing how he got to know Bianca and how he turns into a horse lol. The shenanigans that goes on Behooved is bound to leave you laughing, feeling emotional and relating to the MCs. He is the type of person who wanted to spend his time in libraries, in peace and quiet as opposed to constantly being put in the limelight. He also struggles with assumptions about who he is as a person around him, the same way Bianca does. "When he spoke of topics he found interesting instead of making stiff courtesies, Arc felt like a different man altogether from the icy opponent I'd met in the ballroom. A Truer, gentler version of himself." AND the way he supports Bianca through her chronic illness flare ups? AHHH "Strength isn't about what your body can do, Aric went on. It's how you respond to adversity. And I've never known someone so determined to do the right thing, no matter the personal cost." I'd really recommend Behooved to people wanting to read a romantasy that dabbles in a bit of everything: Humour, adventure, sistership, relationship, politics and familial dynamics and so much more! Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an eArc in exchange for my honest opinion

I LOVED this book. My inner horse kid hasn't been this happy in so long! In this book, we follow our main character, Bianca. A princess who is set to marry Prince Aric of a neighbouring kingdom to solidify a treaty. However, things take a swift turn after their marriage ceremony, as an assassin interrupts their wedding night - and a spell leaves Bianca's new husband transformed into a horse. We follow their journey as they try to understand the magic at work and theorise a way to fix it. We become introduced to many supporting characters that are important to both sides, as well as how magic works in this compelling world Stevenson has created. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves a classic fairytale, especially if you liked A Curse So Dark and Lonely! I will be keeping a keen eye out for more work by this author.