A Happy Beginning is a well written debut novel by B.A. Richards. Due out 21st Jan 2025 it's 359 pages and will be available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is pure escapist romantic fantasy, genderqueer friendly, told in a dual PoV between the two main characters, a fae princeling who is also living in the human world and working as an attorney, and a human businessman and entrepreneur. There's a fair bit of explicit content (M/M), so readers should be seeking a spicy read, or at least ok with that. The author does a good job with it, and it's surprisingly not cringey at all. The language (and content) are at least R-rated+. Definitely NSFW/commute (unless the e-reader is well figleafed).
The story is engaging, and the characters are well rendered and not just "body parts"... they have real motivations and thoughts. The plot is complete, with a magic and political systems which are well constructed and thought out (not just tacked on to bridge the gaps between the sexy scenes).
Four stars. It seems to be a series opener. It's an indi-pub, and quite explicitly spicy, so probably not appropriate or easily accessible for public library acquisition, but for romantasy fans, it's a good start.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment