Edward is the King of England. He's also dying, which is inconvenient, as he's only sixteen and he'd rather be planning his first kiss than who will inherit his crown. Jane, Edward's cousin, is far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately, Edward has arranged to marry her off to Gifford secure the line of succession. And Gifford is, well, a horse. That is, he an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated) who becomes a chestnut steed every morning, but wakes as a man at dusk, with a mouthful of hay. Very undignified. The plot thickens as the three are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy, and have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it's off with their heads?
I was honestly expecting to not like this book. It was hyped up A LOT so I had this feeling that it wasn't going to live up to expectations. I'm glad I was proven wrong.
I think the best part of this book was the subtle elements of the paranormal added into this historical story. The paranormal creatures (shapeshifters in this case) were kind of eased in and they didn't change the story completely. The story could have done ok without the paranormal elements but they made it so much better.
My one complaint is that if felt like everyone and their dog was becoming shapeshifters. It got a little weird (or so I thought anyways). Besides that the story was a little slow but I ended up liking the pace. The romance was super predictable but I was ok with that. Sometimes you need a book that will take you exactly in the direction you think it will.
