George has always felt burdened by his princely duties, and even more by the need to hide the magic through which he speaks with animals, but when he is betrothed to the strange princess of a neighboring kingdom, his secret, and the persecution of people like himself, must come to an end.
This is a lovely book with moments of interesting writing and examinations of magic and character's emotions. The romance is slow enough to barely be a trickle, but the evolutions of the characters are enough to keep the story going well. It also has some nice surprises and overall isn't too flowerly. There's something nice in the straight-forwardness of the setting and the characters.
I also really liked that it's a very well rounded story, continuing on beyond the climax where a lot of novels try to resolve everything in one swift stroke. The build up and the conclusion are enough that the story feels more whole.
