A King's Trust
S.E. McPherson || Publication Date - 24.03.2025
Every mistake I've made was worth it for this.
Fantasy | Romance | LGBTQIA+
What comes now is Beau picking up the pieces to a kingdom which is under siege, supposed hidden magical artifacts have been stolen and may be in the enemies hands, and worst of all he has to marry. The biggest roadblock is that Beau is in love with his excruciatingly loyal personal guard Elias. Becoming a King when he was never supposed to couldn't be more difficult when the lives of the ones he loves are on the line.
The Review (may contain spoilers)
Thank you to the author for allowing me early access to this eARC for an honest review!
In respect to this novel, I had a very good time. It took a little while to get into the swing of things, as it was painfully obvious that the main character Beau was insatiably in love with his guard Elias. To a point where the comments were getting on my nerves with how frequent they were. I get it Beau, your guard is a hot piece of ass and you want to ride him home through the sunset. As the book went on and the story started to gain momentum, the comments prevailed but were less irritating.
What I did love about this book was the integration of polygamy. Whether it is, or can be, an accurate representation of relationships under that umbrella I would have absolutely no clue. However, the nonchalant nature of Penny coming into the picture and accepting that Beau was in love with Elias before she was even an option was randomly wholesome? If only the real world could have the same level of tolerance and understanding as the newly crowned Queen of this novel.
I'm hoping the sequel broadens the world more and integrates the political nature which was shadowed in this story. I love a political structure within a Fantasy setting and would love to see it expanded and brought to the forefront. There is also an entire magic structure that was touched on during the novel which I also can't wait to have fully explained.
McPherson's writing was honestly very good! The characters felt very fleshed out and I loved how they communicated with each other. Banter between the characters felt natural in my opinion, however, the interactions with Penny's little sister felt very 'modern' compared to how everyone else was communicating. Almost like she had a smartphone and was on TikTok, while everyone else wasn't. I wish more time was put into the descriptions of the environment. Theatre of the mind really took the wheel here as a lot of it was briefly glossed over. The characters were so crisp, their setting almost felt like a blurred background.
Overall Thoughts
As this is the first experience I've had with McPherson as an author, I am delighted to be pleasantly surprised. The novel was very well paced and definitely didn't feel too long or too short for the story it wanted to tell. I loved the characters, especially after the half way point when all the mystery and intrigue finally cleared. The magic system has me wanting to continue the series and I'm very grateful to have been given a copy of the 2nd novel by the author to dive straight into.
I would recommend this if you enjoy medium to fast paced political Fantasy's which integrate magic and LGBTQIA+ relationships. I would also happily recommend this as a stand alone as well. The closure received at the end of the novel felt complete and left it open for readers who want to continue in the series.
** Affiliate Links **
Amazon (Book 1) - https://amzn.to/47EoAz6
Amazon (Book 2) - https://amzn.to/3NttCI0