My reviews are listed in chronological order of when I read the books, and the ranking list is based on my preferences.
My rankings are: I Love It/Pretty Good/A Good Read/Eh, It's Readable/Absolutely Not
The Prince's Dearest Guards (Beau Van Dalen)
The Prince's Dearest Guards - By Beau Van Dalen (Published 2023) Discussion Rating: Eh, It's Readable
Tropes: Knows Nothing Protagonist, Royalty and Knight Love
Summary: Hal, a lonely 21 year old trans man, is ready to be swept off his feet by a dashing man. However, as a prince, he must undergo the royal tradition of a long journey to the home of the mythical serpent. It has been centuries since said serpent has been seen, and so Prince Hal is not expected to actually kill a mythical creature, but the journey is meant to form unbreakable bonds with his two new personal guards. With two, incredibly hot, men by his side at all hours, Prince Hal is no longer lonely.
Review
While certainly not non-exsistent, queer romances are uncommon, and I was ecstatic to find a trans-masc protagonist outside of my small circle of trusted authors that I follow! I have a few more that I've discovered, but both this book and the others were certainly tough to find and I read a lot of questionable reading lists in the process. Which is unfortunate, because this book was quite disappointing.
Firstly, there was a distinct disconnect between what the author wanted the protagonist to be, and how they actually wrote him. There's several lines where the author describes him as dignified or some flavour of nobly confident, and yet the entire time the protagonist was coltish and diminutive to everyone around him. The protagonist also seems oblivious to his own family history, the royal traditions, royal etiquette, etc. It's not like the author didn't write protocols and such, more-informed characters remind him of the basics, it's just these characteristics of the Prince are treated as anime-esque 'whoopsies' instead of core aspects of his character that could've formed amazing tension.
This wasn't a problem for the two love interests though, the guards. Both of them were consistent in their characterisations throughout the work, even when the protagonist went from blushing and blubbering to seducing them in the bath.
The sex scenes in the book are serviceable, which is a huge compliment! Writing Sex is a completely different skill to regular writing. I have had my fair share of experiences of reading an amazing story, only to encounter the most out of place and poorly written sex scene I've ever seen in my life. So the two sex scenes covering the majority of the page count was truly a blessing.
Especially since this book did skimp out on any semblance of a plot. If this were a lonely prince being secretly courted by his new personal guards within the royal palace, then I think the lack of plot would be more than fine. However, there is a *promise* of action. The three of them are meant to go on a long and arduous journey in order to form strong bonds, bonds that would compel these guards to sacrifice their lives in order to protect the prince for the rest of his life. The journey that's meant to do this is condensed into a page long montage, where any character interaction, character growth, or plot, is lost to a summary. Then, at the climax of the story, when the prince ultimately does encounter the mythical serpent and defeats it, that portion of the book is only a page or two! Because of this, the infatuation of both guards is instantaneous, if not outright established before the events of the book. The relationship aspects of this ultimately turn vapid because there's no foundational work.
The book is technically readable, but I'd only recommend it to those who want something quick and salacious. A light read that you could consume an hour or so before bed, and you wouldn't wake up the next morning being consumed to continue the story.