The Horse Mistress: Book 1

Very enjoyable book! It's a romantic and believable three-person love story with a solid fantasy-quest type of plot. It is definitely not a YA novel, but it's fun in the way that YA can be; the main characters don't fit into their world, and it seems likely that they will change their society over the course of the series.

The point-of-view character, Carivel, is nonbinary in my (cis) opinion, and uses female pronouns. To me the character is written with sensitivity, and her gender is only one part of the story. I would say this is a book about being trans (in a historical fantasy setting), but it's also about Carivel carving out her place in the world. There's also a good amount of focus on Senovo, his (very sad) past, and his feelings about being a shapeshifter.

I was completely enthralled, with the plot and with the erotic content. The author does an excellent job of showing all of the ways in which these characters connect to the world and each other. Senovo is my favorite of the trio, and I really like the way that the romance develops between him and Carivel. I look forward to continuing the series.