Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: The King’s Delight
SERIES: Tales of Lilleforth
AUTHORS: Sarah Honey
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 216 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 14, 2023
BLURB:
King Leopold of Lilleforth rules his kingdom well. He’s handsome, intelligent, and charming. It’s no wonder the neighbouring kingdoms are eager to provide him with a princess to marry. There’s just one problem—Leo has no interest in princesses. His tastes tend more towards handsome young men who enjoy a good spanking.
Felix Hobson left the kingdom of Lilleforth as a teenager to train as a groom. While he was away he learned a lot, and not all of it had to do with horses—although riding crops were definitely involved. Now an adult, Felix is home to take up the position of royal groom, where he hopes he’ll have plenty of opportunities for a roll in the hay.
When Felix mistakes Leopold for a horse thief and attempts to seduce him, Leopold is delighted by the irreverent, attractive lad, and sparks fly. Their arrangement is all fun and games, right until they both fall hard and fast. But while what they have together is a delight, there’s no way it can last—can it?
They’ll have to navigate a visiting princess, an assassination attempt, and a kidnapping if they want a chance to find out.
REVIEW:
Felix has returned home to Lilleforth to take over as the King’s groom after years of training with horses. Despite being a strong fighter, he never wanted to be part of the royal guard since his father is the head of the guard and he just doesn’t want to be under his father’s eye all the time. Since he’s discovered his eye for men rather than women, he especially doesn’t want to have his exploits be reported to his father.
Leopold is a king who does not what a queen. He is much more interested in his new groom 😉 They have met only as children and he takes advantage of the situation where Felix does not recognize him and instead thinks he’s a potential horse thief that he then propositions 😀 Eventually he recognizes his mistake and thinks he’s going to be sacked. But Leopold finds Felix rather enchanting 😛 He loves that Felix doesn’t scrape and bow to him and that he speaks his mind – not just about the horses but about what he wants to do with Leopold.
Leopold’s closed friend, Mattias and Felix’s dad are both aware of what’s going on and they both want to make sure that this is a mutual thing. Felix assures them that it is and Leo is a little offended that his friend would think he’s coerce anyone. But there is the little problem of the need for Leo to marry, secure alliances with neighboring kingdoms and produce an heir.
When the neighboring kingdom’s Princess Sophia visits and Leo has to spend his time with political meetings, banquets, etc. Felix feels jealous. But Leo makes it clear that he has eyes for nobody but Felix 😉 Sophia has her own ideas about her life and what is required. It turns out that Felix and Leo have to deal with Sophia’s family, an assassin and a kidnapper! In the end, there is a surprising solution to their problems 😀
This is an adorable story 🙂 Despite all the action, it’s fairly low angst with some humor and love along the way. Felix and Leo are great together. They are opposites in a way but fit together so well. I really enjoyed the side characters – Mother Jones, Janus, Mattias and Princess Sophia were so well written. I also was surprised by the plot twist 🙂 No spoilers here. I really liked this new world that this author has created and I’m looking forward to more in this world. Her writing style is fairytale like with a bit of whimsy as well as heart. If you’ve read her series Adventures in Aguillon with Sarah Henry and enjoyed those stories, I think you will like this one. It’s a lot of fun and I hope it’s not a long wait for the next book.
RATING: 
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