My Dark Horse Prince

It’s a different take on shifters. Continued with the characters and story line from the first. Want to see what happens next.

This book was amazing. I love the way Bridget Baker writes, I love her character development and the way she makes her fantasy books seem so realistic. Like any horse could secretly be a shifter, waiting for the right person to say “I wish you were a man” while touching them. What I found really special about this book was the way Bridget wrote an alpha male who still bent to the will of the woman he loved. I’ve always loved the alpha male trope, but sometimes it’s a little toxic. But Grigoriy has all that demanding possessiveness we love in book boyfriends while still letting Mirdza make the calls and APOLOGIZING when he messes up. It was so so so good. It worked so well for him, and really healed Mirdza from the other toxic relationships she had in her life. While this book is sweet and romantic, it also has realistic characters with realistic problems and struggles. This is something I love having in books. When it’s not there, the book feels flat, but My Dark Horse Prince is not flat at all. Mirdza and Grigoriy had individual challenges to work through that bled into their relationship. Mirdza has trouble with violent men. Grigoriy is still healing from childhood trauma, while also being thrown into a world a hundred years newer than his. All in all, I really loved this book and I could hardly put it down. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Typically I stay away from shifter romances but as a fan of Bridget E Baker, I decided it was worth my time to read. I loved it. Yes Grigoriy is your typical alpha male who knows what he wants and doesn’t take no for an answer (like most shifter romances). What I love about this shifter romance is the lack of smut. There is heat and chemistry between Mirzda and Grigoriy but we don’t need some sex scene to feel it. I love the tension there and that it’s a clean book. Of course love that we get more of Kris and Aleks. I’m looking forward to the next book for sure!

You often hear about a series having a “second book slump” where book 2 is kind of wrapping up some loose ends from book 1 and setting up book 3 and just doesn’t accomplish much for itself as a book. That is not at all true for this series! While this book could maybe theoretically stand alone, it’s best enjoyed after reading My Queendom for a Horse, book 1 in this series. Even so, it has its own story arc and is a great read all on its own. I honestly think I laughed more reading this second book than the first and I thought the first was really funny! There’s good development for the protagonists of this book as well as advancing the overall story arc. While it makes perfect sense in the context of the book, the ending is a bit of a cliff hanger and has left me impatient for book 3!

Fantastic read! Cannot wait for the next book in the series. I encourage you to read this book as Mirdza tries to figure out good vs. evil and what she can live with when she discovers that sometimes the line isn’t that clear.