Format: hardcover
Source: purchased
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Date read: June 28, 2025
Royal Artifactual Guild
1. Bull Moon Rising - Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle
2. By the Horns
Ruby Dixon
| Website | Amazon |
Synopsis (Goodreads):
As a Holder’s daughter, Aspeth Honori knows the importance of magical artifacts . . . which is why it’s a disaster that her father has gambled all theirs away. Now that her family is in danger of losing their hold—and their heads—if anyone finds out the truth, Aspeth decides to do something about it. She’ll join the Royal Artifactual Guild and the adventurers who explore ancient underground ruins to retrieve the coveted arcane items.Thoughts on Bull Moon Rising: (I don't know how I didn't read this when it originally came out because I love me some Ruby Dixon and I love me some romantasy and this book was EVERYTHING. So good.)
It’s a great plan—with one big problem. The guild won’t let her train because she’s a woman. Aspeth needs a chaperone of some kind. The best way to get around this problem? Marry someone who will let her become an apprentice. Who better than a surly guild member who requires a favor of his own? He’s a minotaur (it’s fine) who is her teacher (also fine) . . . and he’s about to go into rut (which is where it gets tricky). He also has no idea she’s a noble (oops), and he’ll want nothing to do with her if he discovers her real identity.
Now Aspeth just has to pass the guild tests, thwart a fortune hunter, and save her hold—oh, and survive a rut with her monstrous, horned husband, whom she might be falling in love with.
It’s time to dig deep. Literally.
Ah, yes. A tale as old as time. You know, when a woman is smarter than a lot of the men and just wants to do the thing she loves, but the thing she loves happens to be an old-boys club and those boys DO NOT want a woman in their midst. Let's just say that Aspeth's sheltered upbringing (and her father's disinterest which led to her being able to study anything she wanted because he wasn't paying enough attention to stop her) has her thinking she'll be able to waltz into the Royal Artifactual Guild and earn her place. She might not be in peak physical shape for adventuring in the tunnels and ruins, but she's smart and she can figure it out.
Except the Guild won't let her apply. Because she's a woman.
BUT...Aspeth is smart and it doesn't take long before she finds a workaround. The workaround being that she's going to marry a minotaur in what is absolutely a purely transactional marriage. Meaning, she gets the chaperone the Guild requires and he gets a warm body to see him through the upcoming Conquest Moon. Where, to put things delicately, there is much conquesting going on. Much. So much.
Admittedly, Hawk only takes Aspeth up on her proposal initially because he's getting desperate. The Conquest Moon is no time to be on your own as a minotaur and, well, Aspeth is a pretty good negotiator. So they get married and Hawk soon figures out his wife is a little naive (in a sweet way), very smart (in most ways), and she's probably hiding something. Which isn't wrong AT ALL.
But he's a minotaur of his word and his fledgling group might be a mess, but his new wife is kind of growing on him. If only those pesky secrets would stay buried. For the record, they don't. In fact, one of those secrets is kind of slimy and probably deserves way more than he ultimately got.
A little adventuring, a little back stabbing, spiders, training, more training, a minotaur who might not have wanted a wife, but grows to adore the one who attaches herself to him, and a lady who has to learn the hard way that not all heroes deserve the stories told about them. On the other hand, some heroes will charge through a rabid group of ratlings to get to the lady who means the world to them. *thumbs up*
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