Cbr17bingo review — by Finnyfinfinn
E.B. Asher is the pen name for the three authors who wrote This Will Be Fun together: Bridget Morrissey, Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka. They are all romance authors, and while there are a couple of lovely romances in this story, it is also an adventure full of bickering and swashbuckling. It’s funny and highly entertaining while dealing with some more serious issues like grief, betrayal and survivor’s guilt. Thanks to Finnyfinfinn for the previous review.
In the mythical Queendom of Mythria, celebrations abound as the lovely Queen Thessia prepares for her upcoming wedding. The joyful event is scheduled right around the time of a major festival acknowledging the heroics and sacrifices of The Four. Ten years prior, Galwell the Great, his friend Clare Grandheart, his little sister Elowen and friend Beatrice saved Princess Thessia and the realm from great evil, but Galwell died (heroically). The three surviving heroes, despite their friendship, fell apart after Galwell’s death. They fought with each other, felt betrayed by each other and have never spoken to each other since. The Queen’s impending nuptials are forcing them to reunite for the occasion, but then evil raises its ugly head again. The Queen needs the heroes to do heroic things for the realm. Their mutual animosity plus ten years’ vacation from questing promise to turn this into a real shitshow!
The novel revolves around Clare, Beatrice, Elowin and an assassin-for-hire turned Queen’s guard named Vandra, and learning about their personalities and pasts is great fun. Clare might be my favorite. He was Galwell’s friend but he was also completely in awe of Galwell. Galwell was a true hero – handsome, brave, in possession of terrific leadership skills. Clare has himself become quite the celebrity in Mythria; he has had songs written about him, has had guest starring roles in broadcast serials, and has a number of lucrative endorsement deals. Clare is handsome, popular and Queendom’s most eligible bachelor, but inside he feels like a fraud. Despite his bravery, he always compares himself to Galwell and finds himself lacking. He never lets on though, and seems to others (especially Elowen and Beatrice) to love his celebrity and attention. In one of the funniest scenes, Clare and crew happen upon a Clare-con full of Clare cosplayers. Clare is also desperately in love with Beatrice. Clare and Beatrice had a thing 10 years ago, but mutual betrayals have turned them into enemies, even though Clare still yearns for her. And the public has been speculating about their possible reunion for ten years, referring to the relationship as “Claretrice.”
Elowen, as Galwell’s little sister, was always a bit of an outsider amongst the Four, but she possesses a formidable magic, being able to read other people’s emotions. Elowen, however, doubts her own power, and besides, after Galwell’s death and Beatrice’s deception (explained later in the book), she is done with people. Elowen hides herself away in a forest, setting up deadly traps to stop fans/curiosity seekers from bothering her. Elowen spends her days watching her favorite soap operas and participating in magical online fan groups. She also sees a therapist. When one of Thessia’s messengers manages to beat the obstacle course to reach her with the wedding invitation, Elowen is adamant that she will not attend, knowing full well it would mean seeing Beatrice again, but Queen Thessia is smarter and sends her guard Vandra to kidnap Elowen. Thing is, Elowen and Vandra had their own little affair 10 years ago, and while Elowen does not want to let Vandra back into her life, Vandra is kind of irresistible. Vandra is not just a badass former assassin, she is also the most grounded and normal person in Elowen’s life. The sparks between these two are fun to watch.
Finally there is Beatrice, who reminds me a lot of Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing. Beatrice hates herself and takes it out on everyone around her. She feels terrible guilt about Galwell’s death and given that her power is related to memory (being able to read others’ memories and being able to go back into her own detailed memories at will) she spends time every day reminding herself of what she did wrong. Beatrice is just coming out of a bad marriage when she runs into Clare at the worst possible time. Sparks fly and as the novel progresses we learn about what really happened with Galwell and what happened between Beatrice, Clare and Elowen.
The story about the remaining four reuniting for the Queen is fine. We get a good backstory about what happened 10 years ago and how unresolved business is going to come to the fore. The best part, though, is about these characters who feel unworthy of their titles as heroes, who are their own worst critics, who hide what they really feel. Obviously, they are going to have to come to terms with the past and their mistakes in order to succeed in their quest and, who knows, maybe find some happiness? Since this novel was written by romance novelists, I can tell you that there are several fun, sexy bits, and there is just a lot of humor, which I appreciate these days. If you want a fun, fantasy-romance with danger and snark, you should pick this up.