The Prince's Dearest Guards

The Prince's Dearest Guards #1

by Beau Van Dalen

Prince Hal wants a boyfriend.
Sadly, he’s much too shy to find any suitable partners.
That is… until he meets his new guards.

On the day of his twenty-first birthday, Crown Prince Hal is introduced to two faithful guards, Elwood and Kaiser, who have been appointed to serve Prince Hal once his Highness becomes King.

As per his kingdom’s coming-of-age traditions, Prince Hal and his new guards must set out on a journey together to slay a mythical creature lost in a faraway land—however, there’s just one problem: nobody warned Prince Hal that his guards would be so hot.

And although Hal’s guards are more than competent in battle, Hal wonders if he and his poor timid heart will survive travelling alone, alongside two of the most handsome men he’s ever seen.

A steamy fantasy romance novella, featuring a trans man protagonist, who longs for amorous adventures with his dearest guards.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Queer, LGBT, Transgender, Gay, Novella

101 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 7, 2023

About the author

Beau Van Dalen is a best-selling author of adult speculative fiction. Wattpad Stars Alumnus and Winner of Tapas Media’s 2018 Summer Writing Competition—Beau’s stories have amassed over two million reads online. Whether it be through books, poetry, comics or games, Beau is always enchanting words and creating worlds; he is currently on a journey to write one-hundred novels.

Reviews

[Iman (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

The moment I saw trans man protagonist I was sold. I added it so fast and yes, true to my expectations this book was so comforting to me 🥹

I liked Hal since the beginning. He’s trans, whats not to like? LOL 🤭 But the other MCs were amazing too, likeable, charming and have great personalities. I loved the idea of this book, bodyguards and their chaotic prince, very lovely. And the execution wasn’t so bad. I am looking forward to the next book since this ends with HFN (surprisingly, because I didn’t noticed it was a continuous series).

The depth of the characters was there and it wasn’t just made for porn, but also prioritize the romantic relationship with a trans man who struggles with his physical appearance and dysphoria. It was exactly how it was marketed, short gay romance with a touch of fantasy/royal theme. Pity this was short though, but I’m hopeful for more in the next ones!

“Is it not odd to you, that my body is like this? Do you not feel…” Hal averted his gaze. His throat tightened. Disgusted? he could not say the word aloud.

Although they were a throuple, this is a harem relationship between a prince and his two bodyguards. I love the different personalities between three of them it really help with their dynamic. When the three of them were together they were so sweet, protective and romantic with each other.

And OH MY GOD the dysphoria scene during sex, damn I felt that so much😭😭 That hurtS so fucking much that was so relatable and so emotional…. AAAAAAAHHH HURT SO GOOD

Oftentimes, Hal feared most people were only being cordial and played along with his wishes to be recognized as man out of obligation, and not acceptance.

If only I could get over my discomfort. If only I could love my body more. Hal cursed himself again. “This happens to me sometimes,” he admitted, his voice shook as he spoke, “even when I’m alone. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

And is there any trans man mc who’s interested to take it up the ass? Id be happy to read that. Havent found one yet :’)

[mina reads™️]

Steamy romantasy novella with a trans protag. It was cool but could have been better developed in my opinion 🫣

[Parker Barr · Rating 1 out of 5]

The reason why I gave a one star is because I disliked the writing and bad plot. The reason why it’s commonly rated 4 stars is because of the smut. At the beginning there was very little description and most characters lacked personality besides the butler (he slayed). The author reuses words a lot and I just feel like the plot moved SO FAST. I thought I was reading something from wattpad for a moment. I understand that this is a short book but I don’t think that’s any excuse to rush the plot or make it a bad story in general. They don’t go in depth at all into what magic does/how it’s used at all. What is the past of this serpent? How is it needed in the plot? Like it’s a tradition but like….thats so lame. And suddenly the Serpent shows up after centuries??? HUH. Also the book mentions Hal’s trauma (the lighting) but we have no idea what Hal’s past is so like 🧍🏻‍♀️. WHAT TRUAMA IS THERE??? Also why are they letting the twink (who’s BAD AT HUNTING) tell them what to do to hunt the serpent. No offense but idk if he knows what he’s doing. The smut honestly wasn’t bad but the plot was so bad that it spoiled the whole book. I enjoyed the character of Kaiser and I wish we saw more of him but it just seemed like the author had no idea what to do with him. The cliffhanger that everybody is raging about in the reviews didn’t leave me interested because it’s hard to be invested in something with very little plot. There is one point in the book where they bond and start to like eachother in the span of 15 minutes. there is no emotional connection thoroughly connecting the characters and it’s the authors job to bond them (and create a plot but idk maybe just me). This book made me disappointed because I hoped that this would be a good book that represents a trans poly relationship and honestly I think the book did a really good job of representing that. I suppose representation isn’t what makes it a good book and good writing though. I’m trans myself but it’s so hard to enjoy a book simply for catering to trans and poly experiences. P.S. Just a personal preference is how they speak. They speak very formal sometimes but when they don’t it’s my favorite. I know this seems harsh and yes I am aware it is but that’s my honest take on the book.

[Drusilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of how Prince Hal bonds with his guards and mainly about how Hal finally has sex even though he is so insanely shy and not entirely comfortable in his body.

He feared they would judge him for having the body that he did. A heavy, anxious weight lodged itself deep inside his gut, when the thought of his guards suddenly not viewing him as a Prince anymore upon seeing Hal bare, shrouded Hal’s mind. 🥺

A good story in itself, but it lacks plot, which only comes at the very end and then the book is over ... cliffhanger ... And the world-building isn't really there either, you only get very few insights. Not bad in principle, I just don't know if it gets better in the second book. I hope so, this first part reads more like an introduction to something bigger.
This is the first book for me by Beau Van Dalen and I like the writing style. The build up of the characters is also well done. Although everything is told from Hal's point of view, you get the feeling that you also know the guards Kaiser and Elwood well.
The sexual encounters between the three are interesting for now, I hope they get better in the second book.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received an ARC from BooksSprout in exchange for an honest review. Quotes may be subject to change.

Content Warnings- alcohol abuse, mentions of transphobia, gender dysphoria, depictions of anxiety, sexual guilt, some AFAB language used for a trans man character during mature scenes, mentions of pregnancy, discussions of birth control, general violence, homophobia, suicide ideation, mentions of death

The Prince's Dearest Guards is a steamy polyam m/m/m romance with a trans mc. It's set in the fantasy world, where Prince Hal, the Crown Prince, who's never dated or been in a relationship before, has to go to a faraway land to slay a mythical creature. In this coming-of-age activity, he is appointed two guards with whom he has to complete the task.

I liked The Prince's Dearest Guards. It was short and got me out of my reading slump. The smut scenes were also well written, and I loved the conversations the characters had. The gender dysphoria that Prince Hal experiences was quite relatable, specially the part that talks about how sometimes you're fine and dysphoria suddenly hits out of nowhere, shattering your mood. I also related to the MC's experiences with anxiety and stress.

"Since birth, everyone in the land had been at Prince Hal's beck and call. The Prince wanted to know-for once -what it felt like to serve.

He got down on his knees."

While there were a lot of things I enjoyed about the book, I have some criticisms.

For starters, the MC felt a bit 'child-like' and didn't quite read as a 21 year old. That's not necessarily a problem, but that made the smut scenes slightly awkward and I personally didn't like it.

Apart from that I have a lot of confusion regarding the world, notably why this magical creature exists in a faraway land and why killing it is such a concern? If Prince Hal's father attempted the same task before, shouldn't the creature be dead, or can it have children or come back to life? And if magic is such a taboo, why does the concept of magical herbs not phase anyone?

These questions took me out from my reading experience and left me a little bit confused about the premise.

"There was no room for magic, amongst a people that only fought with words."

Overall, The Prince's Dearest Guards is a short read with some great scenes. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to breeze through a book or is interested in trans erotica.

Review written on 26th July, 2023.

DISCLAIMER-All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/was average/Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/new favourite

[C. Lore Hale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like a lot of other readers, I was drawn to this book by the promise of a trans-masculine protagonist who’s openly accepted by his guards and his kingdom. And like a lot of readers, I was immediately disappointed by the lack of plot, character development—basically anything and everything a coherent story requires.

Page 1 of the book, Prince Hal is drunk and bemoaning the fact he doesn’t have a boyfriend.

By page 34, he’s dropping to his knees in a shower with both of his “guards” that he’d met the very same day (despite being a virgin? I think?).

And on page 40-something (I’d given up at this point), Prince Hal is insinuating love between all three of them.

I get that it’s a short story, but there was literally no pacing to their “romance” and a lot of the flirting and dirty talk felt awkward, if not forced. Half way through, it’s then revealed that Prince Hal’s “guards” are both TEN YEARS OLDER THAN HIM. I don’t mind an age gap, but somehow this felt… icky. Especially given the naivety of the protagonist. Who also complains multiple times about feeling burdened by his “princely duties” and the supposed “maturity” that’s forced upon him, and yet he acts like a spoiled child with no real purpose, and offers no evidence of him being an actual prince.

The trans representation is alright, at best. As a trans-masc myself, I didn’t feel overly connected to the character or his body dysmorphia, but I’d equate that more to the lack of actual character than how he was represented as a trans person. The sex was inclusive at least, but it didn’t make up for the train wreck that is this entire story.

Although I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors, the writing is poor with an overuse of exclamation marks and stuttering (every. single. page.). The characters lack any real identities so it was hard to enjoy them or root for their “romance”. Meanwhile, there were so many plot holes, the plot was held together ONLY by ropes of cum, LOL.

So yeah, I’m pretty disappointed. Especially because I liked the concept, but it was executed so poorly.

[Ditte · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @ 36%

This was just really badly written? I really wanted to like it but I just couldn't

[river · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot is decent and I think this book should be longer. World-building started nearly at the end of the book? Characters had little to no depth. Some parts were too short and scenes change too quickly. Also there are so many things left to be explained in the second book. More descriptivism may offer the reader a more immersive experience. I mean, the idea of a throuple with a trans prince and his guards in a fantastic world setting is good but it was poorly written. It had a huge potential and I’m disappointed ngl.

[Balu · Rating 3 out of 5]

liked the characters and the smut was decent. the mc was a bit of an idiot but aren’t all mc?

[Beau Dalen]

Hello, fellow readers! I hope you're all doing well and having a great week!

Thank you so much to everyone who has read The Prince's Dearest Guards since the book's release, I'm so grateful for your readership! 💕

Delighted to announce that the sequel to this novella The Prince's Loving Guards will be released February 14th 2023 and is now available for pre-order!!! 🥳🎉🎉✨

Thank you once again for your support and for reading about Hal's adventures, I wish you all a wonderful day and cannot wait to share the rest of this series with you all!

[j. santos ¨̮ ꒱ · Rating 1 out of 5]

oh man.. i am once again begging everyone to realise that just because something is written by a trans author it does not automatically mean it's good. yes i know it's supposed to be erotica and not the finest piece of literature... but it's bad erotica at the end of the day

[telemakhos · Rating 1 out of 5]

*1.5

Heavens. This might be the worst book I have paid money to read.

The idea is fine. Queernormative, polyam cozy fantasy ft. a sexually inexperienced trans male prince and his two older, cis male guards. It's supposed to be a spicy coming of age/tale of self exploration. Hal, the prince, has had no medical transition, does experience dysphoria, and has had past experiences with transphobia though he's widely accepted by friends and family.

That's all great! I desperately want more books and representation like that. But the author's execution is painful. I felt like I was reading the author's zero draft; all the beats they wanted to hit, but none of the depth, complexity, or nuance that even a mediocre book should contain.

World-building? Don't know her! There's magic, genderqueer elves, and a legendary serpent monster and that's exactly as much depth as the author goes into about these things.

Pacing? Hal meets and blows his guards within twenty-four hours, despite being a virgin (maybe? seemingly) and socially awkward as all hell. More word count is indeed devoted to acquiring magical Plan B than hunting the legendary serpent monster which is the catalyst and climax for this entire journey. There is nothing wrong with the apothecary scene (in theory, execution was as frustratingly shallow and juvenile as the rest of the book) but the imbalance fucks with the pacing.

Character development? Hahahaha.

Instead of spending 200$+ on a cover and more on commissioned artwork to show off on twitter, Beau Van Dalen needed to have spent that on an editor.

[Emmaline Savidge · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was doing exactly what I wanted up until the last 10% when there was a random lore drop. The random magic reveal didn’t feel justified/foreshadowed and I would have preferred it to not be included. I think that the hunting trip for Hal to prove himself should have been cut and instead it should just have been about him bonding with the guards. I’m of the belief that novellas should stand on their own but still urge you to read the next book ex. The Murderbot Diaries. However, thats just personal taste. I also think magic as a cliffhanger is the wrong choice since I as a reader am invested in the romantic relationship and care about that unfolding.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah , well ...it's fantasy pwp. Not that this particularly a bad thing, but it was....not as entertaining as I thought it would be

[Margaret Adelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always looking for more books with trans characters, so I was happy to get an ARC of this one!

The general vibe I had from this book was that it felt less like a whole book in itself and more an excerpt from a longer book. What was there was intriguing, but it felt like there was story building elements missing. For example, I couldn't get a grasp on the level of technology. They fought primarily with swords and used messenger birds, but a random roadside tavern had hot showers. Or how magic is supposed to be this taboo thing, forbidden by law, but no one was surprised that the apothecary was selling enchanted potions.

The idea of the romance between the trio was intriguing. But again, a lot felt left out. The book completely skips over their first conversation, when that could have gone a long way to set up the future interactions and explain more of the world. I also wished the protagonist showed more maturity. Of course child-like characters are a valid choice for story-telling purposes. But in an erotica, the more child-like they are in daily life, (aka, outside the context of a kink) the more awkward the sex scenes can feel. The scenes between the trio were properly spicy. There was just a slight uncomfortable edge to them for me.

I did like the themes of gender dysmorphia and it's effect on Hal. It was well-written and an intriguing glance into a mindset that's often demonized.

In general, there were a lot of great ideas. I just wish both the worldbuilding and the relationship had been given more time on the page to establish themselves before the sudden twists of the end. But if you like trans erotica, this is a great pick.

[Sara Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading a book by Beau and it was excellent.

M/M/M polyamorous relationship

Fantasy coming of age (21) tradition where the men in the family go on an expedition with guards to possibly slay a serpent.

Erotic romance. Who doesn’t love reading about 3 men at once. Whew boy 🥵🔥

I love how kind and caring Kaiser and Elwood were towards Hal, especially when he took his clothes off for the first time to go swimming.

It’s fun, spicy and adventurous.

It ends with a bit of a cliff hanger.
I can’t wait to read the next book.

I received a free arc in exchange for an honest review

[Kai]

Thank you to the author for the arc! Unfortunately, I dnf'd at 43%.

I do absolutely love the way Prince Hal's dysphoria was written and handled. The polyam m/m/m romance aspect is great, and I loved the concept.

However, I think this book suffers from its point of view. The story would have flowed much more smoothly if it were directly from Hal's perspective, rather than some omniscient storyteller. The POV felt juvenile and disjointed, where it could have instead felt more personal and intimate.
I am also not really a fan of insta-love, and the characters got it on like day 1 or 2 of meeting.

[Juh Sajt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the story and the characters, but I had the feeling that the book was written by a 14 year old who never had sex before. It was really hard to imagine the spicy scenes, the movements and positions of the characters were not consistent, and the acts either. It would be very beneficial to involve an (possibly adult) editor.

[haley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an arc from the author.

I was disappointed by this. The characters feel one dimensional and the story didn’t engage me. It was less than 100 pages but still somehow boring. Even as a novella it doesn’t feel like a completed work, it felt like chapter one instead of book 1 one.

[Ana♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This comment is for my dear friend Blake. GIRL NOW I NEED HOLLY WATER AND BLEACH TO FORGET WHAT I JUST READ 😫

[TeeReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

Super sweet and super sexy little queer novella with poly and trans rep. This was such a great time. I really enjoyed seeing how the trans rep was presented in this world. It's different but also super relatable for many transmasc people. There's emotion, the characters are fun, and the story is engaging. The pacing was really well done here for a quick story. All in all, I really enjoyed myself with this one.

[ila · Rating 4 out of 5]

rating: 3.75 stars rounded up
thank you so much to the author for allowing me an arc of this book!! the princes dearest guards introduces us to prince hal and his two new royal guards. i enjoyed all 3 characters and this novella was a lovely introduction to them. i do think the beginning of their relationship could’ve been fleshed out a little bitttt more but i do recognize this book was meant to be more spicy. although, the ending does open up opportunities for furthering the plot and learning about the characters more in coming books so i’m excited! overall this was a sweet, short read and i’m excited for what’s to come!

[Zack Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

(arc copy review)

This is a spicey m/m/m feature a transmasc mc. It’s a short book about the prince and his new two guards when he definitely wants to get freaaaky with (and succeeds)

It’s definitely a lot more porn than plot so if you wanting to read an in-depth fantasy with a massive plot then I’d miss this one however if your wanting a short fun read with smut then this is perfect!

It defiantly hints at plot without really going into any of it so I hope in the future we get to see the world building blossom more (or just more smut I don’t mind either way)

3.5 rounded up <3

[eva ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

literally so mid and short??

i lowkey thought there would be more plot but ig not

also respectfully wtf happened in like the last 5 pages. nothing earlier in the book like foretold that these guys would be hunting a BIG SNAKE

NOTHING

i was so confused what was happening

[Rose ✧⁎⁺ · Rating 1 out of 5]

this screams wattpad

[emma ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

0.75⭐ this was so bad

[Lydia Gates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for providing an ARC copy of this book.

Actual rating 2.5 // This is a story about a virgin trans prince’s coming of age where he is assigned his two bodyguards for life and is supposed to bond with them on a hunting trip. If you’re here for steamy scenes you will probably enjoy this, as it is pretty clear that it is meant to be an erotic titillation first and a fantasy story second. The steamy scenes are adequate, though not my personal favorite because there was a significant age and experience gap between the prince and his guards and I don’t believe this was mentioned in the content warnings. It was just kind of awkward.

None of the characters are particularly well fleshed out; we do learn things about them but it all feels a little nebulous and told rather than shown. The first conversation between the love interests is pretty much skipped over and feels very awkward. The world building is very thin on the ground and doesn’t have much internal consistency. For example, a scene of the characters buying magical potions as if it’s a normal action is quickly followed by a discussion of how magic is very taboo. In addition, the characters use a horse and carriage to travel but seem to have modern indoor showers.

This is a novella and therefore doesn’t cover much time, but does end on a rather sizable cliffhanger.

I don’t generally rate ARCs from a copy editing perspective, assuming that that is still in progress, but I truly hope that the final version of this book does something about the comma overuse. There are so many unnecessary and grammatically incorrect commas that it honestly makes the book feel like it is taking forever to read because your brain constantly wants to pause on the commas.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Premise: 10/10
Execution: 3/10

I'm so sad that I didn't like this because a book about a trans prince falling in love and getting it on with his two hot guards is right up my alley. But this book is less than 100 pages and should have been like 400 pages.

I'm convinced that had it been a full length novel with dedicated time for world building and magic systems and character development, it would have been amazing. The idea is there. The concept of these characters is there. But everything is so rushed that it's actually bad.

In the author's bio, he says that he wants to publish a hundred books and I would rather have one solid book than a hundred bad ones. I really hope that he focuses on quality over quantity because this could have been excellent but was instead quite mediocre.

[Zoey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Soooo I found this on TikTok and thought, “Wow! Trans and poly rep! I never see that combination!” And I finished the book before even reading the good reads summary. If I had, I would have known that it wasn’t really for me. To be perfectly honest, I don’t usually enjoy romances in books unless they’re a slow burn, and this romance moved very quickly. Also, I didn’t feel like the characters were fully flushed out, and everything went so well for them in a way that didn’t feel realistic to real life relationships and problems.

However, just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it was bad. It just was really not my thing.

[Syd · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars!

if viewing this purely as just a steamy romance, the rating would probably be closer to a 3-3.5. however, with the lack of world building and attempts at having magics it dragged down the rating because it just felt like it wasn’t there at all but was supposed to be. i did still enjoy this don’t get me wrong! it was a quick read that got me through a long day at work