Possibilities

by Nicole Field

The king is dead. The heir is missing. All Ernest wants is to be left alone, but it looks as though instead he's going to be crowned king—and forced into a loveless marriage, to a person picked from a list of suitable candidates.

Drel is hoping for the life that being royal jester can offer—security, protection, even if that all comes at the sufferance of the king's pleasure. But first Drel must please that king and be granted the job, and King Ernest is not what remotely what Drel expected.

Genres: Fantasy, Novella, Fantasy Romance, Romance, Queer, Royalty

62 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 17, 2018

About the author

Nicole has been writing since they were handed a floppy disc and told how many Word documents could fit on it. They write across the spectrum of sexuality and gender identity in multiple genres, and live in Melbourne with their husband, two cats and a whole lot of books. Probably drinking right now from a bottomless cup of tea.

They can be found on Bluesky: @faerywhimsy and Wordpress: nicolefieldwrites.wordpress.com.


Their books are available on: Amazon | Publisher | B&N | Smashwords | Netgalley

Reviews

[Meredith Katz · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot in this novella to love. It's a sweet story about the instant connection between two people—Ernest, who clearly suffers from anxiety, is inherently kind and wants to be good to his people, but longs for romance and love rather than simply political marriage, and Drel, who is ambitious and whip-snap clever, but still entirely trustworthy and reliable. These traits bring a lot of charm to their interactions; it's easy to see how each finds in the other not just physical attraction but a deep connection, and there's a sense that each completes something in the other. The romance completely won me over. A lovely additional touch to their interactions was how it also included Ernest discovering a dominant side to himself that he could relax into when he was alone with Drel, along with Drel being deeply content in a service sub role, all without it requiring overt sex scenes. It was just part of who they were when they were together.

Another part to love is the seamless integration of non-binary identities into the narrative, which switches pronouns for Drel (who is genderfluid) at various points. There is originally a sense of discord between Ernest's always using one pronoun for Drel, and Drel's own switching in their point of view sections, but this is narratively deliberate and gets resolved in the text with a very delightful scene of emotional trust. In addition, this is a setting where non-binary identities are largely normalized.

I did have difficulty with how vaguely established the political elements were, despite them being set up as vital to the non-romance parts of the story. The prologue established that the old king is dead, the heir-apparent is missing, and Ernest, who is in over his head in politics that were previously someone else's business, will be required to arrange a political marriage. Because of this, I spent most of the story thinking about the risk of foul play for both the king and Niven (and what that might mean for Ernest), what would happen to Ernest's reign if Niven returned, and who stood to gain from either of these things. That they weren't investigated in the text itself felt like something of an oversight. I would have liked either for it to be more of an element of the story (as the prologue had implied to me), or to have had a line here or there mentioning that the death had been found to be natural, that Niven's absence was probably not foul play and they had formally given up inheritance before leaving, and that sort of thing. Without any mention, I found myself dwelling on the possibilities and risks, and that sometimes interrupted my attention to the active romance (ie, when Ernest was alone with Drel a day or two after meeting them, with no guard, I was wondering how that looked, why Anton would allow it so soon after losing two royals, etc).

I do like that the camera stays close on the romance, rather than the politics, to show their intimacy, but I think it would have felt a bit more grounded if I had seen hints of the possible political threads—a narrative assurance that Ernest had been raised for all of this, a brief mention of an investigation turning up nothing, Drel's own political details being known to Anton so it was clear nothing would slip past him, etc.

That said, I absolutely still enjoyed the story and would recommend it to others. I'm very excited to see these characters again when King's Council #2 comes along. Can't wait to read more!

3.5 stars, rounded up.

See this review on my website

Related Reviews: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison | The Second Mango by Shira Glassman

[Xan]

Content Warnings The MC's sibling is missing. D/s dynamic develops between the king and his jester; it felt consensual to me, but I want to mention that it exists within the monarch/trusted advisor dynamic. King is pressured to marry.

I adore this romance between a trans man new king and his genderfluid service jester. The lyrical prose is lovely, the D/s dynamic is wonderful, and I fell especially hard for Drel, the jester character.

[Ace Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my book challenge I had to read a novella and this immediately came to my mind. I've known Nicole for years and while this is (unfortunately) the first one of her books I've actually read it isn't something I regret at all. Coming in at 18k words, it's very much a short easy read but at the same time so full of amazing world development and character building. So much that I hope she does or has returned to this world so I can learn more of it.

Perhaps it is because I felt such a connection to both Ernest and Drel, from Ernest's anxiety and desire to remain out of the spotlight but to still be a good person, to the fact that Drel wants to be the best that she can be and to their genderfluidness (I'm nowhere near as prominent as her) it is still something I felt struck a cord with me.

For a short novella, it is very well written though as I said above I want more of this world. It teases us with all the wonderful possibilities that are out their for this world. Nicole has done a wonderful job at writing Drel in a way that is respectful to those who are genderfluid, which is unfortunately not something you see much of in literature.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more of Nicole's work when I have the chance to do so.

[R.H. Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here’s the most unkind thing I can say about ‘Possibilities’: It isn’t long enough. And if the worst part of a book is wishing there was more of it, that means it’s a dang entertaining book.

If you’re a fan of easy-to-follow fantasy without complicated worldbuilding and with all the intriguing bits of royal politics, you’re looking in the right place. Genderfluidity/non-binary gender is handled perfectly and without fanfare; this is a story that seeks to normalize LGBTQ+ content, which gives the tantalizing bits of the relationship between King Ernest and his jester, Drel, a refreshing quality. While many books with LGBTQ+ content sexualize that aspect, ‘Possibilities’ doesn’t do that.

I do wish we’d gotten to see even more of the tension building between Ernest and Drel, and I would have loved to see Drel at work; the job of a jester is interesting to me, personally, and I lamented that the performance and ‘taking the king down a peg’ aspects didn’t get more focus. I especially would’ve liked to see how their public behaviour compared to their private relationship, as it developed. Ultimately, though, it’s a pretty minor complaint. There’s still enough interaction to sink my teeth into, and the rest just allows the reader to flex their imaginations. There’s a possibility that getting into the nitty-gritty of a jester’s job might have bogged things down or opened up worldbuilding questions there just wasn’t time to address.

All in all, if you’re looking for a scintillating quick read, give ‘Possibilities’ a try!

- R.H. Berry

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a quick, enjoyable read! I'm stuck in the place between wanting more and this being just enough?
I adore Drel's character, they're smart, witty, sassy, attentive and I would honestly befriend her in a heartbeat because they're just such a compelling character to me. All throughout the book, all I wanted to do was draw the interactions between Drel and Ernest.
And Ernest, oof, that boy. The only thing I would want to see more of from him is more of his insecurities about running the kingdom, but what we did get was a wonderful and restrained character, who is still unsure of what kind of King he wants to be, only that he wants to do it well and be around people that he trusts.

Now, BRB, researching Jester makeup and brushing up on my drawing skills...

[KappaBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a copy by the author for free, this does not affect my review.

Real rating: 3.5 stars

POSSIBILITIES is a novella about the non-sexual dom/sub relationship between Ernest, the king who was not prepared to rule, and Drel, his genderfluid jester who wants to know more about the king.

This was very good. It's best moments were those very romantic, gender-affirming moments between Ernest and Drel, when you could see how much they cared about each other.

I just wish it had been longer, if nothing else for some more in-depth descriptions of people's appearances and the setting.

[Searska GreyRaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I was given a copy of this to review.

If I have one criticism, it's that this was too short. I loved the interactions between Ernest and Drel, and I loved seeing a genderqueer main character handled with such care. Definitely looking forward to more from this author!

[Bogi Takács]

I read this to consider it for the previous Transcendent trans SFF year's best, because it was originally a Patreon release. I liked it a lot - I couldn't quite fit it because of the length, but I recommended it in the longer-form highlights within the book. So now you can get it as a standalone!
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Source of the book: From the author