ARC Review: A Body Not Her Own, by Eileen Farren

The women of Nora are dying. Hunted, for over two hundred years, by an immortal man seeking to kill the Goddess Eos and her reincarnations. As the current reincarnation, Enid's death was predicted. Being brought back to life wasn't. Caught between the weight of her past lives and her second chance, Enid finds herself tasked with the impossible: kill the Immortal Man and end his violent hundred-year streak before countless more women are slain.
To ensure her survival, she is assigned a bodyguard—the flirty and infuriating Elven woman named Locke—to guard her on her journey and see her assignment through to the end. An ancient rage is simmering under the surface of her skin, demanding blood. Death. Vengeance. Enid only has to stay alive long enough to satiate it.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eileen Farren's A Body Not Her Own is is a sweet and simple romantasy set in a modern-ish world with magic, where gods are real and they can be killed and reincarnated. The focus is of course on the romance between the main character Enid and her bodyguard Locke, but there's some attempts at a bigger worldbuilding. The world feels like a generic fantasy world, not very developed, but the premise of the book is intriguing enough.

The relationship between Enid and Locke grows organically, from a heated one-night-stand to a love that defies all. The two of them have an easy banter that's fun to witness, but there's also drama and more serious moments. I love the bodyguard trope, and the book does not disappoint in that regard, with many istances where Enid has to be protected. But she's not a helpless damsel in distress, on the contrary she can defend herself. Locke on the other hand is the typical grizzled warrior who thinks she cannot have what she wants, and it's fun to see her lower her walls.

The supporting cast is big and varied, and from a specific moment forward we also have a few new povs, which was unexpected and a welcome change. A good number of characters are necromancers, which brings some novelty to the narration.

A Body Not Her Own is a nice debut.

✨ 3 stars