Series Review: The Suitable 'Verse by R. Cooper

Greetings and welcome to Reviews That Burn: Series Reviews, part of Books That Burn. Series Reviews discuss at least three books in a series and cover the overarching themes and development of the story across several books.

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Powerful noble families known as the beat-of-fours, answerable only to a ruler and the mysterious, godlike fae, scheme and squabble amongst themselves, and go to war for the chance to put one of their own on the throne. But the fae might be pulling more strings than the nobles realize and they definitely have their favorites. A series of love stories loosely centered around the political crisis that led to the current ruler, featuring oblivious librarians, crafty though loving kings, an innocent half-fae noble, a legendary outlaw turned conqueror, worried warriors, clever guards, and an infamous beauty.

PUBLISHER: Independently Published
LENGTH: ~1000 pages so far
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Fantasy, Romance
RECOMMENDED: Highly

Queer Rep Summary: m/m and m/m/m fantasy romance

TITLES DISCUSSED

• A SUITABLE CONSORT (2021)
• A SUITABLE BODYGUARD (2023)
• A SUITABLE CAPTIVE (2023)
• A SUITABLE STRAY (2025) 

OTHER TITLES 

• BLESSED (2024) - Omegaverse AU 
• A SUITABLE BRAT (2025)

Before I get into my review of the series so far, I have two brief announcements!

First, I'm excited to announce that I've joined the Creator Accountability Network. CAN is a nonprofit dedicated to reducing harassment and abuse through ethical education and a system of restorative accountability. I joined because I care about the safety and well being of my community members. If you feel my behavior or content has harmed someone, please report it to CAN, either via the reporting form on their website, CreatorAccountabilityNetwork.org, or via their hotline at (617-249-4255). They’ll help me make it right, and avoid repeating that mistake in the future. CAN also needs volunteers from our communities to help with their work, so if you have skills you think would be helpful, or time and a desire to help, please visit their website to find out how you can volunteer. Most importantly, get the word out to other creators who you think would be interested in getting credentialed. Help us build safer communities together.

Second, the Suitable 'Verse has a new entry! I wrote and recorded this before the November 5th release date (and Patrons get this review early), but by the time this is posted for everyone else, the new novella, "A Suitable Brat" will be available. I reached out to R. Cooper and confirmed that this won't be the end of the series. In my series reviews I've left open the possibility of reviewing a portion of a series that is ongoing, as long as there are at least three books available at the time. In this case, there are four, so I'm proceeding with my post in its original scope. If this series sounds like your thing, there's already more for you to read.

Minimal Spoiler Zone

Series Premise

Each of these stories follows an achillean romance from the point of view of someone who was not expecting to be desired by anyone, let alone by the person or persons who endeavor to show them just how much they are cherished. Each is told from one person's perspective, generally whomever is the most neurodivergent-coded in the potential relationship, this character will also be either closely or distantly descended from the fae, who have taken an interest in the kingdom where the books are set. This allows for a slow burn feeling without padding the page count to achieve it. I'm fond of books which show someone figuring out not just what they want but how to go about it, especially in the context of a relationship. R. Cooper treats these relationships as ongoing conversations, where words, actions, and body language combine as communication. Different characters need different things, and even among the variously oblivious protagonists there are degrees of understanding, knowledge, and context which they are quicker or slower to realize. 

This series is very queer, set in what appears to be a queernorm world where polyamory is accepted and implied to be relatively common. Thus far, sexuality or orientation have not been remarked upon as anything significant, and this trend seems likely to continue. These books feature some politically tense and sometimes violent situations, but do not wield most real-world bigotries as bludgeons. I say "most" because the most prevalent bigotry I spotted was classism, followed by whatever the right term for bigotry against the fae, given the way they are inhuman and neurodivergent-coded.

Recommended Reading Order

There will be some distant day when this series is complete and it's possible to read the stories from start to finish in chronological order. Today is not that day, and until that point I advise reading them in publication order, especially since that is not the chronological order. I give this advice for anyone who enjoys figuring out timelines, what's going on, and where things relate to other things. Each book's position in the grander saga of political upheaval and new governance helps inform the others in the series, overlapping enough that some pieces could be missing without losing too much of that arc. The loose fit of the stories in relation to one another means that if any of them contain particularly triggering content for an individual reader, that book could be skipped without losing too much of the overall story. The individual stories are self-contained and could be read in any order, but elements of the worldbuilding are explained in varying detail depending on the needs of the individual story. I enjoyed the revelatory feeling of figuring out where the second and third books fit in relation to the first, though I do not consider that information to be a spoiler for any of the stories involved. Instead, they allow for a sense of context and history in this fictional world, and for excitement as the pieces come together for the reader.

Here There Be Spoilers

Main Characters

Each book has a different set of main characters, and is set in a different point in time. Some characters appear in multiple books, depending on how close they are in time to one another. Even though the different point of view characters have a great deal in common in terms of their autism-coded neurodivergence and general obliviousness to social cues, they're different enough in other respects that it does not feel like they're one character. Mattin is very aware of social forms, rules, and political implications of various actions, he just doesn't seem to think of them as having any positive effects for him, personally. He's likely to get lost in research or chasing some history through the archives. Tiiran is very focused on the rules and the way things ought to be, thinking through what it means when those norms are broken, and what bad actors with corrupt motives might do to preserve current inequalities. He tends to be very pessimistic, thinking of himself as discarded by the Fae and unimportant.

Fen doesn't have much of a sense of self-preservation. He'll take risks to achieve a better outcome than the one that would happen if he did nothing. I'm not sure if he's optimistic or just pragmatic, at least in the beginning. By the end, Fen is helping Lan make strategic moves that show he's thinking further ahead than even what Lan had dreamt. Zelli has such a low sense of self preservation that he let himself actually die and needed to be brought back by the fae. 

Character Twists

In A SUITABLE CONSORT (For the King and His Husband), Mattin is a librarian and advisor to the king, Arden. When one of the nobles suggests the king marry again (said while his husband, Mil, is in the room at Arden's side), the king takes the suggestion seriously and asks Mattin to help him choose someone. Mattin adores the royal couple and the story of their romance, so he compiles a list of potential spouses who would meet the political goals of such a union without being slighted by being a lower priority as the new member of an existing marriage. Despite meeting all the criteria he outlined to Arden and Mil as being relevant for compiling the list, Mattin doesn't for a moment consider putting himself in as a candidate. It turns out that Arden and Mil have already been interested in Mattin, but were worried his apparent lack of interest was because they were too old for him. Arden asks Mattin for advice on courting and then he and Mil proceed to follow all Mattin's advice... on Mattin, who still doesn't realize what they are doing. A crisis at the palace forces the issue when Mattin is in danger and Mil and Arden rescue him, bringing him to their bedroom and providing a space for a conversation which finally clears up the various confusions about each person's actions and intentions. Mattin didn't put himself on the list because he didn't think of himself as someone two people as great as the king and his husband could want. He was very wrong, and they take great delight in showing him how much he is cherished.

Later Series Developments

I've become used to the linearity of series in a way that is, I suspect, common for anyone who reads as many books as I do. The Suitable 'Verse, as published, is not a linear story, and I think it's stronger for it. The larger context builds slowly, requiring minimal description in subsequent books to place them in relation to A Suitable Consort. This may be a chance meeting between characters, an epilogue, or the shape of the current situation in a more general sense. 

In A SUITABLE STRAY, Tiiran spent a long while completely oblivious to the fact that not only are both Orin and Nikola interested in him, but that he desire both of them and wants to be desired in return. Because most of this book is not spent with anyone in active danger, at least as far as Tiiran knows, the pacing is more languid, with more room to linger in each phase. In contrast to A SUITABLE CONSORT, where two-thirds of the book was spent with Mattin completely oblivious to how he was being courted, A SUITABLE STRAY has more time spent with Tiiran actively in a sexual relationship. This is while, somehow, taking even longer to realize that the way Tiiran has become entangled with Orin and Nikola means that he is not just pleasantly passing time with them, but in love with them and wants the three of them to be together.

In A SUITABLE CAPTIVE, Fen offers himself almost immediately to the so-called "Wild Dog", seeming to accept the idea that Lan (as he prefers to be known) might use his body in the course of that captivity. Fen is hoping for no more than that it would be a better version of the fate he had avoided by running away and accidentally getting captured in the first place. To me, it seemed fairly obvious that Lan was interested in Fen, but, without quite using this language, he was mindful of the power dynamic between them. Lan is as powerfully averse to taking advantage of Fen as he is attracted to him. Gradually, they negotiate the space between them, growing to understand each other better. Over time, that new understanding eases their communication, which in turn allows for their physical situation to become more intimate in a way that is meaningful to both of them. They built a personal ritual that is unique to them, and part took in a along established ritual from Fen's mother's people. 

Themes

Series themes include difference and belonging, found or chosen family, and obligations of care. There's a focus on communication, and the importance of paying attention to both speech and silence, of noticing when someone isn't all right. 

Fae heritage is used metaphorically for a blend of real-world characteristics for which people are often marginalized, but as a fantasy analogue it carries very little of the baggage which would accompany its realistic counterparts. As with any marginalization, the fae-touched protagonists have different reactions to their various levels of fae heritage. This heritage manifests unevenly, giving them smaller-than-human-average stature, but also some... flashier differences, such as hair which moves of its own whim and eyes which rapidly change color. Their fae-touched natures were a very minor detail for Mattin in A SUITABLE CONSORT, but a very important part of A SUITABLE CAPTIVE and A SUITABLE STRAY. Tiiran hates the fae, loudly saying "Fuck the Fae" if anyone mentions them positively. He views them as child-abandoners, passive observers of the world's injustices when they have the power and responsibility to do much more than just intervene in politics and sire random children. 

Twists and Turns

Normally, when looking at individual books in a series, I note whether they leave something for later books to pick up. This is an odd case where the first book left space for stories set before and after it. It builds the impression that this is a place with a history, and bits of that history are being fleshed out a little at a time through these romances. The most shocking moment for me was getting to the epilogue of A SUITABLE CAPTIVE and realizing when it was set in relation to A SUITABLE CONSORT. Having looked at R. Cooper's website, I don't think that is a spoiler, precisely, but it is the kind of detail I enjoyed realizing in the moment. 

Current Status

The series is ongoing, with a novella releasing this very month. I don't know how many books are planned, and I don't think it matters, not to me as a reader. These books are a delight, and I will read as many of them as R. Cooper writes. The open structure distributes the narrative weight until there's a lot of room for more stories to fill the vacant space. A palace has a great many people in it, with the whole country being larger still, which would allow for many books taking place even before the timeline is considered. The earliest book so far takes place several hundred years before the events of A SUITABLE CONSORT, and there have been several mentions of when the old queen was deposed. That might not be an ideal setting for a romance, but this series is no stranger to love amidst tragedy. 

If you like this you may like:

• One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny
• The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner 

Major Series CWs: sexual content, violence, war, death.

Miscellaneous CWs: classism, physical abuse, alcohol, murder.

Each book has specific content warnings provided by the author near the copyright info. 

Bookshop Affiliate Buy Links:

• A SUITABLE CONSORT (For the King and His Husband)
• A SUITABLE BODYGUARD
• A SUITABLE CAPTIVE
• A SUITABLE STRAY (For an Outguard and an Assistant) 
• A SUITABLE BRAT (link forthcoming)

Fantastic Fiction Author Page 

Author Website

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Reviews That Burn is a review blog which accompanies the Books That Burn podcast. Books That Burn is a member of the Certain Point of View podcast network. Essays, blog posts, and reviews are by Robin. All music was composed by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.