BY THE HORNS is the second book in the Royal Artifactual Guild Series by Ruby Dixon.  The storyline picks up where the first book left off, with some of the repeaters from the group of five doing repeater-sanctioned work until it’s time to see if a Guild Master will choose them as fledglings to be trained as artificers for the guild.  Even though this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone.

Gwenna, the maid who traveled to Vastwarren with Aspeth (from the first book), is the female protagonist and is determined to become an artificer to better her life and never have to work as a maid again.  The reader becomes reacquainted with Gwenna as she struggles with her special ‘gift’ (no spoilers from me) while mentally preparing herself for recruitment day. 

The turn of events that bring Gwenna and Raptor, the male protagonist of the book, together is both unexpected and quite amusing.   I think the personalities of the main characters instantly click in spite of the fact that one is human and the other Taurian.  I felt like Raptor and Gwenna seemed well-suited as a romantic couple from the moment they first met, albeit under unusual circumstances.  They both have their own secrets and good reasons for not trusting anyone enough to share those secrets. 

The dynamics of each character add to the development of the story as Gwenna gets chosen as a fledgling for the next season of artificer training, along with two new characters, as well as one of my favorites from the first book, a slitherskin named Kipp.  The new training season becomes more exciting as Raptor works undercover for the Guild as one of the five fledglings in Gwenna’s group to find an artifact thief.  This is where the fun begins as Raptor works with Gwenna and the other fledglings in their group while looking for the thief and possibly murderer within their own ranks.

Gwenna starts out as someone who is so accustomed to being ‘invisible’ that she can be her own worst enemy in overcoming the obstacles in becoming an artificer.  As her friendship with Raptor grows and she admits her attraction to him, she begins to push beyond her comfort zone to be who and what she needs to be to reach her goals.

Raptor is unapologetically ‘Raptor’ throughout the book, which made me instantly love his character.

Ruby Dixon’s BY THE HORNS was a fun and entertaining read, which will delight and satisfy, both with content and a great HEA ending.