Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon on July 2, 2024
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Pages: 536
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm
In order to protect her kingdom from the wrath of a vengeful goddess, Princess Candra must remain locked inside a tower for seven years. Seven long years without a friend―or a lover―by her side. And shut inside the tower with her? A Fellian, the enemy of her people, a fearsome warrior race complete with wings and claws and fangs. Nemeth is terrifying, cruel, and disturbingly magnetic. Candra should kill him for his supplies, but she’s desperate for his company…and his touch.
As time inside the unchanging tower rolls on, Candra uncovers the man behind the stony facade. And when their tenure hits an unexpected snag, Candra and Nemeth are forced to make a difficult choice. They’ll need to face an outside world they no longer recognize, one that threatens their lives and their surprising love.
Bound to the Shadow Prince is a stand alone novel outside of any of the worlds that we have previously read about by Ruby Dixon. I was excited to read something outside of the Ice Planet Barbarians series by Ruby Dixon, but big blue alien men with horns and a tail are still my kink. The story is single PoV and follows two characters Princess Candra, of Lios and Prince Nemeth of Darkfell. Candra, the narrator of our story, is the throw away princess. She has a blood illness and is barren so her entire life is being pampered, taking lovers and play around with court intrigues. That is until she is told her sister, the one slotted to be the sacrifice to the tower has died in a shipwreck and she has three days before she will take her place in the Tower with a Prince of their enemy.
Unprepared to live on her own, Candra ends up as the sacrifice to a Goddess, to go live in the Tower for seven years with the enemy of her people. She has no skills, has never cooked for herself and has to take a medicine by syringe daily for her blood illness, one she now has to make for herself. She was not prepared to live on her own in a dark tower. Nemeth, on the other hand, has been living with scholars and monks for years preparing to be the sacrifice. They are enemies but if Candra is going to survive, she is going to need some help from Nemeth or she will need to kill him to take all of his supplies.
It took a little while to warm to Candra. She is spoiled and a little whiny about her situation and doesn’t like to read *gasp*. But as she struggles alone in the tower, she becomes a better person in general. She learns some lessons, becomes more kind and appreciative of those who served her previously (although she treated her favorites well) and becomes a character you can root for. I like Nemeth from the beginning though. We don’t get real interaction with him for quite awhile but when we do you can tell he is a good and kind man. I was extremely interested in his culture and people and the differences between the lore of his people compared to Candra’s. They turn from friends to lovers in their tower isolation but when they yearly supplies don’t show up after a few years they must decide. Stay in the tower and starve, or leave and feel the wrath of the goddess on their people.
I enjoyed this story quite a bit overall. The sex scenes were spicy and the overall story line was really interesting. The pacing struggled in a few spots, especially once Candra and Nemeth left the Tower in search of what happened to all the people. I would have liked a little better flow in the beginning 15% and final 30%. I did like the reveal at the end and while sad, how the Goddess took her revenge out on the people of Lios and Darkfell while they were in the tower and the twist to the story. The lore and history of both cultures was really interesting to me as well. So the only reason I took a few stars off is for pacing since I think it will really affect others’ enjoyment of the story.
If you are new to Ruby Dixon, I highly recommend one of her books in the Ice Planet Barbarians series. But this could give you a decent understanding of her writing ability.
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The thing that stuck with me was the big blue men with horns and tails from the Ice Planet Barbarians. Whenever I like one series from an author I will read another.
Same. It is usually a safe bet if you like one series you will enjoy another.
I really like the Ice Planet Barbarian series, but want to try other books by her too. Glad this one was so good!
I enjoyed it. Different kind of story but still enjoyed the overall writing.
eeek I’m so far behind in commenting! Dang traveling.
Haha…you are so good at keeping up on the blogs you follow. I aspire to do better Carole.