I couldn’t put it down. It kept me on an emotional roller coaster. It was very funny at times and then it would get serious then it’d get hot. But all in all I really liked it. There were some very good twists and turns. I honestly thought one thing would happen but it’d totally be something else.

I will say though that in some sections it seemed like filler so I I skimmed through like two passages. But the last few chapters really had me going. I was pleased with this book very much.

3.5 stars

Overall, I really did enjoy this book. But I rounded down because it just seemed like it was longer than it needed to be. Plus I really grew tired of Candra always doubting things, especially Nemeth. Despite the fact that half of the book takes place with only the two of them locked in a tower, it was still enough to keep me interested in the story because I wanted to see their relationship grow. When they finally leave the tower, more things happen, but everything still seemed a little flat. Like, there was nothing exceptionally exciting or active that happens. And the ending was kind of luke warm at best.

Candra is the cursed princess of the human kingdom. Because of a disease in her blood, she can't have children and there's nothing really expected of her. She actually quite enjoys her court life of being free to do what, and who, she wants. Until one day, she can't anymore. This world has gods and goddesses, one of which demands that a royal from each kingdom be sent into a tower for 7 years and never step foot outside of it or she will devastate all the land. From a very young age, Candra's sister was taken to be raised and taught as the one to be sent to the tower. But mere days before she's supposed to be locked up, the ship she was on is destroyed and no survivors are found. Forcing Candra to make a choice. Go to the tower herself, or allow her bastard of a brother in law send her very pregnant and queen sister instead. And this guy wants his war so badly that he'll do it, so there's really no choice to make. Candra is woefully unprepared for having to take care of herself and making her provisions last a whole year. Even still, it was very impressive how hard she tries, how quickly she learns, and how much more respect she has for those who have taken care of her until this point.

The other kingdom required to send a royal is the Fellians, and their prince is Nemeth. He's more of a scholar than anything else, but much like Candra's sister, he has spent most of his life preparing for this. Even so, just like Candra, I did so love the dominate side of him when he couldn't control himself around her. The thing about his people is that they're definitely different from humans in many ways. They're much larger, can see in the dark, have wings, horns instead of hair, and their knees go the opposite directions. And that right there was always my hangup because I'm trying to picture him doing the things he does with backwards legs, and it just doesn't work in my head.

Like I said, half the book is just these two in the tower. But it was pretty fun to watch them get closer and have them decide what they want to be to the other. I usually don't care much for such a slow read, but something about them kept me wanting to find out what they would do next. But after two years, and no supplies coming from either kingdom, they make the choice to leave the tower. So yes, more happens now as they travel. And most of it is bad. But at the same time it's all so very uneventful. We do get Candra's little secret, but it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone.

When these two finally make it to a place of seeming safety, we learn of what happened with the war and of the goddess's wrath for the past two years. Candra can't just sit around being protected when she sees what's going on and starts to doubt Nemeth and his love for her. But it's at a dinner arrangement when we all learn of the real plot twist here. I probably should have seen this coming, but I didn't. Candra definitely didn't. And even here, when there is freaking coup going on, all the action is off pages. Worse, what takes Nemeth out of the picture is a sickness and not even something as noble as standing up for himself. The ending was just a let down and predictable.

Still, overall, it wasn't a bad read.

While there's definitely an interesting premise and engaging characters I felt that it drug quite a bit especially in the middle, making it hard to become fully engrossed in the story.

Ruby Dixon always writes fantastic characters that can draw you in rather quickly. Her plot lines are easy to follow while not being boring. I did like her Ice Planet Barbarians series just a touch better but I'll absolutely be reading the next in this series as well.

Amazing world building + slow burn romance! I would love to read a sequel to this one. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review!

Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon was an engaging read that transported me into a captivating medieval setting. Dixon's vivid world-building and attention to detail made the backdrop come alive, enhancing the overall reading experience. While the language of the main protagonist can be somewhat jarring, it's characteristic of Dixon's unique style and added an authentic touch to the narrative.

The story itself was compelling, though the spicy scenes felt a bit lacking. A slower build-up to these moments might have added more depth and tension to the middle section, which tended to drag at times. However, once the characters left the tower, the plot picked up pace, and I found myself thoroughly invested in their journey.

I would be excited to see a sequel that explores Erryne's or Meryelies's perspective, as their viewpoints could add new layers to this intriguing world. Overall, despite a few pacing issues, Bound to the Shadow Prince was an enjoyable read, and I look forward to more from Ruby Dixon.

I requested this title after reading some of the books within the Ice planet barbarian series by this author. I enjoyed this one as well as those. I found it a fun read and enjoyed the world within the book. It was easy enough to follow with even points to keep it interesting. I found the different Gods and Goddess to be an interesting way to develop the struggle of the Mmc an Fmc having to go to the tower. I found it to be a little long at times and could have done without some of the smaller intimate scenes if it lead to a shorter tale. I didn’t reread the synopsis before starting the book and didn’t realize it was a monster smut book but still enjoyed it!

Ruby Dixon never misses. This was so different than her other work but still so good. Princess Candra is such a badass FMC and I loved her instantly. I am eagerly waiting for whatever Miss Dixon drops next!

Princess Candra is a selfish spoiled princess who occupies her time with court and dalliances. With the blood curse limiting her health, she has never been required to take an active role in the leadership of her kingdom. Until news arrives that her sister has perished in a shipwreck, she is now forced to be the sacrifice to the Moon Goddess and live trapped in a tower for 7 years. She almost would rather her people suffer the Moon Goddess’s wrath than have the fate that now appears to be her responsibility. The elephant in the room being, with the blood curse making her dependent on daily medication, will she truly be able to survive the 7 years in isolation?

Candra makes great progress preparing her medication, living on the supplies provided, and finding pride in her new self sufficiency, even if she still misses the creature comforts of palace life. However, as time progresses, Candra quickly realizes that the people in charge of her supplies for the time trapped in the tower are either incompetent or purposefully sabotaging her chances of living, having packed dozens of elaborate outfits but no firewood, minimal food, and very few candles. Her supplies are dwindling and she likely won’t be able to make her medicine last much longer.

Princess Candra is not left to her fate alone, the enemy prince of the Fellian kingdom is there hiding in the shadows with fully stocked stores, magic lights, and other means of survival. He could be the answer to all of Candra’s problems. But as an enemy, Candra is wary of Prince Nemeth and his motives. With the prejudices and mistrust between the two nations, Candra is always expecting the worst from Nemeth. Her magic knife disappears… Nemeth stole it. The last source of wood disappears… Nemeth took it.

But, as they will be imprisoned together for 7 years, Candra needs to make a decision between befriending the monstrous Nemeth or to murder her enemy and steal his supplies.

Candra’s just figuring out how unfair and difficult the real world can be without the comforts and predictability of court life. And now, she needs to decide what type of princess she will be now that her gilded cage has been replaced with a gloomy tower but she has more freedom and autonomy than ever before.

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Candra was a completely captivating heroine to be following. We get to see her mature over the course of the book. A large portion of the story is a character study of Candra and how she overcomes the adversity of living in the tower, develops a new appreciation for the responsibilities of being a royal, and gains confidence in her ability to do things despite her chronic illness. I found her (at times) frivolous behavior was well balanced with the hero, Nemeth’s serious and studious ways.

Both characters are incredibly well developed and a joy to follow on their adventure. I do wish that we did get some of Nemeth’s perspective included in the story as a whole. I always appreciate the value of seeing both main character’s POV and it enriches the story for me.

As for the plot, the first half of the story focuses heavily on the development of Candra individually and the foundation of her relationship with Nemeth. As they are trapped in the tower, it limits the external plot of the story and focuses on the character development. Because of the lack of external plot, this half of the book felt drawn out and very slow burn.

While the second half of the book focuses heavily on external plot and as a reader, we see less of Candra and Nemeth’s relationship development. The high action of the back half of the book is very jarring and doesn’t demonstrate well, in my opinion, how Candra and Nemeth can handle external conflict. This leads the story to have a bit of a disjointed feel and have the romance feel unsettled at the end of the story.

That being said, Ruby Dixon, is a master wordsmith and is very intelligent in her world building. I can fully see the intentionality in every choice that she made when crafting the story and highly respect it. I also LOVE that this is a standalone fantasy romance with chronic illness representation.


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The following are items that might be harmful to readers. This is not an exhaustive list. Please refer to the author’s resources and other reviews if necessary.

Content Warnings & Trigger Warnings: Descriptions of enclosed spaces, dungeons, and other places with the inability to leave, threat of starvation, isolation, illness, needles and injected medicine, stitches, threat of SA, killing of horses (not explicit on page), battle scenes, poisoning, revolution/coup, post-war effects such as starvation, killing of boys & men (mentioned), slavery, plague, and others.

Engaging, hard to put down, and an epic journey for the reader.

Originally this was published as a serial, and although it does feel a bit long, the author did a fantastic job of making it cohesive and not repetitive for the reader as they read this complete story.

This book is definitely a journey, and at 500+ pages, definitely epic. It’s very twisty, not knowing who to trust, and by far probably the bloodiest Ruby book I’ve read.

3.5 ⭐️ If you like fantasy romance and Ruby Dixon, then definitely pick this book up


He's a polite monk of a Fellian who just happens to be trapped in a tower with a princess of loose morals who really, really wants to ride his c*ck.


WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ fantasy romance
✨ feuding factions
✨ gods x humans x ‘monsters’
✨ locked away in a windowless tower with your enemy
✨ she’s a spoiled, chronically ill, lusty human princess
✨ he’s a shy, celibate, bookish non-human prince
✨ virgin, cinnamon roll monster
✨ enemies to friends lovers
✨ forced proximity
✨ opposites attract
✨ nursing back to health
✨ he falls first
✨ 4/5 🌶️ (primal, knotting, somnophilia)
✨ "you can take it"
✨ political intrigue
✨ world building
✨ high stakes
✨ intense third act
✨ HEA
✨ standalone
✨ single POV
✨ 1st person (present tense)
✨ TW: chronic illness, war, famine, starvation, violence, murder, r*pe (off-page, not the MC)

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this story overall! It was super unique and really engaging, especially from a fantasy standpoint.

Ruby Dixon really took her time developing the characters and explaining this world and the politics. This information was given in a palatable way where even though there were some complexities to the situation, it was easy to follow and understand.

The premise is amazing! Two enemies stuck together in a windowless tower for 7 years??? This is the ultimate forced proximity story of your dreams! Since this story is from the FMC Candra's POV, the reader gets to experience all the fear, despair, and loneliness she encounters during her first few months in the tower. And even though she didn't start off as a likable character (I'll explain this more below), I couldn't help but pity her and her situation. My heart definitely went out to her and I felt some anxiety trying to figure out how the heck she was going to survive all that time in the dark.

The main characters, Candra and Nemeth, were also really interesting. Candra is a spoiled princess with a life threatening illness that is kept at bay by a daily dose of medicine. She was never intended to spend seven years in the tower or really do much of anything besides flit about in court, so she was woefully unprepared for the challenges that she would encounter being alone in the dark. Candra isn't usually a character I would like. She's vain, overindulgent, and (somewhat) selfish. But throughout the book, she slowly transforms into a brave, determined, kind-hearted person and someone I respected. She still has some vanity but I appreciated that she never tries to hide that part of herself. Nemeth comes off as dangerous and grumpy at first, but as he and Candra spend more time together, we discover how shy, kind, and patient he truly is. Ruby Dixon loves her gentle giant, cinnamon heroes and Nemeth is no exception. I'm also a huge fan whenever the love interest wants to take care of and pamper the heroine, and Nemeth is a king at this. I honestly loved their dynamic and the romance that blossoms between them.

This book is SPICY. There is a lot of sex and it's all VERY EXPLICIT. Since Nemth isn't human, it's all very primal. There's also knotting, a chase, and many BJ somnophilia scenes. 😉

I know a lot of people will see the three-stars and think that must mean this isn't good, but that's not the case. While I really loved the premise, characters, and the romance, I ended up skimming a lot of the story. It was just so wordy with pages of unnecessary descriptions, explanations, inner thoughts, and showing the passing of time. Whenever Candra and Nethem get together by the 50% mark, I ended up skimming most of the non-dialogue and it truly didn't impact my understanding of the story. I will say, I've read all of the Ice Planet Barbarian series as well as Bound to the Battle God and I've noticed that for her fantasy romance books, Ruby Dixon likes to make them extremely long and wordy. I've never found that to be the case with IPB but I think it's because that world and the stories are less complex than these. It isn't a bad thing, but I think there should be a bit more editing with these longer stories to make it more palatable to the reader. If it's too long and filled with a bunch of unnecessary scenes/paragraphs, you're going to lose the audience.

The use of old-timey words in the beginning are never used again. This is such a small thing to bring up, but I found it strange that in chapter one, the Candra and her people use words and phrases like 'thrice,' 'thus,' and 'for shame' while speaking but quickly after, those words are never used again and are instead used with modern language. Sometimes too modern. For example, the magic blade she has is described as 'salty' because it wasn't working the way she wanted it to. Again, this isn't a huge issue with the story, but it's an inconsistency that I did notice.

**3rd Act Spoiler Ahead**
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I was a little confused by Meryliese's story. Mostly, when and how did Ivornath meet with her if she was in the Alabaster Citadel? Maybe I missed it in my skimming but I've gone back and tried to look. All she says is that he wanted to work with her to take down Lios and he would make her his queen. But when did this relationship develop? How did Ivornath get into the citadel or communicate enough with Meryliese to make her think he loved her? There was a lot of build-up to this final conflict and reveal but the explanation of how it all came together wasn't as in-depth as it should have been to be convincing and impactful.

My girl Ruby has done it again. What an absolutely fun and delightful time. Ruby is constantly making me realize I like things that I did not know I liked. This was a super fun story, good plot and plenty of spice! Perfect for my monster romance lovers!

Oh Ruby, I can always count on you to deliver steamy, literal out of this world content, and this was no exception.

Candra & Nemeth are stuck paying for a curse that has been plaguing their world by sheltering in a tower of darkness for 7 years. During this time these enemies discover common ground and are forced to take matters into their own hands when things don’t go as planned.

On premise alone I was very eager to read this, but had a hard time staying invested in the story. When it’s good, it’s really good, but I did find myself wishing that there was more. I wanted a deeper connection between the characters full of yearning, and more substantial developments within the world. It was hard for me to believe that these mortal enemies were really soulmates or if being forced together for such a long time was what really bound them. Either way, I had a good time reading and think any Ruby Dixon fan will enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Publication date: 7/2/24

I read "Bound to the Shadow Prince" on Yonder before I read this ARC, and I just grew to love it more and more. I loved that Candra was flawed - she was selfish (for understandable reasons), vain, and flighty. She was forced into an impossible situation and had no choice but to grow. I loved the worldbuilding - Ruby is truly the queen of creating really rich, vibrant magical/alternative worlds without making you feel as though you are drowning in worldbuilding. Nemeth, our sweet, nerdy monster-man. I loved how their relationship developed throughout the course of the story - they had to grow and be vulnerable and take chances with each other. The spicy scenes were spicin' - Ruby, you hit it again with the beautiful smut scenes that were fun but still added to the overall plot of the book. Loved this book so much, I will be recommending it to everyone!!

All the tropes here - forced proximity, magic, there is only one (comfortable) bed, warring nations, monster romance, etc. - hit and hit HARD. I loved this book so much and I cannot wait to have the opportunity to add it to my physical collection as well!

Ruby Dixon fan here.... this is my favorite of all her books that I have read!!

First, it was much longer than I expected and I really enjoyed the whole thing! It was a wonderful spice-to-plot ratio.

I was super curious how the book would explain the timeline but I was delightfully surprised.

I am obsessed with Candra!! I loved how flirty and carefree she is and watching her evolve was amazing.

As usual, the spice was *chef's kiss* - but we expect nothing less from Queen Ruby.

About three years ago, I signed up for a Kindle Unlimited subscription (and saying that out loud makes me too afraid to contemplate what that indulgence has cost me in that time). At the time, the thinking was to sign up for the one-month free trial in order to binge read Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarians series, which was experiencing a viral moment, and devoured the whole thing in a month.

Dixon’s latest novel, Bound to the Shadow Prince, is a delight, and is a must for those who are fans of Dixon’s fantasy series Aspect & Anchor. Despite the similarities in book titles, Shadow Prince is a standalone, but is also set in a wholly original fantasy world. The story follows Candra, a princess who is forced to move into an isolated tower for seven years as part of the terms of an ancient curse. Also with her is Nemeth, a prince from a rival kingdom who must also remain in the tower under the terms of the same curse.

For all that Shadow Prince is a romance, it is still a good deal darker than IPB. Yes, the core premise of IPB is dark, in that this group of women have been taken against their will and crash-landed on a planet that possesses no way to get them back to their homes and loved ones. But once you get past that, the series is fairly lighthearted.

In this respect too, its closest comparison is Aspect & Anchor, which also deals with darker themes, and leans more romantasy than romance with a fantasy element. It’s sweet, its steamy. The male lead is nothing short of a growly teddy bear - which is just how we like them - and the heroine has an understandable anger and frustration towards the fact that she is expected to remain locked up for years. Bravery is all well and good, but how many of us can say we’d face that stoically? But all that said, the book was an enjoyable, fast-paced read that is par for the course with Dixon’s work: if you’re a fan, you’ll like this one.

Bound to the Shadow Prince is available July 2. Special thank you to NetGalley and W by Wattpad for the advance copy for review purposes.

Spoiled and selfish Princess Candra is forced to live in a locked tower for 7 years with no company, except the enemy Royal Prince, who happens to be a big ol scholarly monster.

Nemeth is a Fellian, a member of a warring race. According to legends, a member of his family and the Vestalin family must live in a locked tower for seven years, never going outside, in order to protect their lands from the wrath of a Goddess.

Candra has a mysterious blood sickness, so she was never trained to live on her own. Things happen in the tower, Candra runs out of supplies and food stops coming. Nemeth and Candra have to work together to figure out what to do next.

I think this is classified as a monster romance, but he was humanoid so I was able to read it. Nemeth was sweet, Candra though…. I will say she had some serious character growth! This of course was funny as all of Ruby’s books are. I definitely think this could have been about 20% shorter.


3.75 ⭐️

I didn't enjoy this as much as I do Ruby's Ice Planet series, I think because it was longer and took a while to get to the action. We spend the first 60% of the book with our two main characters in the tower they are supposed to stay in for 7 years while they learn to live together and survive. This is also where they develop their relationship. Once they leave the tower, there was some time traveling before we got to Nemeth's kingdom. I wish we had more time in that part of the story to understand the political conflicts and what has been going on while Princess Candra and Nemeth are in the tower. If you are a fan of romantasy and lots of spice this is a good choice but be prepared for some slower moments in between the spice and political drama.

The way this book is formatted makes in incredibly hard to read. I had to DNF it about 10% in, which is sad became I very much like the premise of it but it was giving me a headache.

Forced proximity in a windowless tower.
Enemies to Lovers.
Human Princess x Gargoyle Prince.
Feuding factions.
Immense world building.
Spicy love story.
Mind-Blowing ending.

This is my first novel by Dixon, and now I feel like I need to read her backlist.

Thank you, Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group | W by Wattpad Books

I thought this book was super fun! Not one of my favorite Ruby Dixon's books, but still doesn't fail to hit! Ruby Dixon never fails to hit the mark. Nemeth was so cute, and I really liked how the book ended. It's def worth the read!