Things this book has:
Enemies to lovers
Virgin MMC
Forced a proximity
Touch her and Die
He falls first.
This book was so well done. I already knew I was going to like this if Ruby Dixon’s Ice Panet Barbarians was any indication. The FMC, Candra, was a little dry at first but I grew to like her. The plot was insanely intriguing. The magic system was well thought out. Ruby Dixon is one of my automatic buy authors.

Ruby knocks it out of the park once again. I picked up Bound to the Shadow Prince because I was already a big fan of Ruby’s writing, but I truly couldn’t put the book down once I started.

Ruby has done it again! This book is jam packed with a rich world, a unique magic system, deep and unique characters and yes - spicy romance! I was keep guessing what was next up until the very end and was not disappointed.

Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon is not part of her Aspect & Anchor series, despite the similarities in titles. Instead, it's a new realm, where a pissed off goddess demands that representatives from two warring kingdoms be locked together in a tower for seven years. Candra from the human kingdom and Nemeth of the Fellian kingdom are thrown together in a windowless, bricked up tower. How will they deal with their circumstances???
Well, it's a romance, so you can probably figure it out XD
It's a great story, with a narrator who has a difficult time adjusting from being a palace brat to having to do things for herself, while also dealing with chronic illness, and political intrigue. The ending came a little too quickly for my taste, but a solid story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book.

This book was not intentional for me to read. When I was on NetGalley, I saw the author’s name and assumed I’d seen it with other fantasy novels, and I guess that’s true. The smut in this book is not for me, so I skipped over much of it.

That said, the actual plot was good! We follow Candra and Nemeth as they are forced to coexist in a secluded house for seven years. They are each from rival species.

Candra never really grew on me. She was spoiled and overly sexual. She couldn’t even look at a wall without making a perverted observation about it. She had a one track mind and was spoiled on top of it. The entire book would have been better without her severe sexualization. She also liked to be stupid. She has a magical knife she can ask yes or no questions? Surely she will ask real questions. No. She uses it mostly for sexual questions. I had an impossible time relating to her or feeling any kind of warm emotion toward her.

Nemeth seemed like a sweetheart. He was educated and mostly kind. But we didn’t know much more about him.

The first half of the book dragged, but the second half raced. I wish the ending had been stretched into more detail instead of being as rushed as it was. I figured out most of the twists early on—but I was also frustrated as to why Candra wasn’t asking the right questions. I was left to my own theories.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

It's always good to have a new Ruby Dixon book to read! This standalone fantasy romance brings in forbidden love, forced proximity, and more importantly: knotting. There were a few things I was able to predict along the way, but it's hard for me to say whether that's because after reading 80+ Ruby Dixon books, I get a feel for things or if it's because it's truly predictable. Solid RD book.

That was a wild ride and unfortunately not in a good way.
The premise of the book was intriguing, the execution not so much. A princess and a prince from rival kingdoms are sent to a tower where they have to stay for seven years in order to appease their goddess and stop her from cursing their kingdoms. Although as I'm typing this out it sounds ridiculous.
Anyway. Candra's sister was trained for life in the tower (what?) but when she dies in a shipwreck, Candra must take her place and spend seven years locked up with the enemy.
I will say this: there were interesting parts and the plot itself wasn't bad - there just wasn't a lot of it.
Another big issue: the characters. Candra is a spoiled, lazy and vapid princess who can't do anything by herself and she was overall just very irritating. Her rival, the Fellian warrior prince Nemeth was honestly just boring. They obviously hate each other at first but then (surprise, surprise) start sleeping together at some point. And after the 30% mark or so it's just straight up smut with little to no plot and their "relationship" progresses very quickly. The plot doesn't pick up until much later and even the the unexpected plot twists at the end can't change the fact that this book should've been at least 200 pages shorter.
Thank you to Netgalley, Wattpad Books, and Ruby Dixon for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great stand alone fantasy book. I enjoyed the banter and development between the main two characters. I do feel like the book dragged a bit in the middle and could have been shorter, but the last fifth went by fast with all the plot lines revealing themselves. This was my favorite Ruby Dixon book I have read. This review is being written based upon an ARC received to provide and honest review.

I want to preface this that Ruby Dixon has been such a comfort author for me and I generally use her books as palate cleansers between more emotional and heavier reads. I started the Rubyverse with Ice Planet Barbarians, blacked out, and have read most of her backlist since. This book is a monster romance so automatically, I was ready to dive in!

What I liked about the book was a more in depth and heavier plot than some of her previous books and better world building than previous books. The MC’s were enjoyable and the MMC was your typical Ruby Dixon swoonworthy character. I didn’t prefer the FMC as much as I have other FMC’s this author has written, but I didn’t hate her either. The FMC is a bit of a mess but it makes for good entertainment and she’s not predictable.

This book had the expected steam and spice, and I loved the forced proximity and forbidden romance. There were little Easter eggs dropped throughout the story that came together in the end to make the story “click”. The first half of the book read pretty slow and the last half read faster paced and was a bit more of a page turner.

Now the qualms I have with this book are a couple unresolved plots—I would’ve expected for the length of this book they would have been wrapped up or resolved. It’s not a huge issue but I’m not the biggest fan of plots just disappearing without resolution.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Book Group for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

First, she's waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. As someone who is here for the forced proximity monster romance, everything after leaving the tower was something I had to power through. The bigger plot felt super clunky in comparison. I was only here for the soft monster MMC and the spice, friends.

Bound to the Shadow Prince was not what I was expecting! I was pleased that the story line had a lot more substance to it than I anticipated and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the main characters. Candra was not likeable in the beginning, she was a product of her upbringing - self centered and just plain whiny. I'm happy she developed into a character with some substance. Nemeth is strong (mentally and physically) and just the right amount of grumpy. He is also devoted and true which is why I liked him.

Fans of Beauty of the Beast and A Court of Thorns and Roses will enjoy this new fantasy from Ruby Dixon. This spicy romance follows a human princess and a winged Fellian warrior from warring nations who are locked in a tower together for seven years as an offering to the Golden Moon Goddess. A spicy and entertaining read for fantasy lovers!

Bound to the Shadow Prince is a monster romance, in this story, Princess Candra finds herself imprisoned in a tower for seven years and her only company is a winged Felian, Nemeth. The tension between them is palpable, Candra was torn between wanting to kill him for supplies and explicitly wanting him for more. This story includes a lot of angst which I liked, and the plot was unique. I personally liked this book because it was easy to read and there were a lot of moments where I was engaged in their romance but there were also moments where I was lost and felt the need to go back and reread certain chapters because I couldn't keep up with what was happening. That's the only thing that I would change in this book but if you're a fan of fated mates, strong heroines, and spiciness then this book is for you!

I wanted this book to be more engaging. Instead, it was just confusing with all the lore. I felt like I was walking into a sequel. I was excited for the smut scenes, even though those aren't typically my things. This book exemplifies why: it was all mean without being hot. I am not saying this is a bad book, it was just not my cup of tea.

Initially, I was drawn in by the intriguing premise. However, I found myself struggling with the sluggish pacing. Rather than being captivated by the storyline, I often found my attention drifting towards mundane daily tasks, a testament to the lack of engaging elements within the plot.

One of the most disappointing aspects of the book was the absence of a compelling plot. Instead, it felt as though the story relied solely on the trope of enemies-turned-lovers without offering any substantial development or depth to their relationship. I wished for more meaningful interactions between the characters, characterized by witty banter and genuine moments of connection, which were regrettably absent from the narrative.

Furthermore, the overall pacing of the book felt rushed and slow if that’s even possible. This book was challenging to get through.

Despite receiving an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback, I cannot in good conscience recommend this book.

*Thank you to NetGalleys for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Bound to the Shadow Prince follows Candra, a princess of Lios who unexpectedly has to take her dead sisters place as a sacrifice, meaning: living in the Godess' dark tower with a Fellian for seven years. Not only is Candra, as a spoiled and impatient princess, absolutely not prepared, she is also scared to live with the enemy in close quarters. An enemy that is more monster than human.

I was very excited to read this one. The author, Ruby Dixon, is the same author that wrote the Ice Planet Barbarians series. So I was expecting a silly little wholesome and ridiculous but very cute and short story. Wrong. This was more serious, more fantastical and sooooooo long. Too long, actually, it would've been better if the book was 100-200 pages shorter. Also, I just read 'new book by Ruby Dixon' and was so excited I didn't stop to read that is was actually a monster romance lol. This is not my cup of tea AT ALL. Every mention of knees that bend the wrong way was a jump scare. Nevertheless, it was an interesting read. From what I read from this author, I didn't think this would be as intricate of a story as it is. There's actually a bigger plot than the two MCs falling in love and being all cute, it's just that that part felt rather short compared to all the time they spent in the tower. That part went really really slow for me. I read about people not liking Candras character, but I think it fits her spoiled princess image. The plot twist I didn't see coming, I was pleasantly surprised. I just felt like the ending could've been longer and the middle could've been cut shorter. It doesn't look like this is the beginning of a series. there were no indications that there would be more stories in this new world at least. But if there are, I might read them because it was pretty original.

3.75 stars

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Bound to the Shadow Prince
Author: Ruby Dixon
Monster smut? lol

Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad Publishing for this ARC! I really enjoyed this one! I am on like book 13 of Ruby’s IPB series so this was a change! I loved the medieval, princess locked in the tower vibes. The storyline kept me engaged, there were some slow parts, and I think it could have been way shorter but I still really enjoyed the balance between the romance and the actual plot. Of course when Candra is sent to a tower to be locked in alone for seven years, the big Felian Shadow monster named Nemeth is also locked in there too… they just had to fall in love right? I love how Ruby always makes these big scary monsters into lovable cinnamon rolls.. I truly love her writing and I’m looking forward to exploring more of her works outside of IPB! Also the spice is ridiculously good in all her books… 🌶️. This one publishes July 2, 2024!

Another score for Ruby Dixon! But who can resist a shadow prince?

Bound to the Shadow Prince features a heavy dose of forced proximity alongside a steamy enemies to lovers plotline within a rich fantasy world filled with wartime conflict and angry gods watching it all happen. When our two main characters fall in love against all odds it is an electric journey to the end where trust if tested above all else.

Definitely another great read for Ruby Dixon fans.

I received this book as an Arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I really loved this story. Ive never read a Ruby Dixon novel before and was pleasantly surprised. The unique characters and imaginative setting made the book stand out, with steamy scenes that kept the pages turning. While I loved the creativity and the dynamic between the characters, I hoped for a bit more depth in their development, especially when it comes to their backstories. This story hit a little bit of everything I love from a book.

Side note, in the beginning I loved Balon being a dumb little himbo. Very Ken coded.

This story is a must-read for fans of monster romance looking for a mix of heart, heat, and fantasy.

IMAGINE being locked in a windowless tower for 7 YEARS with your mortal enemy 😏 in total darkness! Can you say CLAUSTROPHOBIA!?!

Candromeda
💖 Princess of Lios
💖 notorious flirt & lady of the sheets
💖 chronically ill girlie (aren’t we all)
💖 unexpected sacrifice to the Goddess

Nemeth
💙 Prince of Darkfell
💙 shy scholar/warrior
💙 dirtiest mouth in all the land
💙 has wings!

Candra was never meant to be a sacrifice. She is a carefree Princess with a flirtatious streak & and chronic illness. Basically an everyday modern girlie 💕 after her sister says ‘bye-bye’ to the mortal realm Candra is placed in a dark tower to survive on her own. Started from the top now we…down here. Let’s just say our girl went through it in that tower 🗼

Thank the Goddess for Prince Nemeth or Candra’s stay in the tower would be truly boring 👑 The spice is very on brand for Dixon. Initially shy mmc becomes insatiable and a real beast in bed. Think Ice Barbarians but he is grey and has WINGS 🪽 I really enjoy the sexually open fmc in this story. Candra loves to tease & flirt with Nemeth and let’s just say she is not a meek flower. The initial shy mmc/femme fatale fmc were GIVING EVERYTHING! Lots and lots of smut in this one 🌶️🌶️ but the friendly banter and amazing fantasy plot makes the storyline interesting 4/5 🌶️

I just couldn’t put this book down. Candra & Nemeth are in the tower for YEARS and a large portion of the book is just them coexisting in a tower. No side characters no other story lines but the book was still so interesting. The plot twist ACTUALLY had me gasping!!

The story stayed with me days after I finished it. That alone deserves 5 ⭐️ would definitely recommend to all romantasy girls!!!

enemies-friends-lovers
sick bed 🛌
virgin mmc
size difference
knotting