Ruby Dixon excels at putting FMCs in uncomfortable situations and then giving logical reasons for how they get themselves out of those same situations. This story is no different! I loved the sex and body positivity, along with the realistic (even though this is fantasy) portrayal of a person who just wants things to be easy, and whines when they are not. The struggle is part of the journey, after all! It appears that this story was built as a serial, and I believe the overall story arc suffered because of it. Clocking in at over 500 pages, there were some repeated details that should have been trimmed to shorten the overall length. However, it was a fun read from a beloved storyteller.

3.5 Rating (I'm rounding down a bit).
First things first, Ruby Dixon can do no wrong and always manages to write a thoroughly enjoyable story, with a healthy dose of spice. I've enjoyed her early forays into Fantasy and this was also of good quality.
My issue? The book is nearly six hundred pages, and yet in the last hundred pages takes a very dark turn that drastically alters the mood of the book. Those choices weren't necessarily wrong, but there was not nearly enough time spent considering the repercussions of everything that happened.

Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon is a steamy paranormal romance with a large fantasy royalty plot.

I didn't expect such a twisting fantasy, but I really enjoyed the secrets and war and all the gods. Candra is spoiled and sassy and experienced in pleasure, and I love it! Was so refreshing to have a female character who knows what she likes in bed and is unafraid to ask (or beg) for it! Nemeth was such a cinnamon roll, I loved getting to know him, and his people and customs.

Overall this is a great fantasy romance from Ruby Dixon!!

This is my first time reading your work, but it will not be the last. What a unique and fascinating book. It is hard to hold my interest, but Bound to the Shadow Prince did just that. Tight world building and exceptional character attributes. The twists, turns and absolute shockers were refreshing. Many books, you can often times predict the outcome-this was an exception. I look forward to reading more of your books.

TW: slavery, wartime mass-murder, repeated off-page rape and sexual assault, women as war prizes, attempted assault

I feel torn on rating this novel. On one hand I enjoyed much of it. The main characters and their relationship evolved at a good pace. The steamy scenes were well-written. There was even a journeying element, which was nice for a romance. However there were enough wartime crime trigger warnings (above) past the halfway point that I couldn't in good conscience rate it higher. Please make sure that these TWs are okay with you before reading. Now for a summary and some thoughts.

Bound to the Shadow Prince presents a multi-year relationship journey between two royals, set in a deteriorating world where the Goddess periodically wreaks havoc on the earth through intense storms, rain, and floods, if not pacified. (That would be recurring climate patterns for the more scientific minded.) As the time of storms approaches again, tradition demands that two royals from warring lands are sent to pacify the Goddess with their sacrifice of staying locked away in a windowless, doorless tower for seven years. One species is human while the other is more gargoyle-like. Over time they grow closer and embark on a romance together.

Unfortunately(?) for these two royals, things do not quite go as planned and when they do see the world again, it is nothing like what they expected. This new world tests the loyalty of the bond they've formed during their joint captivity.

Pros
* Romance with a setting - a fair amount of world-setting, action, and intrigue for a romance (Note: not to the level of a full-on fantasy or adventure novel. This is first and foremost a romance.)
* Good pacing and passing of time
* Good emphasis on consent in most sexual scenes
* Well-written though unrealistically fantastic sex scenes (includes knotting erotica kink), but hey it's a romance so sure
* HEA

Cons
* Human slavery by the other species (Fellian)
* Wartime mass-murder, repeated off-page rape and sexual assault, women as war prizes, attempted assault. The prince does not push against this, saying that this is the cost of war... If he had denounced the situation and tried to fix it, my rating would have been higher.
* Unrealistic ease of political resolution but that's not uncommon for romance/erotica novels
* The princess was very whiney, had no life skills, and used her condition as an excuse to be pampered and never learn anything about life. She does evolve from this but still acts short-sighted, even at the end.
* Took a tone shift halfway through and became surprisingly grim (This actually does make it more of a romance epic, but see Cons above for TW content.)

My review for
Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🥵🥵🥵🥵

Damn, I know everyone is loving the big sexy Ice Planet Barbarians (including me 😂) but Nemeth and his wings are flying into first place for now.

I looooved this book and was invested from chapter 1. I didn’t want to put it down and might have neglected my kids a little. I enjoyed the enemies to friends to lovers progression and I thought Nemeth was just so endearing from the start. Candra was a little hard to like, but she grew on me halfway through. Her character development was really impressive. I fully went into this expecting nothing but smut and was very surprised to find an interesting story line that held my attention throughout the entire book. Don't get me wrong, though there is plenty of spice and "knotty" fun too 😏 I had no idea what would happen next, and I really enjoyed being surprised in almost every chapter. I drug this book out because I didn't want it to end and honestly was NOT expecting that ending at all. I do feel that the ending was a little rushed and I have a few questions that I wish were answered, but overall it was a 5 star read.

This book has
- Knotty fun 😏
- Curvy smart mouthed FMC
- Forced proximity
- Virgin MMC
- Enemies to friends to lovers

This book was nice and refreshing honestly. It has decent spice but more importantly there’s a huge story that unfolds and you have no choice but be captivated by it. The world building was great and I loved the character development. Though I did see some of the twists coming I didn’t see them all which I love as well. I found myself in a bit of a reading slump just re reading my favorite series. This one has pulled me out of it and leaving excited again for my next stories and adventures that I pick up. I would definitely recommend this book

I hread Ice Plant Barbarians a while ago. And I thought it was pretty good. But Bound to the Shadow Prince? I thought it was great. The emotional growth that we see Candra go through is paced just perfectly. I loved that she owned her sexuality and she was so clear that she wanted him. And Nemeth is a great cinnamon roll beast. There is knotting which isn’t really my cup of smexy tea, but the rest of the steam was plenty hot. And I wasn’t sure how the plot was going to work out, which honestly is pretty unique in this genre (I mean I knew there was going to be an HEA obvs). There is off page violence against women and the violent death of an infant (another character relates the story) which could be upsetting for some readers. But honestly the hard depiction of war, added to the emotional journey the couple goes on. There is a little, “well a conversation would probably be useful here”, but I was so charmed by Candra and Nemeth as characters I hardly minded. Overall very ice plant meets fae type war romance. I liked it. (I read an ARC)

While I liked this, I did not love it. The storyline was interesting and I did want to know what was going to happen next, so I kept reading and reading and reading. It felt very long and sometimes quite repetitive.

I don’t know that I liked Candra that much. At first, her attitude was fun, but then it got grating. She was always in a dire situation, and while I loved her “I’ll cry about this tomorrow, after I’m through this hard thing” attitude, the other portion of her felt immature and got rather annoying. She couldn’t be serious to save her life, which was funny at times but other times not.

Nemeth was consistent in his inconsistency. He was a scholarly, bookish man who… was adept at dirty talk? Insanely possessive and protective, except when he left her to fend for herself with 3 starving men on horseback (couldn’t have just taken them out and used their horses??) or in the middle of the sea while he went off for most of the day to fly, or when he left her alone in his apartment and ignored her completely.

There wasn’t much feeling in this book. There were spicy scenes and then scenes telling us what was going on. I didn’t feel the need to cheer for either character, didn’t feel hurt or pain or love, because I couldn’t feel their hurt or pain or love. It didn’t feel like they loved each other—it felt like they turned to each other when no one else was around and called it good.

The premise of this book drew me in and kept me reading, I just wish what was there was better.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I got this book for free and exchange for an honest opinion.
I've read every single one of Ruby Dixon books.

I love all her books. This one did have a similar vibe as her aspect books do.
But it was differentt in it's own right. The only thing I'd say is I felt the book was too long.
I love both main characters. I love how sweet and innocent he wasand hiw sure of herself she was.
Maybe because this was a serial is the reason why it felt so long. When I felt like there was a lot that wasn't needed. It could have been cut down. I don't want to give too much away, but I did like the little mystery of it. I was surprize of who it was ( Crypt that I know)and the love scenes were HOTT!
I can say if you love Ruby Dixon's books then you're gonna love this one. All in all , I'll give it 3.5 stars

I honestly didn't expect to love this book nearly as much as I did but I couldn't put it down! It read as a fantasy royal drama romance, and I devoured every twist and turn.

"Princess Candra must remain locked inside a tower for seven long years in order to protect her people from their goddess's wrath. Seven years without a friend—or a lover—by her side. And locked inside the tower with her? A fearsome winged Fellian warrior, Nemeth. He's terrifying, cruel, and disturbingly magnetic . . . and the only other living being in the tower. Candra is torn between wanting to kill him for his supplies or having her way with him. After all, seven years is a long time to be alone."

I was delighted by this novel. Ruby has a knack for some impressive magic system and world building within a romance/fantasy novel. Candra has a steep learning curve when she gets to the tower and has to fend for herself, and her trials are written very well. The blood curse that Candra lives with was an interesting addition to the story and when fully explained later on was well done. My only negative for the entire book was the final 1/4. Everything happened so fast, with as much build up as we had in the tower, I felt the continuing journey was just a bit quick. Otherwise, I could not stop reading!

Ruby Dixon loves to hit all of my favorite romance and fantasy troupes. If you want to read Bound to the Shadow Prince, here is a short list of what is included in the novel.

Grumpy x Sunshine (My most favorite!)
Enemies to friends to lovers
Forced Proximity
Touch her and die
Spicy Scenes!!
Virgin MMC

I really enjoyed the storyline in Bound to the Shadow Prince. The concept of a tribute from royalty on both sides of enemy people who have to live together for 7 years really piqued my interest. The tower has its own set of unique challenges, which is truly felt by the FMC Candra, who has always had people to take care of her. This book feels like a journey with many challenges. There’s plenty of spice along the way as well. The story felt unique to me and very enjoyable.

Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon is a fantasy romance that was originally published on Yonder. I’m a huge fan of Ruby Dixon’s books, so I had to check this one out!

Princess Candra was raised with no expectations on her since she was born with a blood curse. Her older sister was selected to marry the king and her younger sister was selected to be a worshipper for a goddess who would stay in a tower for seven years to appease her. When her younger sister gets lost at sea, Candra must take her place in the tower. She must share the tower with a member of their country’s enemy, a Fellian. Nemeth was the quiet and reserved Fellian who was also destined for the tower. Can Candra and Nemeth survive seven years with only each others’s company?

This was such an interesting read. I went in with certain expectations on what would occur in the story, but I didn’t realize there would be much more. I really liked how different but compatible Candra and Nemeth were. The beginning of their relationship was my favorite part to read because it did start off in a two-steps-forward-one-step-back way. I wish we had Nemeth’s point of view, but it could have lead to spoilers, so I understand why it was not included.

The world building was confusing in the beginning, but I got it after a while. It was also super long! I’ve read many of Dixon’s shorter works, so this book being a behemoth was surprising. I wish it was paced a bit better because it did drag along at some points. Ruby Dixon is a queen when it comes to 🌶️spice🌶️, so the expectations were lived up to in that aspect!

If you love fantasy romance, forced proximity, winged/magical heroes, heroines that find the humor in everything, and opposites attract, then this book is for you!

Thanks to Ruby Dixon and NetGalley for the ARC!

From reading the synopsis of this story I was so excited to read this novel but unfortunately I just had a hard time reading this novel due to the writing style no fault to the author. I did enjoy the twist leading to the ending which tied the novel together.

I had a difficult time connecting with the characters at the start. I dislikes Candra and thought of her as an annoying princess but slowly during the storyline you started to see her grow and evolve.

<u>Tropes</u>
• Slow burn
• Enemies to lovers
• Forced proximity
• Touch her and ☠️
• Steamy
• Possessive MMC

<b>Thank you to NetGalley, Ruby Dixon, and Wattpad for the chance to read and review this e-arc in exchange for an honest review! All thought and opinions remain my own.</b>

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

This monster romance was the very embodiment of the forced proximity trope. Although I didn't always care for the FMC Candra, she tended to have the most unhinged (and hilarious) bits of the book.

Bound to the Shadow Prince is a standalone with a great premise. The protagonist, who is a chronically ill princess, gets tapped in as a sacrifice when her sister—who had been trained for it her entire life—dies on her way to her fate. As the sacrifice, Candra now has to spend seven years locked in a tower with no one but her sworn enemy. Untrained and used to being pampered in a palace, Candra has no idea how to take care of…well…anything.

The premise of the story is fantastic, as is the beginning as Candra gets settled into the tower and her life and budding romance with Nemeth. However, the story takes a turn for the worse when the two get together. From the point where Candra and Nemeth are first intimate, the story turns to be mostly about their relations. The plot doesn’t continue so much as it speeds ahead through their travels outside the tower and beyond, and a lot of the story threads and solutions aren’t fully explored.

While the premise was good, Bound to the Shadow Prince does not live up to it.

Really good monster fantasy from Ruby Dixon! Great world building and compelling story line. Romance was slow but built along really nicely. I really liked how the heroines perceived “weakness” ended up saving the lives of many in the end.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Bound to the Shadow Prince. It was my first book by Ruby Dixon.
When I saw this book and read the description it got me very interested, a princess stuck in the tower for 7 years with a Fellian warrior, a lot can happen during that time!
In all honesty I did not enjoy reading this book and struggled to get through it. The beginning was very captivating and I couldn’t stop reading but then it felt repetitive and very long, I also couldn’t connect to the characters which made it harder to be interested in their story development. I love steamy scenes but felt like there were too many of them in the book to the point that I lost my interest in their relationship.
It is just my personal opinion and I think quite a few people will enjoy this book, it just wasn’t for me.

Title: Bound to a Shadow Prince
Author: Ruby Dixon

Bound to a Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon is a captivating and enchanting tale that combines a unique storyline, enemies-to-lovers trope, and the thrilling concept of forced proximity. With elements of fantasy, romance, and adventure, this book takes readers on a mesmerizing journey filled with love, danger, and the power of destiny.

The story revolves around a sassy and flirty princess who finds herself trapped in a tower for seven long years. Princess Candra, known for her quick wit and playful nature, is a character that instantly captures the reader's attention. Her vibrant personality and determination to escape her confinement make her a relatable and endearing protagonist.

In this fantastical world, two kingdoms are at war, each with their own unique species. Enter the sexy winged male, the Shadow Prince, who becomes Candra's unexpected savior. Despite their initial animosity and opposing backgrounds, their paths intertwine in a way that neither of them could have anticipated.

The enemies-to-lovers trope is flawlessly executed in this book. The tension between Candra and the Shadow Prince is palpable from the moment they meet. Their witty banter and fiery exchanges create a delightful push-and-pull dynamic that keeps readers eagerly turning the pages. As they are forced to spend time together, their walls begin to crumble, revealing hidden depths and vulnerabilities.

The concept of forced proximity adds an extra layer of intensity to the story. Trapped in the tower, Candra and the Shadow Prince are forced to confront their differences and find common ground. As they navigate their confined space, their relationship evolves, leading to unexpected alliances and a deepening connection.

Ruby Dixon skillfully weaves a tale of love and redemption amidst a backdrop of war and conflict. The world-building is rich and immersive, with vivid descriptions that bring the fantastical elements to life. The author's ability to balance the romance and action ensures that readers remain fully engaged throughout the story.

Bound to a Shadow Prince is a delightful blend of fantasy, romance, and adventure. It explores themes of love, sacrifice, and the power of unity. With its unique storyline, enemies-to-lovers trope, and the thrilling concept of forced proximity, this book is a must-read for fans of the genre. Ruby Dixon's ability to create compelling characters and captivating narratives is showcased brilliantly in this enchanting tale.