I absolutely love all of Ruby Dixon's work, so Bound to the Shadow Prince was a must-read for me. Honestly, I don’t even bother with the book synopsis—I just dive right in! This one is a fun twist on Greek mythology, with a fantasy plot that’s unique and engaging. It’s a bit more fantastical compared to her other books, but Ruby’s world-building is always on point, and this story is no exception.

The plot follows Princess Candra, who’s sent to live in a tower for seven years to appease the gods, along with Nemeth, a bat-like humanoid from the Fellians. Being in such close quarters, the two are forced to learn and survive together, and there are some fun twists along the way. What really made the book for me was Ruby's author note at the end—it made me appreciate the story even more!

If you’re into fantasy romance, this one’s a must-read. It's not just a simple "stuck in a tower" tale—there’s so much more to it, and the surprises will keep you hooked!

Honestly, I love everything this human writes But I had such a good time with this book and it will definitely become a comfort read

Great read! Loved the characters and the pacing of the plot! The spice was yummy!! I enjoyed the development of the characters and the spice to plot ratio was perfect for me! I love Rubys books!

3⭐️

I enjoyed the first half of the book. It was a bit slow moving but I loved being in the tower with Chandra and Nemeth.

The second half fell a bit flat for me. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t keep me hooked, and going from two isolated characters to so many new ones with so much happening just felt a bit disjointed.

Love Ruby’s spice, as always!

I’ve devoured this book like a pro and it’s a big thing for me because I’m the slowest reader ever, who doesn’t bread romantasy very often.

Author did it again - she delivered fairytale with the most delicious spice inside and I could put this book down . It was suspenseful, intense and even if it was THICK book I haven’t feel it - addictive storytelling was everything. I will be coming back into this series, if author will decide to give us more books about this characters. I’m captivated and waiting for more. Must read alert.

Thank you net galley and Wattled Webtoon book group for an e-arc of Bound to the Shadow Prince in exchange for an honest review.
Give me all of Ruby Dixon's work! I have read all of her Ice Planet Barbarian series as well as it's companion series and have been yearning for more. And Bound to the Shadow Prince certainly didn't disappoint.
The Tangled/Rapunzel-esk setting turned my head right away. But being trapped there with your hot enemy? YES PLEASE!
I could go into all of the deliciously spicy spoilers but I won't ;) I'll let Candra and Nemeth speak for themselves ;)
5/5 stars (I would give more stars if I could!)

Unfortunately I DNF’d this book at the 40% mark. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the FMC she was a bit insufferable for most of the beginning of the book. I appreciate the opportunity to read this book and am sorry it was not the right fit for me.

Ice Planet Barbarians meets A Court of Mist and Fury.

You'll love this book if you love:
🏰 Romantasy
🏰 Monster Romance
🏰 Bat Boys
🏰 Forced Proximity
🏰 Sassy FMCs
🏰 Enemies to Lovers

Ruby Dixon always nails the effortless worldbuilding for me. The history and lore behind the Liosians and Fellians had me intrigued and invested in the story. I loved how she brought these worlds to life.

Now, there was a bit of a hyperfixation on the MMC's... ahem... anatomy that wasn't particularly my cup of tea, but honestly, it didn’t ruin the story for me. I still loved the dynamic between Candra and Nemeth. Their relationship is a fascinating blend of tension and attraction.

Overall, this story of survival will keep you hooked from start to finish!

3 stars

Slow burn. Enemies to Lovers.

I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews around this book and I don’t think it’s as bad as people are making it out to be.

Is it a master piece? No.
Did I still enjoy it? Yes

I think if you’re familiar with Ruby Dixon’s writing style you will find this book easy to follow and a fun reading experience. It’s not the best book I’ve ever read but it’s definitely not the worst. The romance is there. The spice is there. The plot if semi there and I am here for Ruby’s next story!

This book started out good, but at the mid-point of the book the premise shifted and the second half of the book felt rushed. It tried to do too many things. It could have been a duology of two shorter books, and then maybe it wouldn't have felt so disparate.

ARC review! big thank you to the publisher/author for sending me this early!

this was my first ruby dixon book, and i’ve now decided to read everything they’ve ever written! this book was a chonker, but it never felt like it was dragging on for the sake of dragging on. even when it seemed to slow or were just taking time to get to know the characters i was never bored with the story and being inside candra’s head made me laugh out loud more than once! my one complaint: the slow burn was slooooww buurrrnnningggg (ok, not a complaint bc i enjoyed every painful second of it but ykwim) and the lack of communication made me want to pull my hair out at times but in the end everything was worth the wait! (p.s that little plot twist at the end was insane but i never doubted nemeth for a second)

Overall I enjoyed the book. The enemies to lovers plot was engaging. I am not normally one to read any sort of monster romance but I do love fantasy and romance. I know Ruby Dixon is well known in the monster romance scene so I thought this might be a good intro into the genre but I was underwhelmed. The book felt far too long and could have done with some editing down. I enjoyed the experience but it just felt very average to me.

I'd recommend this to fans of the author. I enjoyed the Rapunzel-esk tropes and the plot overall, I just wish it was a bit shorter as it did seem o drag on at times. Maybe could have been split into two books.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️.5/5

Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon is a fun story that is inspired by Greek Tales loosely but provides an interesting fantasy plot that gives a unique fantasy tale that many folks might enjoy when looking for their next Romantasy read. I don't know what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but when I saw the author of Ice Planet Barbarians, I couldn't help but start diving into this story.

This is more fantastical compared to her other tales, but something I love about Ruby is the world building that occurs within the story. This is more of a standalone story though I can definitely see some spin offs of this tale that can happen. Overall this story follows Princess Candra as she is unexpectedly supposed to go into a tower in order to prevent the gods from being upset with the human race for 7 years. They are also joined by Nemeth from a race called Fellians who are bat-like humanoid creatures. A part of the story includes Candra being sick and having to take medicine. Being in such close quarters also means that the two will run into each other, and they will learn and survive together.

The plot of this story is so fun, and I enjoyed reading Ruby's author note afterwards because it made this book go from 4.5 to 5 stars for me. If you also read this book make sure to read that afterwards because there were details I didn't even notice until the end. I loved how this book presented itself as a simple stay in the tower, but then there were many twists and turns. I would encourage folks to keep reading this because it is not what you expect at the end.

Of course the characters are lovable too. I love Nemeth as he is just an introverted guy who just wanted to read War Poetry, but is always trying to do right by his people and the people he loves. There was a moment where I wanted to kill him, but all was forgiven by the end, but I love that I can still feel so many emotions. I will say though Candra was not my favorite. I think she annoyed me more because her mind was very much, "Woe is me, I am sick, I am screwed, I hate it here" for the first half of the book. I get it, but in the end, I think Nemeth makes up for her poor attitude.

So at the end of the day, if you are looking for a spicy romantasy with another bat boy who is more bat then boy who is super endearing I think this one is a good choice for you. I loved this story and really enjoyed it, and I think that more people would enjoy it too, especially if you love Ruby Dixon in general.

After reading this book, I discovered it was originally a pay to read story that has been bound together. That explained so much about my issues with it. I have read and enjoyed Ruby Dixon before. I see many things I like about her writing in this book. Our monster hero is a grumpy cinnamon roll, the relationship between the two is overall sweet, and the monster smut is top tier. The problem was world building and pacing. Probably 60% of the book takes place in the tower. Here the story is almost entirely character (and smut) driven. Once they leave the tower, we are plunged into a world of war and politics that I never fully understood. Things begin to move so quickly that it felt like Dixon was just trying to wrap up the story. To be fair to her, it’s a 600 page book, so it’s plenty long enough. I just thing the time in the tower should have been shortened to focus on the world outside.

Ruby has grown so much as an author over the years and it shows in Bound to the Shadow Prince! I enjoyed myself the entire time. This is such a great standalone novel, though you wouldn't need to twist my arm to get me to read another story from this world in the future. Well done!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this ebook.

Ruby Dixon created yet another totally unique, rich fantasy setting. I continue to be in awe of her ability to write female lead who starts out hard to love (like I start these books sure I could never possibly like this chick) and ends up being a favorite character, along with a brooding, enigmatic monster hero. Her world-building is, as always, particularly impressive, with a dark atmosphere that immerses readers in a realm filled with magic, intrigue, and peril.

The plot is expertly paced initially then takes a turn (just over half-way through), which is really my only complaint.

PS if you ever had a weird feeling for a gargoyle this book is probably for you

Spice: 3/5 - open door, repeated, explicit language
CW: <spoiler> chronic illness, war, slavery, fatphobia, rape/attempted rape, child death </spoiler>

I loved Ice Planet Barbarians so I was excited to read this but it just didn’t work for me. The writing style was cheesy and I found the plot predictable.

This was my first book by this author and i absolutely loved it! I can not wait to read more by her!

Ruby Dixon has a unique gift for fantasy world building and developing interesting "monster" characters. This story brings you into a forbidden romance between Candra, a Vestalin princess of Lios with a blood disease, and Nemeth, a winged Fellian prince from the rival kingdom of Darkfell. They are both sacrifices for their respective people, staying in the Tower of Balance for seven years, to serve as Royal Offerings to the gods in order to appease them and avoid angering the Golden Moon Goddess and cursing their Kingdoms.

Candra is a bold and flirty female who knows what she wants and will do what is necessary to get it. Nemeth is reserved and observant, falling first and fast for the princess. When their annual supplies are not delivered after the second year, they are forced to leave in order to survive and risk angering the gods. They must learn to trust each other and their love in order to get through the obstacles faced once they leave the tower.

I really enjoyed this enemy to lovers romance, and I thought the character development was well written. Ruby always does such a good job with the world building that even though this is a fantasy world, I can picture it like I've seen it before. There were some twists to the story that I had guessed at early on, but it did not take away from the ending.

It's official.... I love Ruby Dixon! 4.25 stars!
This was my first Monster Romance novel, and I couldn't be happier. I will officially be purchasing more Ruby Dixon books and monster romances!