OMGoodness!!! This book checked all my boxes! Grumpy-Sunshine, Forced Proximity, Touch her and die, Spicy, Enemies to lovers, just all of it! Candra and Nemeth have my heart in a vice! The character development and rich world-building kept me reading, I couldn't put it down!

Wow, just woooooowwwww, this was such an epic read, there really are no words that could remotely do this book justice. I guess we can go with “obsessed”, as in I am obsessed…and addicted. So maybe there are 2 words, obsessively addicted. It was fantastic, I lost so much sleep reading it, and I regret absolutely nothing. I mean seriously, just wow. I am a huge Ruby Dixon super fan, and this may be one of my favorite books of hers. It was just fantastic, there aren’t enough stars for this book, it was just that good. She really outdid herself, which I think is telling because she is a fantastic writer. And now…I’m completely obsessively addicted.

Princess Candromeda aka Candra from Lios and Prince Nemeth from Darkfell are both Royal Offerings of their opposing bloodlines that have to stay in the Tower of Balance for 7 years with only each other, they can’t leave, and are bricked in to appease the goddess. And this is how their epic love story starts. These two had so much chemistry, and they fell madly in love with each other. She was charmingly over-the-top blunt, flirty, she was who she was without apology, with a whole side of ornery extra. What you saw is what you got, and I loved it. He was a sweet scholar that absolutely adored her, pampered his precious princess, with an admiring ability to handle her, and believe me she needed to be handled. Their heat was scorching, and they were insatiable for each other. And…she was insatiable for his knot….yup it’s exactly what you think…and yup, she was a lucky girl indeed. Normally in a book, I always favor one of the couple, either the guy or the girl, but in this one I loved them both. They just went together like salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, me and Dean Winchester…just checking to see if you’re still reading *winks*, but you get the idea. Basically they were insatiably smitten with each other.

Safe read, with a hot af couple that are madly in love, and insatiably smitten with each other. They are together with each other no matter what. Fantastic storyline with more twists, turns and wtaf moments than you can possibly think up. It was like quick sand, you just got sucked in, next thing you know it’s wee hours in the morning, but you could care less as long as you can read one more chapter(s). All the emotions, like every single one, they are all there. A sweet epilogue and a hea. Ok, I’ve waited long enough, 3 whole paragraphs, will there be more in this world? No, not asking for a friend, because I’m just too obsessed…yup, I’m still as subtle as a Mack truck, but will there be more, because I really am that obsessed. When you read this book crack, you’ll be obsessed too, we can start a support club for our addictions, it will be a whole thing…you’re welcome. And Ruby Dixon, thank you so much for writing this epic and addicting book with a couple that I am equally obsessed with, I’ve never been so happy to lose sleep. #TotallyWorthIt

sheeeeesh the steam in this one 🥵 was off the charts! I wanted to read an addictive fantasy story and this one was exactly that! Ruby Dixon just writes the best soul mate stories and I loved it! my only complaint was the attitude the princess had at the beginning- she was a little annoying - but I can see how she needed to be like that in order for you to fully love her character at the end.

4 stars!

This was an...interesting story. On the surface I loved the premise, the characters, and the settings. BUT some of the construction felt messy, overwhelming, and rushed. The beginning was gripping, and the ending was awesome, but that middle section was just plain rough. It even got to a point where the sex felt gratuitous. I'll be interested to read more in the series, because I love Ruby and this had some fun worldbuilding, but this one just wasn't it.

Also....it might not be the best idea to refer to wanting to write a "sexy" chronic disease.

This was an excellent story with really interesting and unique characters. There was so much to the story that really drew me in, and although I was looking forward to the spicy level of this book, I was blown away by how enraptured I was with the whole story overall! I will say that the spicy scenes were great, but there wasn't a ton of variety after the first few scenes. I really enjoyed the character progression, and I felt like it was realistic how they interacted and grew to know each other more. Definitely a book I'm glad to have read and will be recommending!

2.75 ⭐️

I love Ruby Dixon’s books. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. I’m a sucker for an enemies to lovers, but I think this was unnecessarily long. While the first few turns of the book was enjoyable, at around the 65% mark I wondered why the book wasn’t wrapping up yet. We had a realistic FMC with chronic illness representation and a realistic body type (which was great), and the most exciting premise of the book was the tower (which they end up leaving and that’s where the story went haywire.)

I will still continue reading her other series, but I’m not sure this is one to rave about. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

A spoiled princess and a Fellian prince are forced to spend 7 years in a tower and given little supplies to survive. Fail and be prepared to face the wrath. Bound to the Shadow Prince is a fantasy that transports you to this bookish realm with its fantastic world-building and magnetic characters.

As soon as I read the synopsis, I thought "Wow, this is going to be unique". And it sure was. I have never read a book by Ruby Dixon and yet her writing pulled me in. This book is lengthy, but it never felt like it. The sassy Candra and the scholarly Nehmeth kept my eyes glued to the pages. I didn't want to stop reading until I reached the last page. I do love a fantasy book and add in romance and I love it. And yet this book is unlike anything I've read before. I was introduced to a Fellian, a gray-winged creature with animal features like claws and fangs but is also intelligent and expresses human emotions. Add in forced proximity with high stakes as in life or death, and the last thing you expect is romance. However, romance might be the only inevitable thing to keep these two people from enemy races to survive.

Candra is a princess who has always felt like the spare. Her blood curse prevents her from bearing children and producing an heir so her kingdom's expectations of her are nonexistent. She doesn't want a pity party and embraces her curse. Yes, she needs medicine daily to survive so she might as well have fun and live her life without boundaries. That's what her plan is until she receives news of the death of her sister. Now, she is left with the burden of sacrificing 7 years in a tower to protect her kingdom. She very well can't let her other sister who is with her child live a life of sadness and stress so she accepts.

On the other side of the world, Nehmeth has known his whole life that he would be the Fellian to sacrifice and spend 7 years in a tower with a human. He has always liked books more than people and knows it shouldn't be too hard for him. But when he is trapped with Candra, the sassy and flirtatious princess it is going to be tougher than he thought.

The first days and weeks are tough, but as months go by and supplies become low that's when the worry begins. And Candra is facing even more stress to make her medicinal potion to keep her alive. With supplies dwindling her mind can play tricks on her and start thinking the worst. It's either death or talk to the Fellian who shares the tower. Or should she steal from him? That plan doesn't work and that's when their bond begins. Nemeth and Candra are anomalies to one another. For Candra, she can't imagine this creature being so caring, kind, and intelligent. For Nehmeth, he isn't used to all the sexual innuendos and Candra's boldness. To say they are total opposites would be an understatement, but they put it all aside to survive. It's at this time that they talk and have meaningful conversations. Once, they get to know each other, the sexual tension follows. Let me just say that when they decide to move their newfound friendship into a sexual relationship, it's freaking SPICY! I am just letting you know now that things get HOT so make sure your fans are on!

As their romance blooms, fate has a plan. It feels like everything is working against them and their happiness, but they will do whatever it takes to not only survive but they will do everything it takes to live a life together. The unexpected twists and turns and enemies from afar and within force them to make daring choices. By the last 10 or so chapters, I gasped too many times to count because of all the unforeseen obstacles.

As I mentioned before, this fantasy romance was unlike anything I've read before so, be prepared to feel enamored by this world and its characters. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fantasy novel with fantastic world-building, charming yet fierce characters, and steamy scenes hot enough to make you sweat.

I absolutely loved this book. This was my first book to ready by Ruby Dixon and I was not disappointed at all. I was so enthralled in the story and what was going to happen next. The world building was astounding. She made the tower feel claustrophobic and then it gradually starts feeling more and more like a home. The slow burn romance was great giving the characters time to adjust and warm up to each other rather than diving headfirst into a love story. I can’t wait to read more of her books. This is definitely a shelf worthy book!

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

I found the idea of this book very interesting, and while it started off with strong lore and conflict setup, romance and slow burn, the over all story does not hold you captive. The characters' time in the tower is the most interesting part. I love that our FMC is chubby and charming, spoiled but able to roll with the punches to adapt. I liked that she has a chronic illness, needing daily injections. There needs to be more of that in fiction.

But, once they leave the tower, the story drags. There is no rising tension, no real conflict. You don't have a sense of the characters' physical or emotional well-being is ever really at stake. The whole story's main conflict centers around her daily medication, with the war between their two people simmering on the back burning.

They spend the second half of the book trudging through abandoned villages, with only one instance of running into people mildly threatening. They succeed only in making the FMC and reader briefly uncomfortable with implied threat of sexual violence. There's no horror landscape of what's happened, no devastation leading to a destroyed kingdom, no remnants of villages burnt to ash or bodies and livestock rotting where they fell as though fleeing something terrible. It's steady concern about medicine, which you know they'll overcome, and not running across another person as they trudge through the never-ending rain.

Then, when we get to the MMC's city, there's no more tension to be found there, only back-and-forth getting no answers, and a plot twist that was predictable. None of the speciesism is felt, just told to us, making character reactions hard to swallow, as if overacting. When the only threat to female characters is sexual violence and abuse, it feels like everyday misogyny, the same thing women have to fear in real life, which doesn't make a good plot device.

Honestly, if the author were to try to fix these things before publication, she'd have to scramble, but I believe she could get it done, but I'm not sure she has the option of that at this point.

Candra and Nemeth are royals from rival races (she's human, he's kind of like a bat?), both chosen by their families to stay in an isolated tower together for 7 years to keep peace and prevent a curse from raining (literally) down and destroying the world as they know it. Even though they're supposed to be enemies, they're each the only company available so they carefully get to know one another and slowly become friends...and then more. But when their annual supplies fail to arrive, they have to choose between leaving the tower --which might trigger the curse -- or dying.

I knew going in that this was going to be kind of an unusual love story, seeing as how Dixon's other books are about Ice Barbarians (I haven't read any of those yet). And the fact that it's a human woman and a bat didn't weird me out at all. There was plenty of smut, and I was prepared for and looking forward to that. I will say those scenes were a little repetitive after a while and often seemed to come up out of nowhere, but I also understand that this book was originally was released a chapter at a time...so if readers had to wait between sections, it might have flowed better and seemed fresher.

My biggest issue was that the book changed half-way through to being more about political intrigue and less about 2 people locked in a tower together, trying to survive. The story just suddenly took a big turn and became something else entirely. Which again, maybe worked better when gradually told over time, but I found it frustrating.

I might check out the Ice Barbarians at some point, but I can't say I understand the excitement over this one.

**Thank you to NetGalley and WattPad Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!**

Ruby Dixon is the queen of monster romance and bound to the shadow prince is a fun, steamy romance.

After reading her infamous ice planet barbarians, I was convinced that I would continue to read more of her books. I loved the dynamic of Candra and Nemeth. It was slow burn, hot and steamy. I thought it was interesting how she's a girl that has been sheltered and coddled her whole life and now forced into a new world that she knows nothing about and dealing with creatures. It is a dislike/enemies to lovers, forced proximity, touch her and die and a pure female main character. I think that with this genre it just works in a fantasy setting.

It has an intriguing storyline and plot and you are not bored in any page. I actually really liked Candra, I love a spoiled princess that develops and finds her voice and agency and I just love when the female doesn't know it all and it's refreshing to see in fantasy books. I also loved how down bad he was for, I think it's always fun when the guy is obsessed with her and putty in her hands. Overall, the book is interesting, funny, witty, steamy and despite the length, moves quickly and does not drag. I highly recommend this for fans of monster romance and Ruby Dixon.

I don't understand how Ruby Dixon can take tropes I don't usually like and have me FULLY INVESTED.
This book made me feel allll the feelings- sadness, anger, excitement, love, frustration, etc. There was a lot of character development for the FMC as she's thrust into a fate that wasn't meant to be hers, and the MMC is the secret cinnamon roll protector pretty much from day 1. It had enough world building for a plot that it wasn't super confusing, and the twists just kept coming- some anticipated, some not.... OH and there was SPIIIIICE.
(I'd def look into the triggers. While it is overall a romantic story, it does deal with some heavy topics.)

Ruby Dixon is a favorite author of mine. That being said, I was really excited to read something completely different from her. What I mean by completely different is that this book is a behemoth, it is not fast paced, the main characters take more time to fall in love, the premise is kind of depressing (seven years locked in a tower?); do I need to go on? I'm used to quite the opposite from her. And what can I say? I fell in love. It proves to me that Ruby can write just about anything and I will probably find value in her musings.

From the very first pages I was invested in Candra, even though she was a spoiled brat. But she was a spoiled brat who progressed in the best way. She grew and matured in the ways that she needed to become the best version of herself, but somehow stayed true to her true being; i.e. she was still a spoiled brat and totally shameless, but not vapid and selfish in a heartless way.

I fell in love with Nemeth as soon as his green eyes made an appearance. To read about the upbringings of these deemed 'non-valuable' royal offspring and how they coped was pretty heartbreaking, but to see how they turned their lives around into something beautiful was really satisfying. The progression of the plot was surprising and kept me on my toes throughout.

PS Check your TW before reading this book. There are a few.

Oh, and the tropes! Let me count the ways.

Curvy FMC
Scholarly, Virgin MMC
Grumpy x Sunshine
Enemies to Friends to Lovers
He Falls First
Forced Proximity
Touch Her and Die
Dragon Type Not Human x Human?
KNOTS

Alas, I would be remiss to not mention the knot. I was not into knots (hah) previously but uh, Ruby, you done did it. Knots. They're a thing. I'm into them. Knots. HOT.

Ruby is a mastermind and I cannot wait for whatever comes next. Five glorious, knotty stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group, and Ruby Dixon for giving me the opportunity to read this most special book in eARC format for my honest opinion.

I started this super reluctant about a close to 600 page book. But I started on a flight and was so hooked that I didn't want to put it down. I did, but I didn't want to. This is the story of Candra. Someone from her family must be locked into a tower for 7 years in order to keep the Gods happy. She knows that she is going to be locked in with someone from a winged race of people, but doesn't know that it will be a man..a bookish man who ends up being her mate.

It's just as cozy as we want books from Ruby to be, but with all of the heat and the conflict and story that makes me put my face right into it and not come out of the book until I am done.

I've already told multiple people about this book. Really enjoyed this one, especially the pacing which seemed slow but was actually perfect for the overall story.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this ARC of Bound to the Shadow Prince.

This book was my intro to Ruby Dixon. The MMC, Nemeth, is quite the cinnamon roll, while the FMC, Candra, is a delightfully sarcastic princess. I really enjoyed their banter and all the moments that Candra makes Nemeth blush with her overt comments.

The pacing was a bit weird for me. The beginning takes off, but somewhere towards the middle, things just seem disjointed. I think this was due to some characters keeping secrets, but it was really hard to bounce back from that. The ending felt rushed to me, even with the big reveals. I felt like I should have been completely shocked, but I didn't really feel anything.

What really made this book a challenge for me was the appearance of one of my least favorite tropes. I get why there was no warning for it, but it was just not for me.

It's a nice read if you want some fantasy fluff and smut without intense world building, but I probably wouldn't read it again.

Some authors just have this way of telling a story and as you read it’s like the outside world it doesn’t exist and you don’t know how much time has passed, you’re just completely lost in this world. That’s what it felt like reading this book. I was endlessly saying, “just one more chapter” as my bedtime was pushed later and later. I don’t even know what it was about the book but I know that I couldn’t believe when the book ended.

The story is told in the POV of our FMC who you will love or hate. She starts off as this spoiled brat, but it’s how she was raised. As she begins to adapt and change you see her grow up and become the leader she needs to become. I do love having multiple POVs within a book but I found this worked perfectly. I think it’s better that we did not know the MMC’s POV. I would not be opposed to a novella or bonus chapters of his POV during some scenes but I like that we didn’t always know what was happening and why.

I really enjoyed that this story worked perfectly as a standalone novel. It definitely could have been expanded into another book, but the story didn’t feel rushed. I’m sure there are only so many ways the author could have written about being trapped for years and I like how the author simultaneously showed how quickly and yet how slowly time passed.

I loved the storytelling and the book further cemented my love for this author. I feel so satisfied with this book and its ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

It is very safe to call me a committed Ruby Dixon reader, 2023 I read all her entire backlog except for the Bedlam Butcher series.

Bound to the Shadow Prince, despite sounding like it is is not a part of the Aspect and Anchor world just putting that out first. However I would say this standalone shares the bleakness of A&A, there’s a certain darkness Dixon explores in that series that often far out paces her others.

Story wise yes it is a long winding road but that felt intentional for experiencing the same stretched out time the characters do. Candra and Nemeth have to actively fight to understand each other while being on opposing sides of war. I loved that RD said she was pulling from the story of Helen of Troy and other Greek mythology here it added such an epic twist.

What a fantastically magical masterpiece! Bound to the Shadow Prince is a wickedly surprising and wonderfully magnificent journey of two forgotten people who found more then ever bargained for. Guided by the questionable plans of others, they fall prey to their gods' whims. Fighting for their own survival, they can only hope their sacrifice is making a difference. With the precarious passing of time, they discover that they can truly only ever count on each other.

Candra is the spare heir of her royal family. She is the cursed one who is often overlooked and forgotten, so she does what she can to make herself heard and seen. When a disastrous surprise is used to change every part of her life, she is left with no choice, but to follow the demands of another. Under the heavy obligation of her people, she steps loyally into what feels like her own demise. Nemeth thought his life was all planned out for him. He was under no delusion of allowing his dreams to lead his heart. What he never counted on was meeting a fiery beauty like Candra. She has her own mind and fights for what she wants. Will Fate allow Nemeth to follow the desires of his own heart for once in his regimented life, or will he watch them wither and dead under the weight of responsibility and duty?

Watching the numerous and stark differences between Nemeth and Candra slowly meld and intertwine to form something utterly spectacular was truly breathtaking to behold. My heart melted and sighed each time these two fought to have something more between them. They refused to settle for anything less then everything, and I cheered them on the entire time. What a sumptuous romance that simmered with undeniable passion and pure love! I could not have asked for more then the perfection of these two brilliant characters and their fight for a life of peace and hope.

This the first book I have read by Ruby Dixon, and I must admin that I am thoroughly impressed and hopelessly besotted. Her characters are to die for, and the story line absolutely took my breath away. There is nothing better then a story that shreds your heart with its wonderful depth and consumes your very soul with its unbridled passion. You can be sure that I will be reading much more from this fantastic author!

Firstly, thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book. It is greatly appreciated but does not impact the contents of my review.

I am a big Ruby Dixon fan. Last year I believe I read over twenty of her books, and I enjoyed myself in all of them. I am a huge fan of her Aspect and Anchor series, and although I knew this book wasn’t part of that, I had my fingers crossed that it had a similar theme.

Candra is our fmc. After a lifetime of being a spoiled princess without responsibilities or duties, Candra is shipped off to a tower for the next 7 years. She will be without servants, without adequate supplies, and without sunlight. She is not the only one who must serve seven years to the goddess. A prince from the enemy kingdom will be her only companion. Candra is wildly unprepared for the trials and tribulations of roughing it in a tower. Suddenly she is responsible for every aspect of her care, and it turns out she isn’t really equipped for it. When her companion offers a truce, Candra must decide if she should keep her enemies close.

I absolutely love the idea for this book. I’m a sucker for forced proximity, and I honestly appreciate having a break from the “badass” fmc trope. Candra is undoubtedly a spoiled princess, and there is nothing wrong with it I’m sure some people are going to find her annoying, and I think that is honestly just part of who she is as a character.

Nemeth is our MMC, and I really miss the dual pov from Ice Planet Barbarians for the MMC. I thought Nemeth was okay for the first half of the book, and by the end, I really wanted someone who adored Candra more. I really like when men worship their women, and I found that lacking in this book. Nemeth consistently keeps secrets from Candra and sometimes just flat out ignores her worries/questions. Even when they *spoiler* go back to his kingdom and see all the human slaves, he just isn’t motivated enough to actually help her. ALSO I thought Nemeth leaving her with those gross humans because they had horses was absolutely ridiculous. You could have stolen those horses. She literally thought she was going to be raped, and that he had abandoned her, while he was just creeping in the shadows. It’s stupid. *end spoiler kinda*

Anyways, as always the smut in this is good. Ruby always has good smut and this was no exception. I really enjoyed them being in the tower together, and it wasn’t until afterwards where I felt Nemeth lacking. Overall, I had a good time, and I am sure I will continue to read just about anything Ruby Dixon writes.

3.75/5 stars. Rounded up to 4 stars