I’ll admit this isn’t my favorite from Ruby Dixon, but I still enjoyed it. There were definitely parts where it dragged and I skimmed, but this was a long book - it didn’t need to be. The heroine wasn’t my cup of tea either. She just rubbed me the wrong way. I really liked the hero though. He was a sweet bookworm who knew how to push the heroine’s buttons. 3.5 stars

“I would rather you be yourself. Pay no mind to me. I am just a blushing, bookish sort and not the type to go toe to toe with a court lady.” “So you are blushing?” I tease. “Excellent!”

Bookish and shy MMC monster...sassy and flirty FMC...sign me up! I loved the progression of Nemeth and Candra's relationship from enemies-friends-lovers. Only thing I had a hard time with this book was the all the world building and war parts. Which not to say that I didn't like them there was just a lot of it for me personally. I always love everything Ruby puts out though, this series reminded me of the Aspect and Anchor series which I adore. Will definitely be recommending this book to all fantasy romance lovers!

I throughly enjoyed this novel. Bound to the Shadow Prince features Nemeth and Candra, two members of different royal families. Nemeth is a Fellian, a somewhat gargoyle like species (horns/wings/grey) and Candra is a regular ol’ human. Because of reasons (gods/the moon/a curse) the two opposing species each have to send a member of their royal line to a tower to live for seven years.

Nemeth is trained for the tower and has been preparing all his life for it. Candra… not so much. She learns three days before the curse is set to start that she will be the royal ‘sacrifice.’ Once both Nemeth and Candra are within the tower, they are locked in and a wall is built in front of the door. From there, a fun forced proximity romance story develops.

I am such a fan of Ruby Dixon’s writing style - I find it throughly entertaining. Perhaps because this, too, was a serial (like Ice Planet Barbarians before it.) I loved both characters, although Candra took slightly longer to grow on me, but she got there with her inner dialogue about when she was allowed to cry. I also loved Nemeth, a giant nerdy almost monk.

Minor spoiler: <spoiler> I’m totally down for more traditionally published knotting stories. I wrote in my notes about this book: “make 2024 the year of the knot” </spoiler>

I received this book as an ARC through Netgalley and read all 500 pages in less than 24 hours (and could have finished earlier if it wasn’t work work!)

Leaving five stars. The formatting of the kindle version was broken, so I did not read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad for the ARC.

This was a fun, sexy fantasy that kept me engaged despite the length. I found the world building to be enjoyable and the main characters really compelling.

✨ Grumpy x Sunshine
✨ Enemies to friends to lovers
✨ Forced Proximity
✨ Touch her and die
✨ Virgin MMC
🌶️ SMUTTY 🌶️

I love a curvy, cheeky princess; and a grumpy, not-quite-human, softy, prince was a fun change from what I usually read. I also loved the chronic illness representation. I was invested very early on and didn’t want to put it down. I enjoyed the enemies-to friends-to lovers progression and I thought Nemeth was just freaking adorable. The spice was very spicy but it got a little repetitive and the “knot” talk was a little cringe for me sometimes 😆 I went into this expecting a smut fest, and while the smut was plentiful, the story itself was also very interesting. There were times I was on the edge of my seat dying to know what was coming next. I liked the sense of mystery and the little twists and turns. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

If you like creature smut with a funny, sassy, shamelessly promiscuous FMC and a well thought out storyline - this one’s for you!

I absolutely love everything Ruby Dixon writes and this was no exception. While different than many of her other titles - no space, no aliens, etc - it still has all her wit, humor and to die for romance. A cannot miss for any fans.

Let me preface this by mentioning this is the first book I've read from Ruby Dixon, and while I have heard some amazing things when it comes to her storytelling, Bound to the Shadow Prince fell a little flat for me.

The pacing is ridiculously slow, especially at the beginning, and the FMC is such an illogical spoiled brat that she's extremely hard to love - which I get was the whole point, but when the book is told from first person POV and you can't stand who your protagonist is, reading feels like a struggle! I want to say there's a more authentic way to create an entitled princess but make them still somewhat lovable to your audience, (because it's been done many times), but Dixon just did not do that.

The spice was nice, and I think that's what saved this book. I think readers who are more familiar and consistent with following Dixon's writing will probably still enjoy this one, and I would still suggest to this someone who appreciates a dark romance.

Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad Webtoon for the digital ARC!

I love you Ruby Dixon!

I have been reading Ruby for nine years, and she just keeps getting better!

Bound to the Shadow Prince (3.5/4)

What a wild journey! It was steamy, it was thrilling, it was entertaining, and it was unpredictable.
When I first started the book, I’ll admit I almost put it down. The FMC wasn’t my cup of tea. It took a long time for her to grow on me. The MMC was mysterious and far more easy for me to enjoy and root for.
I ended up enjoying their story in the end and I’m glad I stuck with it. The last half of the book really picked up and I loved the unpredictable little twists throughout.

Some trope in the story are:

-enemies to lovers
-forced proximity
-healer/sick
-touch her and ☠️
-monster/human
-magic
-steamy
-they save each other
-adventure
-curses
-possessive MMC

Thank you W by Wattpad Books for inviting me and allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A spoiled princess and enemy prince are locked in a tower of darkness for seven years as sacrifices for their Goddess.

Bound to the Shadow Prince was originally published on an app named Yonder. This is my review for the eARC of the exclusive print edition.

I adore the Ice Planet Barbarians series. The story is entertaining, the spice is hot, the characters are fun to follow, and it made me want a big blue alien of my own.

While I did like Nemeth, the scholar virgin monster, and the spice is detailed and hot like Barbarians, I did not enjoy the story or Candra as much as I wanted to.

I've never used the Yonder app. What I can gather is it's like Webtoon. You read the story on a chapter by chapter basis. So I can understand why this book is long. But it's too long. The pacing is slow, everything gets a description that probably doesn't need it, and there's a lot of information that felt almost useless to me. In my opinion I think the story needs to be edited. It might have worked with the app but the way it translates into a full printed book doesn't. There's just too much for a simple concept that doesn't get executed well either.

I wasn't a fan of Candra. I do appreciate her transformation from spoiled entitled princess to being able to survive and become a little more independent. Her personality is tough to get passed, and her constant use of 'dragon shite' and sex crazed thoughts became annoying after a while.

I didn't mind the spice at first. I mean, I knew what I was getting into reading a Ruby Dixon book lol but the sex is overdone. It felt like there were some copy and paste moments. The sex is very hot though. The tension, hunger, and desire between Candra and Nemeth is great at first. And then they just keep doing it and it began to feel old and stale.

The story suffered from not being edited. If it had been way shorter this might have been a different review.

2.5 stars