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