I didn’t know what to expect from this author since it’s my first book by them. But wow! I was not disappointed!!! It did feel like it dragged on a bit but i am a sucker for an enemies to lovers trope. Candra and Nemeths love story was really good but felt lacking a little bit. The smut was chefs kiss though!
I will definitely be reading more by this author though!!!

This book is DELICIOUS, the spice is perfection.
The story is really good too 🤣♥️

But the spice man or man, is it good.
If you want some “monster smutt” with a good story, this is it.

*4.5 stars*

Finally!

I've been a Ruby Dixon fan-girl since her Ice Planet Barbarians series, but I've been crushingly underwhelmed with her other books since, especially her newer offerings. However, I could NOT stop reading Bound to the Shadow Prince, and I pulled two nearly all-nighters to finish this nearly 600 page book.

I've read nothing but kind of negative reviews of this book, so I went into it with extremely low expectations. However, I was SO pleasantly surprised with this one! Like, it went above and beyond my expectations, which probably contributed to my high rating.

Warning: this book has a VERY slow burn romance, enemies-to-lovers, lots of violence and death, and it is LONG. This isn't the typical Ruby Dixon "love at first sight" kind of story. It is kind of slow with lots of world-building, and I was here for it!! It struck me in just the right sort of ways.

The romance is romancing, baby! Give me a bookish, kind of nerdy GIANT male alien MC and a sultry female seductress MC any day of the week. Just, YES. It really worked for me. I loved the chemistry that developed between these two, and I kept wanting more. Also, I adored the chronic medical condition representation in this romance. I would postulate, based on symptoms and treatment, that the medical condition is loosely based on type-1 diabetes, and it's really well done.

I have very few negatives about Bound to the Shadow Prince. Any book that keeps me reading all night automatically gets 4.5-5 stars, in my book. Be ready for twists and turns, and some smoldering sex scenes. Thank you, Ruby Dixon!

I am pretty sure this is my new favorite book. I was immediately invested in this story! Usually it takes me about 20% of the book to feel like it gets good, but this one was magnificent from page one. I’ve enjoyed Ruby’s books previously but this one is sure something special.

Candromeda has been cursed with a blood illness from the moment she was born. Being barren and needing daily injections is a small price to pay for her freedom in court. She is cared for in every aspect, and very little is expected of her (overall, she is an absolute brat). No one cares what the "cursed" princess does, and she loves the freedom that comes with being unwanted. She was never supposed to be the sacrifice....
Now, she must spend 7 years trapped in a tower with her sworn enemy, unable to leave. With no time to prepare, she doesn't know how she will survive the first month, let alone 7 years. That is, if her enemy doesn't kill her first.

I am entirely unsure where all the negative reviews are coming from... I absolutely loved this book. I have been reading Ruby Dixon's work for years, and when I had the opportunity to this ARC, I was extatic! This woman made me fall in love with monster romance! Who doesn't love an obcessed male who worships their woman (so what if he is gray and had wings and claws)? I think Dixon is a master of romance, and Bound to the Shadow Prince was no different. Despite this book being much longer than previous works, I felt the story was still well balanced between world building, main story line, and spice. I felt there was more time for me to fall in love with the characters and savor the relationship as it developed.

If you are curious about monster romance, Ruby Dixon is always my first recommendation. It is the absolute adoration that all of her MMCs have for their FMCs😍 I hope the author writes more stories set in this world because I am hungry for more!

Tropes:
-enemies to lovers
-one bed
-forced proximity
-monster romance
- knotting 😉
-virgin MMC
-obsessed MMC

Thank you to NetGalleyy and the publisher for the opportunity to review this ARC.

3 -⭐⭐⭐

“You, princess, will be the death of me...”

Bound to the Shadow Prince is a fantasy monster romance standalone following Candra and Nemeth. Candra is a cast off princess suffering from a blood curse and she has accepted her lot in life...until dire circumstances have led her to be chosen to remain locked in a tower for seven years in order to appease a vengeful goddess. In addition she is to be locked in with a warrior species known as the Fellian, the enemy of her people. Yet as time goes on they build a connection...and then something unexpected occurs that forces these two to work together and confront a world they once knew. Will they be able to survive this new world or will their differences keep them apart forever more?

This book gave me a lot of mixed feelings.

Candra is a spunky princess who is willing to explore and I really enjoyed her openness. She starts off a bit annoying with a spoiled princess vibe but once she's in the tower I found she found this strength and independence that won me over.

Nemeth starts off as this closed off scholarly being that doesn't know what to make of Candra. I liked seeing him find a connection with her and the feralness he gains when he realized how much he comes to love Candra.

This book is about 5 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers. Spice begins fairly early on and grows in intensity as these characters find their connection. There is primal play, knotting, and domination. The spice is explicit and happens on a regular basis. The MMC is also a creature with claws and wings but he is humanoid.

For me, when the romance in this book hit its strides I was LOVING it! The connection between Candra and Nemeth once they accept their relationship was filled with intimate moments, banter, and connections that had me giddy. That said, the beginning and third act of their relationship were a struggle at times and that's mainly because I didn't understand how things went from a to b and b to c. For characters that fell in love hard, the transition of time needed more development...and yet that time didn't matter during a semi third act break up. Though the ending does have HEA that was sweet and endearing. I also want to add a spoiler note in case you need this trope spoiler (view spoiler) as I know some people don't enjoy it...I actually do! Overall, the story was brought to an ending nicely and teased with an opportunity to continue exploring this world but with different characters.

Overall this has some promise! If you have enjoyed Ruby Dixon in the past I think you will enjoy this! I would pick up another book from this world!

Thank you Wattpad Books for this arc!

The idea is very exciting! Being stuck in a tower with a stranger for 7 years and being forced to rely on each other. The book is very spicy, nothing terribly crazy but there is a lot of knotting. Loved that the FMC was so forward and I felt her worries in surviving with her illness. And the ending was an unexpected wild ride. The book was tad too long.

Princess Candra grew up being the pampered, sickly princess who didn't have a care in the world. But a tragic accident has Candra rushing to prepare to take her younger sister's place as the sacrifice locked up in a tower for 7 years just three days before she has to be in the tower, and nothing will ever prepare her for what awaits her and her kingdom.

It's a weird plot because a lot happens while also feeling like nothing is going on at all. I mean, a large portion of it takes place with Candra and Nemeth locked up in a tower with no windows and next to no diversions. Then there's even more wandering with no idea of what's going on in general and it could get frustrating if you're not used to that in books, but it felt like tension and world-building to me because I'm used to it in epic fantasy.

Ruby Dixon is known for her cinnamon roll heroes and Nemeth is a perfect example of one. He's bookish and caring, but the monster side of him is ready to come out if it means protecting Candra. It's a nice little balance to the fact that he's most definitely not human because it puts an emphasis on his empathy and human-like qualities.

My one major gripe is that the banter during the smexy times gets downright ridiculous at times. There's playful and then there's whatever Candra and Nemeth engage in. I was either cringing from second-hand embarrassment or skimming the good parts just to save myself from having to read that. Not exactly ideal.

I'm still not sure I'm completely in on the whole monster romance genre, but I will say that I don't regret reading Bound to the Shadow Prince because it's an enjoyable fantasy romance.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and W by Wattpad Books for the fascinating entry into monster romantasy!

Forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and monster romance a perfect trifecta. I enjoyed this book but the pacing felt off. I struggled through some parts but didn’t want to put it down for others. As always, the smut was fantastic.

I ended up giving up on this at 60%. Honestly it should’ve been two books! This one should have ended on the cliff hanger of them leaving the tower. But I got to this pivotal moment and there’s still HALF THE BOOK left?? No way. And it was sooooooo boring. And they’re life long mates but they still keep secrets???????????? Unfathomable.

You need a Ruby Dixon fix....

This was different, different planet, different forced proximity (big time!) same sweet (mostly) characters. Candra is the one elected to pull a Rapunzel, only no long hair, but with a twist. She will share the tower that they are locked in with a male from a different species, Nemeth (kind of gargoyle-like, who has a knot).

The tropes are plentiful as is the steaminess.
Recommend.

this was so good! ruby does what they do best, writing deliciously spicy monster romances. i’m obsessed, this was an amazing read!

2⭐️ DNF @ 10%

I know it might not seem like it but I really tried to get through this book. I first picked up this book a couple months ago and was so annoyed by the FMC that I set it aside hoping to try again later. I picked it up again and she was every bit as annoying the second time around.

Candromeda was incredibly self centered, entitled, lazy, and childish. If you had told me she was 14 I would have believed you. She certainly didn’t act 24.

I was hoping that the MMC would save this book and was trying to hold out on DNFing until I got to meet him. But after the briefest introduction he disappeared and I just couldn’t take Candromeda anymore.

I’ve read other Ruby Dixon book before and enjoyed them, so I won’t let this one book stop me from picking her books up again in the future, this one just wasn’t for

Could you spend 7 years trapped inside a tower with only your enemy to keep you company? What if I told you that you didn’t have a choice? Welcome to Princess Candromeda‘s life.

It wasn’t always going to be her duty. Someone from her bloodline has to spend 7 years in the tower to please the gods. When her sister who was chosen to complete this task 💀 on her trip to the tower, Candra no longer has a choice.

Trapped in a tower with no company other than her people’s greatest enemy, Candra must navigate her newly solitary life and attempt to keep herself alive despite her inherited blood disease and lack of provided supplies.

Tropes:
💖Enemies to lovers
💖Dragons x humans
💖Winged MMC
💖Curses
💖Court intrigue
💖Deceit
💖Forced proximity

Thoughts🦇
I quickly became engrossed in this book. When I tell you I didn’t want it to end, I mean it. This book is 492 pages long and I wish it was 1000 more. Thank you Ruby for gracing us with this enormous book🥹

This plot was very unique. I really liked the tower situation. I also liked the way that the romance between Candra and Nemeth played out. I kept wondering what more could happen since they got together before the 50% mark.

When they left the tower it all started to fall apart a bit for me. The plot started to drag a bit. A lot of action happened but it didn’t really drive the plot forward at all. I finished the entire book but found myself skimming sometimes.

This was a fun fantasy read. I think readers who’ enjoyed the author’s Ice Planet series will appreciate this.

3.5 stars.

My love for Ruby Dixon is not news, so I ran to get this one when I saw it was in a new universe.

Candra is a spoiled princess forced at the last minute to spend the next seven years in a distant tower to appease the gods…along with a prince of the rival lands. Candra feels different from most of Ruby’s previous heroines, and frankly she was unlikable at times. But despite that, she definitely grows on you as she becomes more self-sufficient and less spoiled.

While I enjoyed Candra and Nemeth together, I felt like pacing was off. Not much seemed to happen, really. Just a lot of banter between them. And Nemeth was a little one-dimensional and had not much of a personality.

But…I still enjoyed it like I enjoy everything I read by Ruby. So I consider that a win.

Thank you to W by Wattpad books for the review copy.

Princess Candromeda Vastalin is sent in place of her sister on very short notice to a remote tower with enough supplies to last her the year. Soldiers will bring more supplies at the start of each year and she is not allowed to leave at all. By staying in the tower for seven years she will honor the moon goddess and bring good fortune to her people. However she won’t be alone, she will be with the prince of one of her kingdoms enemies Darkfell. Prince Nemeth has trained to be in the tower all his life but he isn’t expecting Candra.

**𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝑹𝒖𝒃𝒚 𝑫𝒊𝒙𝒐𝒏

Release Date: July 1, 2024

5⭐️5🌶

This book pulled me into it's world! I loved this book so much! Candra is the second princess to the human kingdom who has always been deemed the "lush" or the "flirt". She has the family's blood sickness, so she will never be made to carry on the family line or get pregnant at all. Every seven years, one member of her family and one of the rival royal family must be imprisoned in a tower for 7 years as an offering to the goddess. If they do not, then both kingdoms will be set upon with famine and plagues.

Candra was never meant to be the offering sent to the tower. Her sister has trained all her life for that honor. But when a storm drowns her sister at sea, Candra is forced to learn to take care of herself and sent to the tower as the sacrifice.

One there, she avoids the Fellian's offering as much as she can. All she knows of Fellians is that they're winged monsters that live underground in total darkness. But she finds that her fellow offering is more than she's been taught.

This book has enemies-to-lovers, mate trope, winged love interest, knotting, and so so much more! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book!

A big thank you to @netgalley for approving me for this ARC!

I honestly couldn't finish it. I don't think it's a bad book it's just I was not in the headspace for this book, it was not as easy of a read as previous Dixon books I have read. I may return to this story later when I am in the right place for it, please don't judge this book by my review. This was on me.

Thank you to Wattpad and Ruby Dixon for this ARC.

What would you do if you were locked in a tower for seven years with the enemy of your people? Freak out? Probably. Fall in love? Hopefully. 🤣

Being almost 600 pages long, I was a bit intimidated that there would not be enough plot to explore, but I was completely wrong. While this book was extremely spicy, Ruby Dixon created an immersive world full of secrets, politics, warring nations, magic, and plot twists. The characters were morally grey (some downright evil) and certainly held my attention for the full 500+ pages.

Have you ever read a monster romance? While I have read vampire romance books in the past, this is one of my first monster romances featuring a gargoyle-like prince. Did I mention he is a scholar and reads a lot? 🤩 I loved the MMC (the FMC was meh for me) and wanted more of his backstory. The spicy scenes delivered in all the best possible ways and the banter was top-notch.

The first two-thirds of this book dragged on a bit (I mean, they are trapped in a tower, so…). Then, the last part felt super rushed. I almost wished this book had been a series so we could get more backstory and even more world-building. Overall, this was a fun, cozy, well-rounded paranormal romance with a satisfying ending.