Ugh I cannot tell you how much I loved this book! Seriously, it had me hooked from the beginning!

This Fantasy Romance was a mouthwatering spicy read.
The Romance is a slow burn, and very angsty.
Once the romance takes off there are lots of scrumptious spicy scenes to enjoy. Perfect for any monster spice lover.
The book moves at a quicker pace following the MCs as they try survive locked in a tower together. There is lust, adventure, unexpected turns of events, and even betrayal along their struggle.
The characters are written very solid in their wonderful personalities. They are a perfect combination together, making their banter throughout the book a pleasure to read.
The world building is fairly complex, but not overly so. The author makes sure to start strong, and keep reinforcing throughout the book. This makes reading this book a compelling read, that you cant help to never want to put down.

I love the way this love story unfolded. The secrets and the twist towards the end. I wasn't expecting that. Love the HEA

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!

I love Ruby Dixon. I did enjoy this book, but there was something missing. I felt so bad for Chandra and was really excited to see her growth. The smut was smutty and I need more of it!

I found Ruby with her Ice Planet Barbarians series, and I was so excited to see he do something different. I'm anxious for the rest of the series.

This was one of my first reads by Ruby Dixon, so I went in blind. I was hooked from the beginning and didn't want to even put the book down. Candra was such a fun character and always thirsty IYKYK. It is from her POV, first person. However the character development for both her and her love interest was always on point and I never got frustrated with them. Plus I really enjoy a good enemies to lovers. Worldbuilding was spectacular and very descriptive. I felt like I was immersed in their world from the beginning. Through out the plot I kept thinking I knew what was coming. Sometimes it was a bit predictable then something I didn't expect would get thrown my way. It kept me wanting more. Over all a good read and I can't wait to read more from this author.

Unfortunately, despite my love for Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarian series, I found this novel difficult to read. The two biggest issues I had were probably both personal problems though. The first was the length of the book. Personally, when I am reading monster romances, I want them to be something I can binge read in one sitting, and it being nearly 600 pages was too much. Secondy, I had a hard time reading a monster romance where the monster was so unattractive. Ain Ice Planet Barbarians they are a bit more humanoid and I imagined the monster in this book would be as well—again, a very personal issue. The smaller issues I had were that the romance was very sudden. She found the monster ugly and then suddenly decided she wanted to have sex with him. Overall, I found it hard to read and personally wouldn’t recommend it to any friends. It is a niche book though and I know there will be people out there who love it! (For that reason, I will not be posting this review publicly anywhere! Dixon worked hard and should be commemorated for her efforts and for the people who I know she will reach with this story!)

This book is probably the furthest Ruby Dixon book I have gotten through and yet I still could not finish it. I think the character development was much stronger than some of her other books and I loved the world she created.

One thing Ruby Dixon does well is writing men who know how to dote on their mates and this book is no exception! The fact that we have a curvy, sassy, FMC that has great disability rep was a huge bonus- but the love story between our two main characters was a 10/10. I do feel like once they leave the tower the story drug out- I wish it could have been condensed, but overall I loved this book and I will happily be adding it to my Ruby Dixon shelf when it releases!

Having only read Ruby's IPB series, I wasn't sure what to expect from a longer book that didn't include our favorite blue guys. What we get is an enemies to lovers situation between a feisty FMC who has to figure out what is important to her and a shadowy man with knees that bend backward (this is mentioned frequently). It still has a lot of what we expect from Ruby (read: monster smut), but also humor, plot, action, and a total simp of an MMC. I was definitely not expecting the twist at the end!

That being said, there were definitely parts that felt a bit longer than absolutely necessary. When I read the author note at the end and learned that it was originally released as a serial, they pacing made more sense, though. I was also left with some lingering questions that I didn't feel were totally answered. This also is not a quick read; don't expect it to go as quickly as an IPB read.

Overall, it was an interesting read set in a dynamic world (gods, court intrigue, curses, war).

Note: There were some slightly darker elements that might not be for everyone (scroll down for TWs).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book for an honest review.





TW: infant death, slavery, implied SA (not on page and not main characters)

This was good but was SO long! Some of the writing is clunky, but it was still a fun and believable world where the tension between the characters is quite delicious. It’s nice to read a Ruby Dixon and enjoy the quality and consistency of her years of experience. It feels like getting back to my roots…

What a cute story. Which from the back I wasn't expecting it to be as sweet as it was. Ruby Dixon never disappoints. I enjoyed the world building and the characters. I was nervous about the idea of two characters being forced together for seven years but gosh I could get enough of Candra and Nemeth.

There was the perfect balance of struggle, fluff and smut. The ending had so many twists and turns that I really felt like Candra in the tower. Coming back out to a whole slew of mayhem.

If you like fantasy, forced proximity, world building, war, magic and monsters. This is the books for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and wattpad webtoon book group for this opportunity! This epic ARC will be available July 2,2024!!!

Holy spiciness with an actual plot Batman!!! I devoured this book. It’s my first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed their writing style. The plot was steadily paced with action, banter and steamy moments. The main characters were fleshed out. Not one moment was I ever bored.

I’m giving this three stars because the writing wasn’t terrible but my actual enjoyment was somewhere in the two star range.

I remember seeing Ruby advertise the chapters of this book as they were being released on Yonder. I didn’t read any of the story then because I’m not paying for another app, not even for Ruby, but was interested in the premise. So I waited to read it until now. Unfortunately this book had issues; mainly, it was too long. The story initially started out focused on the characters but eventually became about a meandering plot which was overly bloated. I could assume this would be due to the serialized pay-per-chapter release, but I’ve read other series written by Ruby that suffered from the same issue that were just published as novels.

Beyond that I don’t personally think the female main character was written well. She was pretty much one note and it was set to horny. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good steamy book, but want the characters to have more to them than just the desire to bone. I also understand and appreciate that was part of her characterization; however, it superseded any romantic buildup or chemistry which Ruby generally does well. In fact it was done well for the male main character in this book. As a reader this made it hard to buy into the romance or root for the couple.

There were also gripes I had that may not bother everyone but grated on my nerves. Specifically the countless times “dragon shite” was used even though there were no dragons in this book and the audiobook narrator’s choice to make the main character and narrator of the story have an American accent despite saying things like “piss off,” “arse,” “shite,” etc. Additionally the male main character, his people, and the human males all had what I think was a Scottish accent. Maybe the human males had an old school Transatlantic style accent but the women were just straight up bland American. So every “piss off,” “arse,” “shite,” etc. was just unbelievably off-putting. And lastly, along with having issues with several scenes throughout the story the final one was incredibly frustrating but I can’t get into the reasons why because of spoilers.

In the end, this book had issues. Some were just my personal gripes but others were with the writing. I still love Ruby’s work and will continue to try out whatever she comes up with in the future.

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also, shoutout to my local library and Libby for having the audiobook.

I really liked the premise of this book, forced proximity and soft enemies to lovers. Candra started out a little spoiled but quickly realized her situation and had a lot of growth at the end. I enjoyed the twist towards the end of the book and how it came together at the end.
I do feel like the story dragged in places that could’ve been shortened up and some of the spicier scenes were a little repetitive.

Ruby Dixon has become one that can write a monster fantasy grocery list and I think I will buy it. She is a go to for me in this realm and I know that I will pick it up and devour it and finish it in that same day, if not the same sitting.

Bound to the Shadow Prince was the perfect forced proximity, enemies to lovers romance! Candra and Nemeth had me hooked from start to finish.

This book was spellbinding and seductive! I absolutely loved it and wish I could give it more than five stars!

Ruby truely knocked it out of the park with this book! I really enjoyed the overall plot and the characters were so intriguing and complex.

My favorite thing about this book was the forced proximity between the characters. It made for some delicious tension and wonderfully spicy scenes!

If you're a fan of spicy romance then this book is for you, I highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for allowing me to read this book ahead of release in exchange for my honest opinion.

It eas pretty good but not my favorite by Ruby Dixon. It's my understanding that this was a pay by chapter or something similar type thing that got bound together and it definitely reads like that. This could have been shortened a bit and still told a great story. The general idea of the book however is pretty good and I did enjoy the shadow daddy.

While I had expected a short, steamy romantasy, this book provides so much more. I was at the edge of my seat at each twist and turn. While some readers may feel like the book drags at parts, I loved getting to really know Candra and see her development. I will warn that the book explores some extremely dark topics, but it was done well and highlighted how dire circumstances were for our main characters.
Overall, one of my favorite reads of the year so far! I would love it if this becomes a series so we can see what happens with our main characters and the fickle gods next!

This was my first book by Ruby Dixon and I'll definatley be reading more from her catologe soon! Bound to the Shadow Prince centers on Princess Candra and Prince Nemeth who are royalty from waring kingdoms that have despised each other for centeries. The two are put into forced proximity in a tower where they're meant to serve out a seven year sentance to appease a godess and ensure prosperity for both their kingdoms.

While at first glance this bookmay seem like a striaght forward tale of enemies to lovers, it is actually much more than that! I don't want to spoil any plot points but Dixon keeps readers on their toes and introduces elements like political intrege that put test Candra and Nemeth's relationship to the test.

Overall, this is a fun, faced paced, and smut-filled fantasy that stands on its own! Readers of the genere will almost certainly find something to love within the pages of this book 🥰

Thank you to NetGalley, Ruby Dixon, and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

WOW! Ruby Dixon does it again! I was so excited after reading the description of this book: Enemies to loves, forxed proximity, magic, politics, mating, and of course, the SPICE! Ruby writes romance and steam so well, she is truly talented. The slow burn of this book was ultimately slow, spanning over years, and she really makes you feel like you are trudging along with them.

My only little complaint would be the ending, it felt a little rushed (which like I get the book is already 500 pages), I almost wish she would split this book into two books and then flush out the ending.

Either way, so in love with this new adventure from her!