overall, an interesting read. though I've read other books by Ruby Dixon that have enthralled me, I wouldn't go quite so far to say the same for this one.

pros:
- chemistry!! shy, nerdy guy + confident, flirty girl combo is a constant favorite pairing of mine.
- the development of the romance was done at the perfect pace for who the characters were and the situation they found themselves in.

cons:
- there's a lot of conflicting plot points. for example, when Candra first arrives to the tower, anyone else who enters is burned by the shadows. later when someone else tries to enter the tower, they are able to walk in with ease.
- a stagnant plot. perhaps the stagnant plot derived from the characters being stuck in a tower. they couldn't physically go anywhere so the plot relied heavily on romance development between species that hated each other greatly. there is no other way to cultivate that but through a slow, gradual build. also we don't meet the baddie until a large part of the book has passed. with no villain prevalent, it felt like a lot of time was passing while the characters and reader are kept in the dark about what was happening outside of the castle.

Loved this epic fantasy romance. Nice strong FMC who is sexually open minded and a shy MMC who is not so shy in bed . Very slow burn for ruby Dixon. Loved that this had chronic illness rep. This book does mainly take place in a tower with just our mains for most of the book. Loved the nods to fairytales. Really loved the adventure and romance blossoming in this book I really didn’t want to put it down.

I really wanted to love this as forced proximity / enemies-to-lovers tropes are my favorite. There was plenty of tension between the characters however instead of feeling like a slow burn it just felt LONG to the point of dragging at some points. As a result the story fell a bit flat for me. I think I would have enjoyed it more if some of the fluff was cut out. I do intend to try some of her other books.

Wow! This was my first “monster” romance. First of all, I had no idea it was one. Second, I loved it.
This book has a lot of smut, but it also has a lot of folklore, politics, and heartfelt love. I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end!
I really enjoyed the world building and use of magic. I loved the twists and turns. Every few chapters something new happens and it made me want to keep reading.
Now I need to read the rest of Ruby Dixon’s books. Thank you to Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

I really wish I would have enjoyed this more. The premise was great.

Then it was monotonous. And then it started to seem like we were just trying to shove every popular book trope in there.

By the time you get to 60% of the way through all of a sudden they are leaving the tower and a whole other plot line starts?

It wasnt my cup of tea unfortunately.

Story was a little hard to get through in the beginning when describing the Sun Goddess and the lore around the tower that Candra had to stay in. Luckily, there was enough references throughout the book that I caught on.
I enjoyed Candra and Nemeth as individuals and a couple. I WISH we could have gotten a POV from Nemeth. I would have loved to get his thoughts on things and I also envisioned with all the war poems he would read, that he would also read filthy stuff as well.
I loved that Candra was self aware that she was a spoiled princess and needed doting on constantly. She owned who she was and was unapologetic about it and that made me like her more.
I loved Nemeth as a character and especially loved that he was such a book worm. Candra and Nemeth were a good 'opposites attract' couple and I enjoyed reading their story.

Bound to the Shadows by Ruby Dixon is an incredible monster romantasy set in a unique world. While it is definitely adult in nature, it is not only just adult.
Nemeth has been training for the tower for his whole life; raised celibate by a monk like sect. While infinitely more prepared for the tower life than Candra, he was definitely not prepared for her.
Candra is the inconvenient royal offspring. She has a blood disorder and is considered useless until she is needed to serve the time in the tower. Candra has been treated as an invalid and inconvenience for most of her life, the tower gives her some time to learn to be only herself.
This is one of the best monster romances I have in the last year. I was fully invested in the characters, even when I wanted to punt them. Personally, I find when I do get extreme emotions towards the characters it’s a better book. The character growth, setting, and plot were executed with forethought and planning. This is 100% on track with Ruby Dixon’s normal writing style. Fans of monster romance and Ruby Dixon alike won’t be disappointed and if you haven’t read her works, this is a good one.
I received an arc and am leaving this review of my volition.

Thank you to @netgalley for the chance to review Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon. I’m happy to provide an honest review for this book.

Excellent world-building, super hot spice, and entertaining character arcs. I loved the story - two MCs locked in a tower for seven years to appease their gods. It was just a tad slow at places, but overall, quite an enjoyable read!

3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

Based on the cover, author, hype on TikTok- I was so excited for this! It hooked me in so easily.

The main problem that I had with it is that for such a long book, it didn't give me a lot. For as long as they were in the tower, I feel like I didn't really get to learn about or know these characters. It was one of those books where at one point, when they start getting intimate again, I sighed and skimmed as quickly as I could. The ending felt a bit hurried too, and it would've been nice to have time for the twists and turns to really do something.

I did think that elements of the story were refreshing in comparison to what I typically expect of modern fantasies. I liked the Vestalin/Fellian lore a lot, and the way that the Fellians live is pretty intriguing.

If she writes a shorter sequel about another couple in the universe, sign me up so fast.

Thank you to Net Galley and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group for the ARC copy!

Thank you #netgalley for this ARC of #BoundtotheShadowPrince #rubydixon

Very Spicy!

This was definitely not my favorite Ruby Dixon and I did think about DNFing multiple times. Its very repetitive, could definitely be shortened. The MCs were stuck in a tower and I very much felt like I was stuck in the tower with them. There is a ton of smut, non human male smut! More smut than needed, I think, but if you are looking for a bunch of smut, this is it!

That being said it is very on brand for what to expect for her writing style. If you are a fan of Ice Planet Barbarians, but are looking for that kind of story with a change of scenery? This is for you! This is a very medieval, other planet, monster/alien romance and if you have read IPB then you will get what you're expecting with this book!

I think Dixon truly did have a great story here, it just lacked in how it was put together. I found it quite boring to read at times, and think the pacing was off. The last 10% of the book had so much happen that could’ve been stretched out way longer, and we could’ve maybe had less time in the tower. I get that we needed the tower though to get to know our characters, so I’m kind of torn on this one.

Thank you NetGalley, Ruby Dixon, and Wattpad WEBTOON book group for the chance to read this arc.

This book should be entitled 'How Do You Solve a Problem Like Candra' <begin song 'Maria' from The Sound of Music>. Lead female character Candromeda Vestalin is a spare Princess living the carefree life of a royal unneeded, when she's suddenly called into action after the death of a sister. Her character is as absurd as the name suggests and I mean that in a good way. You can tell author Ruby Dixon laid it on thick with this one. From the beginning of this considerably long romantasy (536pgs), Candra is unlikable, immature and insufferable by design. The plot has a typical princess in the tower trope except with a twist this one includes an enemy inside with her. It lives up to expectations. The cadence of the story is pure fairytale fantasy with a magical dagger and romantic tension. Most of Ruby Dixon's books are intended to be funny but if you need to identify with/love a character to like the book, then this one won't be for you.

There is little to no action. Instead it's almost all internal dialogue and the writing is simple. Still, I enjoyed reading it. I love nothing more than a morally grey love interest. Nemeth reminds me of a Gargoyle and I couldn't get enough. Despite the slow pace through the middle I still loved it. If you're a romantasy and chonky book fan, pick this up!

Lots of trigger warnings so please be mindful!
This was a wild ride, at times really hard to get into. But if you stick with it, the tropes are placed very nicely and there were some twists I did not see coming.

I’ve got to say that when I read the description of this book I was very intrigued, then I saw who the author was and got a little concerned based on her previous work, I was unsure if I’d like this book. But in all honesty, I found this book to be well written and the plot line to be easy to follow. I found the tower plot line to be very interesting and I honestly would have loved to read about them being in there all 7 years instead of just the 2. But I found the romance in this book to be very spicy, but I wish there were more scenes and as happy as I am for the main characters, I believe that books go downhill when the pregnancy trope has been introduced. However, this one didn’t give me the ick in that the storyline wasn’t affected too much with the fact that she was pregnant. I will say that I did not see the plot twist towards the end coming and I was pleasantly surprised. Although, I do feel like the ending was wrapped up almost too quickly to be believable. But, overall I did enjoy reading this book and the world building, storyline, and character development were well executed.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGallery for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did not finish this because the file received was not formatted in a way I could read. There was not separation of paragraphs and the font was super squished together which for an ebook made it hard to separate out sentences.

I’ve read other books by Ruby Dixon immensely and I’ll give this one a try again once published but none of their other books were formatted this way so I’m unsure if this is a new style the writer is going for an issue with formatting the file on NetGalley.

Bound to the Shadow Prince
Ruby Dixon
To keep the gods happy Prince Nemeth of Darkfell and Princess Candra of Lios made a great sacrifice. They must live in a locked tower for seven years. It seemed like forever living in total darkness with only one other person, an enemy. Candra had no friends, no lovers, no one beside her except an enemy. Imprisoned with her is an enemy of her people a Fellian. The Fellians are vicious warriors with fangs, claws and wings; they are sworn enemies of Candra’s people. His name is Nemeth; he is frightening, vicious, and disturbingly irresistible. The gods will be angry if they do not live there for seven years, hence dooming their people. Candra finds herself drawn to him; she should kill him and take his supplies, but she needs him and craves his company and desires his touch. As they are forced to live together Candra discovers the true man behind the enemy. The time comes when they are forced to return to the civilization that is no longer familiar to them. A world that threatens their existence and the love they found while in captivity.
I found this tale interesting but it lack something. I believe it needed more characterization. Candra’s character felt flap, one-dimensional. This tale was s…l…o…w moving. This is a long book. I can handle long but not when it is long and slow.
Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book for review purposes.

Ruby Dixon, author of the ICE PLANET BARBARIAN series, releases a new stand alone book, BOUND TO THE SHADOW PRINCE, where she built an entirely new world. A member from each of the Royal families from the Kingdoms of Lios and Darkfell must spend seven years alone in the tower to appease a Goddess for improper actions by their ancestors. Failure to abide by the command will bring catastrophic storms and famine upon both people. Princess Candromeda of the Kingdom of Lios is unexpectedly ordered by her brother in law the King to take the place of her younger sister in the tower with only days to learn all that is necessary. Suffering from a blood disease that requires daily injections and woefully unprepared to care for herself without servants, vain and promiscuous Candra is bricked into the tower with only studious and quiet Fellian Prince Nemeth for company. This enemies to lovers story with a monster/princess vibe is set in a fantasy land with two kingdoms at war. What is to become of the lovers when their interment is over when each country hold the other in such disdain? This book is longer that the author's previous releases at over 500 pages. Although I enjoyed the interesting new setting including the intricate rules and plot twists toward the end, I did not like Candro and felt the book dragged through the middle.

I really liked the premise of the book. 2 royal children from opposite kingdoms must stay in a tower for almost a decade to save both their kingdoms and then they fall in love. The falling in love bit happens fairly early on so it's not the main plotline in my opinion.

While I was in love with idea of this book, a large part of the writing seemed unnecessary and there to fill pages. If the author intends to make it a series (which could honestly go either way), then I understand the need for more detail, but even so it seems to be a lot of detail.

TLDR: The book is good but the writing is long.

Really liked this book! It's a longer read then what I've read previously from her, but it honestly could have been longer. I wish it had been split into two books, or a series. It is a 'build up' kind of story, it starts out a little slow, which opens the door to the rest of the story. The only problem with it being one book is that she's so detailed, and creates such a big world with complex characters, that I need more answers still! I loved the story, it developed beautifully. But even when it ended I still have so many questions, because so much happened. Fingers crossed she takes pity on us and does another one, because I need more of this world.

This book gave me Beauty and the Beast vibes. I honestly had a really hard time getting into it, but I do like Ruby Dixon’s writing style and look forward to reading more by her. This follows a girl who is kind of an underdog and has medical issues and I felt myself rooting for her and siding with her the entire time.