I requested this book just based off the title not realizing it was a monster romance. Once I saw the authors name, I remembered some friends reading ice planet barbarians and loving it.

This did NOT disappoint at all. I absolutely loved Nemeth and Candra. A lot of times, I can guess where the plot is going to go but with this, I had absolutely no idea. The twist towards the end had me on the edge of my seat!

I was super satisfied with the ending but wouldn't mind another novel to find out what everyone is up to now.

Such a fun read.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘢𝘥 𝘞𝘌𝘉𝘛𝘖𝘖𝘕 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

"ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ᴄʀʏ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ, ɪ ʀᴇᴍɪɴᴅ ᴍʏꜱᴇʟꜰ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ᴡᴇᴇᴘ ᴀʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ..."

This is actually my first Ruby Dixon book, which I know is surprising considering her recent fame through her Ice Planet Barbarians series. This book is an adult romance/fantasy novel, more granularly, a monster romance novel.

Tropes:
🖤Forced Proximity
🖤Touch her and die
🖤Experienced FMC
🖤Monster Romance

Slightly Spoiler-y Trope:
<FMC Pregnancy>

Note: Some people have this listed as an enemies-to-lovers book. I think the transition is a bit too quick to consider it a true version of this trope, but it does have elements of this in the beginning!

The general premise of this story is that our main character, Candromeda, a pampered and rebellious princess, is forced to appease the gods by being locked in a tower for seven years due to a curse on her bloodline. The tower is entirely windowless, and she is only allowed the supplies she is given once a year to survive on. There are two catches: one, she is quite ill due to a complication of the blood curse, and two, she also must manage to survive being in the tower with one person of the bloodline of an enemy kingdom.

The man she is locked in with is named Nemeth, a Fellian man who is described as having gray skin, carved features, claws, backward-bending knees, large wings, horns where his hair should be, and green eyes.

I was surprised at the length of this book - it was quite long for what I expected to be a short romance read. This may be in part because the first version of this book was released in a serial format on a site called Yonder. The spicy segments of the romance don't really pick up until about 25% of the way through this larger book, and the last 50%-25%, I would say, is mostly plot-driven as well.

I really enjoyed the concept of surviving in the tower - it made this book's first bits very compelling. I think there were some moments where the FMC was really aggravating as a reader, but she does have growth as the book continues. I think the pacing feels a bit wonky, especially as we get toward the second half of the book.

The MMC was fun, again, especially at the beginning of the book, as there was conflict and they were getting to know each other. I can pretty easily highlight the book's first half as my favorite!

"'ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜʏ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴍᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴀ ʙɪɢ ꜰᴜꜱꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ,' ɪ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ ᴏᴜᴛ. 'ᴡᴇ ʙᴏᴛʜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ʜᴏᴠᴇʀ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴍᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʜᴇɴ.'

'ɪ ᴀᴍ ɴᴏᴛ,' ɴᴇᴍᴇᴛʜ ᴅᴇᴄʟᴀʀᴇꜱ, ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴛᴏɴᴇ ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜꜱ. ʜᴇ ᴘɪᴄᴋꜱ ᴜᴘ ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ʙʀᴀɴᴅɪꜱʜᴇꜱ ɪᴛ. 'ɪ ᴀᴍ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ. ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀꜱ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴀꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ. ɪ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ.'"

Overall, this was a fun read, but I think, toward the end, it started dragging a bit. Some of the plot development was certainly interesting, and there were some serious twists - just nothing that was quite as compelling as the first half of the novel. For reference - I would have probably rated this book a whole star rating higher had it wrapped up closer to the 50%-75% mark.

Quotes:
"ɪɴꜱᴛᴇᴀᴅ, ɪ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠɪᴄɪᴏᴜꜱ, ꜰᴇʀᴀʟ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ɪɴ ʜɪꜱ ᴇʏᴇꜱ ᴀꜱ ʜᴇ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴏᴠᴇʀ. ᴅɪᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ ʏᴏᴜ? ʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴀꜱᴋᴇᴅ, ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ, ᴀꜱ ɪꜰ ʜᴇ'ᴅ ʟᴏꜱᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ʙɪɢ ᴏꜰ ʜɪꜱ ꜱᴀɴɪᴛʏ ɪꜰ ᴛʜᴇʏ ʜᴀᴅ."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.25/5

To all of my Ruby Dixon fangirls, this book is for you. I have loved Ice Planet Barbarians since I discovered them, but was always curious about what else Dixon had up her sleeve. I was so excited that I got this ARC from Netgalley!

Bound to the Shadow Prince pulls from many different places to create a magical new story. Due to the god's and the goddess who rule their land, two enemies must enter the tower. They cannot step foot outside of it for seven years. When Candra's sister is killed, she is chosen to replace her. Check out the description for more details.

As for my review, I love Candra. I really appreciate how Ruby Dixon writers her main characters. They're always unique and have a lot to their character. Candra feels like a real person, who's sassy and angry and horny and deep down, scared. She tries her hardest and learns to do things that she's never had to do as a princess. Her mysterious illness may be a big part of her life, but she is so much more beyond that. Side note, Ruby has a note in the back where she talks about the actual illness Candra has and how things work out how they do. I love when it's not random magic, but actual science.

Nemeth is a little more stereotypical, but not in a bad way. I appreciated that he was the cinnamon roll to Candra's spice. I got frustrated with him at times, but Ruby did a good job of tying it all together in a way that made sense.

I was surprised by how many elements she managed to pull together. The last quarter of the book was A LOT. I'm surprised she didn't make this into multiple books, but I'm totally fine that she didn't. A lot happens and it keeps you invested through the last page.

One of my struggles was the magic knife. It was underutilized and could've solved more problems.

This book is at it's heart an erotic romantasy. If you dislike tropes that often appear in those genres, you won't like this book. But if you like them, then you're going to really enjoy this book! Please check the trigger warnings. There are some that are really important.

Overall, I heartily enjoyed this book! It is sexy and exciting, with great characters. Check out my goodreads review for my thoughts that include spoilers.

I enjoyed the overall plot idea, however, the plot ended up being put to the backburner in favor of X-rated monster 'romance'. I like spicy fantasy novels, but this was way more than just 'spicy', and many of the X-rated scenes didn't do much for the plot. Once it got near the end of the book, it felt like there was a rush to wrap things up rather than let it play out. There were many points near the end of the book that I WANTED to be more detailed, such as the court intrigue, the fighting, the plotting, etc (don't want to give spoilers). There was a big reveal that I really liked, but then it wasn't particularly fleshed out to my disappointment.
Also, this entire book is in the present tense, which really hurt my brain trying to read it. The vast majority of books I read are in the past tense, so it took me until about halfway through the book for my mind to not just want to stop reading purely because of the present tense being used.
If you like very raunchy detailed monster romances, you might like this. If you like spicy, but also want a good balance of plot, probably not for you.

I got this book as an ARC on NetGalley. This is my honest review.

I didn’t love it. I feel like it was super slow. There was some character development but for the most part the FMC was just so annoying. I also feel like it was too long for no real reason. It could have been broken up into multiple books. I enjoyed the concept though.

I was thrilled to receive an ARC for "Bound to the Shadow Prince" in exchange for an honest review. As a fan of the IPB series, I hoped for a similarly enjoyable read. The book captivated me from the start, and I couldn't put it down, finishing it in just two days. Following Princess Candra, known for her outgoing nature and strategic use of her feminine charm, the story takes an unexpected turn after her sister's untimely death. Candra becomes the "sacrifice" for her country, facing seven years in isolation with her sworn enemy, Prince Nemeth, who is death on wings. Despite her initial resistance, Candra's predicament is complicated by her cursed blood, requiring daily injections. As supplies dwindle, she must decide whether to trust her sworn enemy or face the consequences of her ignorance. While I appreciated the well-paced narrative, I occasionally wished for more depth or unexpected twists to enhance the overall seamlessness of the story. Despite this, I wholeheartedly recommend this fantasy novel by Ruby Dixon.

Well, not what I was expecting but it was pretty good. Lots of going on in the story including passion, intrigue, and drama. It did start slow but then got good.

I love Ruby Dixon and think she could write anything and I would read it. I liked this book but had a hard time getting into it and connecting to the characters, especially at first. But once I got into it, I enjoyed the story and the characters a lot! Can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!

Tropes:
✨Banter
✨Slow Burn
✨Enemies to lovers
✨Captivity
✨Violence
✨Opposites attract


Princess Candra is tainted with a blood curse while her other two sisters are seemingly perfect. That is until she finds herself having to make a sacrifice for the fate of their kingdom and the people. She is to be locked away for seven years with the enemy, a Prince of the kingdom they are to go to war with!

Prince Nemeth is anything but human. Stuck in a tower with this beast for seven long years, Candra figures it is best to stay to herself. That is until the days get long, the nights cold and supplies short. She soon finds herself in his bed for warmth or is it more than just that?

How can he be a threat yet he’s so kind and generous, everything opposite of what the princess has been taught of their enemy. What is to come of this long seven year sentence in this tower with these needs and emotions?! Does she betray her kingdom…

Find out in: Bound To The Shadow Prince

My personal thoughts:

The storyline was a bit off for my personal taste. It seems the story was based solely around an unusual relationship between the beast prince and human princess. At the same time the story has great potential. I could see how others could like this story.

I loved this! For readers who love romantasy, this is our monster romance version, and it was as fun as I'd hoped it would be! Candra lives with a blood disease, so the royal family disregard her. Until her sister passes and now she must be a sacrifice for an angry goddess-- she will be locked in a tower for seven years with the sacrifice for her enemy's people.

Except Nemeth, her only company for this time, is a scholar, a lover of poetry. He has so much heart behind his hard, gray skin and leathery wings. They grow closer and fall in love, but it's so much more complicated. His people and hers are at war, so where does that leave them? Especially when betrayal rocks the foundations of both their societies.

The world building was well done, as was the war. I enjoyed watching Candra and Nemeth grow together, as well as watching Candra live up to far more than anyone's expectations for her. I always love a party-girl-saves-the-world trope (if it is one) and this did not disappoint! Especially in the romance department, which was true Ruby Dixon gold. I highly recommend for anyone who loves monster romance or romantic fantasy! High stakes and lots of spice-- I'm always here for it, especially this well written!

WE love a virgin hero, don't we, folks?

For fans of spice and forced proximity, this is a can't-miss book.

Candra must be locked in a tower for 7 years in order to help the gods. She's locked away with a creature from a winged race, but she doesn't know who it will be. Let alone that it will be a man.

I will admit as addictive and hooked as I was to this book it did feel a little like it dragged in some areas but that's to be expected with a book as large as this. With that in mind, it was still an incredibly captivating story.

If you have ever read anything by Ruby Dixon, you will know that she is no stranger to the hot and spicy scenes, and this book definitely had that. It was quite interesting to read a story where the hero is a virgin and the heroine is not. And that's exactly what you get in this book.

There were a couple things that prevent me from giving this a five star. I can't really say what they were without spoiling anything, but it doesn't really take away from the enjoyment of the book. So if this at all sounds interesting to you, I do still recommend picking it up.

🚨 Trigger warning🚨 for graphic violence, rape off of page, but almost rape on page, death, famine, infertility and pregnancy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wattpad Webtoon Book Group for an arc of this book.

Once again, Ruby Dixon has written a great one! The story was interesting, the characters were engaging, and I found myself finishing this one quickly.

thank you netgalley and wattpad books for giving me the opportunity to read this arc!

princess candra quickly became my favorite character in this book. she’s a women who knows what she wants and get what’s she wants. i’d call her a little selfish too, but who wouldn’t be when her own family has forced her into the tower even though she is gravely ill. i love a good story that has enemies to lovers, forced proximity and family secrets! if you’re looking for a steamy read set in a fantasy world, this is the read for you!

Things this book has:
Enemies to lovers
Virgin MMC
Forced a proximity
Touch her and Die
He falls first.
This book was so well done. I already knew I was going to like this if Ruby Dixon’s Ice Panet Barbarians was any indication. The FMC, Candra, was a little dry at first but I grew to like her. The plot was insanely intriguing. The magic system was well thought out. Ruby Dixon is one of my automatic buy authors.

Ruby knocks it out of the park once again. I picked up Bound to the Shadow Prince because I was already a big fan of Ruby’s writing, but I truly couldn’t put the book down once I started.

Ruby has done it again! This book is jam packed with a rich world, a unique magic system, deep and unique characters and yes - spicy romance! I was keep guessing what was next up until the very end and was not disappointed.

Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon is not part of her Aspect & Anchor series, despite the similarities in titles. Instead, it's a new realm, where a pissed off goddess demands that representatives from two warring kingdoms be locked together in a tower for seven years. Candra from the human kingdom and Nemeth of the Fellian kingdom are thrown together in a windowless, bricked up tower. How will they deal with their circumstances???
Well, it's a romance, so you can probably figure it out XD
It's a great story, with a narrator who has a difficult time adjusting from being a palace brat to having to do things for herself, while also dealing with chronic illness, and political intrigue. The ending came a little too quickly for my taste, but a solid story.

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

This book was not intentional for me to read. When I was on NetGalley, I saw the author’s name and assumed I’d seen it with other fantasy novels, and I guess that’s true. The smut in this book is not for me, so I skipped over much of it.

That said, the actual plot was good! We follow Candra and Nemeth as they are forced to coexist in a secluded house for seven years. They are each from rival species.

Candra never really grew on me. She was spoiled and overly sexual. She couldn’t even look at a wall without making a perverted observation about it. She had a one track mind and was spoiled on top of it. The entire book would have been better without her severe sexualization. She also liked to be stupid. She has a magical knife she can ask yes or no questions? Surely she will ask real questions. No. She uses it mostly for sexual questions. I had an impossible time relating to her or feeling any kind of warm emotion toward her.

Nemeth seemed like a sweetheart. He was educated and mostly kind. But we didn’t know much more about him.

The first half of the book dragged, but the second half raced. I wish the ending had been stretched into more detail instead of being as rushed as it was. I figured out most of the twists early on—but I was also frustrated as to why Candra wasn’t asking the right questions. I was left to my own theories.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

It's always good to have a new Ruby Dixon book to read! This standalone fantasy romance brings in forbidden love, forced proximity, and more importantly: knotting. There were a few things I was able to predict along the way, but it's hard for me to say whether that's because after reading 80+ Ruby Dixon books, I get a feel for things or if it's because it's truly predictable. Solid RD book.