Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon [Review]

Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon
Format: ebook
Source: provided through NetGalley
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 30, 2024

Purchase Links: Paperback

Ruby Dixon
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

In order to protect her kingdom from the wrath of a vengeful goddess, Princess Candra must remain locked inside a tower for seven years. Seven long years without a friend―or a lover―by her side. And shut inside the tower with her? A Fellian, the enemy of her people, a fearsome warrior race complete with wings and claws and fangs. Nemeth is terrifying, cruel, and disturbingly magnetic. Candra should kill him for his supplies, but she’s desperate for his company…and his touch.

As time inside the unchanging tower rolls on, Candra uncovers the man behind the stony facade. And when their tenure hits an unexpected snag, Candra and Nemeth are forced to make a difficult choice. They’ll need to face an outside world they no longer recognize, one that threatens their lives and their surprising love.

Thoughts on Bound to the Shadow Prince: Oh.My.Goodness. Talk about enemies to lovers, amirite? Candra and Nemeth are on opposite sides of a very old divide and they're forced to spend seven years together in a tower with only one another for company and I CAN'T HANDLE HOW MUCH I LOVED THESE TWO TOGETHER.

Frankly, Candra is a hot mess when she first gets sent to the tower. She's a little shallow (not her fault, simply a product of her upbringing and being the "useless, cursed" sister), she can barely take care of herself, and she's woefully unprepared for everything. Literally everything. She's also kind of convinced Nemeth is very much a bad guy and it takes a while before she gets over that.

As for Nemeth, he might look like a monster to Candra (at first, at least), but he's a good person through and through. He helps her when she becomes ill because it's the right thing to do and slowly the two of them begin to lean on one another as the weeks and months tick away. When the unthinkable happens and they're forced to leave the tower or starve to death, he's willing to sacrifice himself again and again if it means she'll be safe.

War, political intrigue, a cozy tower (although maybe it isn't cozy all the time), two people stumbling their way into a relationship, a knot or two that leads to some VERY good times, danger, sibling rivalries of epic proportions, a scholarly Fellian who risks everything for the woman he's grown to love, and a princess who learns that she's not nearly as useless as she's been told. MAN, I liked these two and this world and everything going on here. *thumbs up*