Review by Ronny
Series Name: Bride of the Shadow King, # 1
Bride of the Shadow King is a romantasy bursting with forbidden love and political intrigue.
Favourite Quote:
Before I can pull a single coherent thought into my head, thundering hooves pound in my ear. I whirl just in time to glimpse a huge dark shape bearing down on me. A figure leans far to the side in a saddle; an arm reaches out. I let out a little bleat of surprise just before the breath is ripped from my lungs and I’m swung up into the air. For a terrible moment, I believe I’ve been struck.
Then, suddenly—calm.
Book Synopsis:
A shunned princess. A reluctant king.
A marriage that could save both their kingdoms . . . but destroy their hearts.
Though she is the oldest daughter, Princess Faraine lives in the background, shunned from court and kept out of sight. Her chronic illness makes her a liability to the crown, and she has learned to give place to her beautiful, favored younger sister in all things.
When the handsome and enigmatic Shadow King comes seeking a bride, Faraine is not surprised that her sister is his choice.
Though not eager to take a human bride, King Vor is willing to do what is necessary for the sake of his people. When he meets the lively Princess Ilsevel, he quickly agrees to a marriage arrangement.
So why can’t he get the haunting eyes of her older sister out of his head?
When disaster strikes and the marriage alliance is compromised, Faraine suddenly finds herself forced to take her sister’s place . . . regardless of her new husband’s desires. Can she find a place at Vor’s side as his queen? Or is his heart forever closed to the woman who deceived him so cruelly?
Review:
Romantasies have been a bit of a hit or miss for me lately. I either read something that I become obsessed with, or I read something that is confusing and boring. Honestly, I didn’t fall in love with this book. Now, that’s not to say it’s a terrible book; there are a lot of great things about this story. But for me, I struggled with the lack of action and fast paced moments. I found it a bit boring and felt like it dragged on at times. You have to like your Romantasies with a lot of court politics and intrigue because this book is bursting with it. The bulk of the story really focuses on these two kingdoms trying to form an alliance through marriage in order to protect themselves from this growing threat coming from the Fae kingdom. The problem is that these two kingdoms don’t trust each other and the majority of that distrust comes from the fact that they are two different species. Humans inhabit one kingdom, and trolls inhabit the other. Vor is the ruler of the troll kingdom and knows that this marriage alliance is the only way to save his kingdom. He is set to marry Princess Ilsevel, Faraine’s younger sister, but he cannot deny that there is a strong connection between him and Faraine. Sometimes, I felt a little lost or confused with what was in this book. I think the world-building elements could have been delivered a bit better so readers could have that background world knowledge to navigate through the story successfully.
Watching all these characters interact in this tense court setting was interesting. There is this ruthless feel to this book. No character is necessarily a good person, with the possible exception of Vor. Most of these characters operate in that morally gray zone and are really looking out for their own or their kingdom’s best interest. For the most part, I enjoyed the characters. Faraine is a decent heroine; she is calm under pressure, and despite the amount of pressure she is under from her family, she doesn’t lash out at those around her. I did feel for her; she is in a tough situation that isn’t of her making and finds herself having to choose between helping her kingdom and being honest with Vor, someone for whom she has growing feelings.
The romance element in this story is front and center. So, if you don’t like your fantasies with a lot of romantic entanglements, then I would give this book a pass. This is a super slow-burn forbidden romance. I am sure that as the series progresses, we will get to see more romantic moments and exchanges between these two, but in this book, they are fleeting moments. We can see this connection/chemistry between Vor and Faraine. They both know there is this attraction between them, but they also know that they cannot act upon those feelings. There is a part of me that doesn’t quite understand why Faraine could take her sister’s place in the arranged marriage. I felt like I wasn’t given a good enough reason why Vor and Faraine couldn’t marry, and since this arranged marriage was the main plot/conflict in the story, it didn’t feel as believable as it should have been. I know that monster romances are super popular right now and many bookworms like the kinky spice that often exists within them. This book isn’t spicy at all. Now, maybe the other books in the series will ramp up in the spice department, but I haven’t read them, so I cannot say for sure.
Bride to the Shadow King is a forbidden romance bursting with ruthless court intrigue and betrayal.
