Bride of the Shadow King

Product Information

He can’t stop thinking about Faraine, the king’s eldest daughter, whose gods’ blessed gift has left her shunned by the court and her own family. With romance, court intrigue, lies and betrayals, action, twists, a great cast of characters and beautiful worldbuilding, Bride of the Shadow King is an enticing first instalment.

The storyline was the perfect mixture of action, intrigue, romance and a sprinkle of heart break and I was enthralled by it from the first page. I recently finished Dreams of Gods and Monsters, the final book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. The first book in a new fantasy romance series, this sweeping tale of love and betrayal is perfect for listeners looking for a touch of spice to go with the sweet in their next swoony, slow-burn romance. Heroine is human with a god's gift to do with crystal and energy - I'm sure she ends up being the perfect bride for the hero and helps them get rid of the mysterious stone affliction to the skin. Kind of more using their surrounding magical items like Crystal to harness power than having magic themselves.I have read books before by Sylvia Mercedes and always enjoyed them, so I really was looking forward to reading this, especially as I know the second book in the series, Vow of the Shadow King is due for release on the 23rd of October this year, I’m an impatient reader so I’m always happy when I know the next book won’t be a long wait, which I’m really glad for because I love this and I need the next book now. Their chemistry was off the charts from the moment they first meet, and I genuinely liked how the similarities between two were explored —particularly when it came to their complex family relationships and feeling like they don’t belong. Last but not least, I am suspicious that I'll be even more angry about Faraine's treatment from Vor because I suspect that Faraine's sisters aren't really dead, and the King planned this all out from the beginning (because why would he give his most treasured daughter to a Trolde? I do think in the earlier chapters, when the Troldefolk were speaking troldish, it was italicized, rather than describing that they were speaking troldish. There is also chronic illness representation, with Faraine’s magical gift to sense others’ emotions having a cost.

The world: This is my second time reading from this world, and in this is a different slice of it from my previous visit. Vor is fast becoming one of my favourite book boyfriends - he’s charming, witty, progressive, gentle and fiercely protective of his people.

I adored the slow burn romance, I love it when authors put the time and effort in to create wonderful characters and care enough not to rush it, but to want them to develop over time and we grow our connection to them as readers, as their blossoming relationship does. For fans of The Bridge Kingdom and A Deal with the Elf King, this sweeping tale of love and betrayal is equal blends sweet and spice.

But after an eventful and surprising first encounter it's Faraine who remains in Vor's thoughts and desires, the eldest daughter, a Princess cast aside to live out the remainder of life in a covenant, to be forgotten. With fantastic chemistry between the two protagonists, high stakes and plenty of mystery and intrigue, this was a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy romance.

I've never seen this before and it's fantastic, I think it's so important to see inside his head too, to see his hopes and dreams and desires. Vor and Faraine were everything💙I loved the dual-POV in this and how we actually got to see the same scene from a different POV. Yok, Sul, Hael, I loved them all really💙The writing in this was stunning and everything flowed so well.