Scan barcode
A review by angelalibrosymiscelaneas
Slaying the Shadow Prince by Helen Scheuerer
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Slaying the Shadow Prince is a fantasy romance novel where our protagonists will have to face their fears and biases to work together. Could a monster be more than evil?
Drue Emerson is a ranger in the fallen Kingdom of Naarva and will not be stopped in her fight against the shadow wraiths that are devastating her home. Luckily, she had access to the kingdom forge and had created a steel cuff that could sense those beings. To her surprise, when two swordsmen arrive, she realizes one of them is a shadow wraith.
Talemir, Warsword of Thesmarr, has been cursed with this new nature after a battle against the wraiths and is desperate to get rid of this dark secret. But Drue won't back down, she is sure he has an obscure plan and won't even let him breathe.
Reluctantly, our two protagonists will embark on their adventure together to solve the mystery of the manipulated steel source and save those whom Drue love the most.
Talemir, Warsword of Thesmarr, has been cursed with this new nature after a battle against the wraiths and is desperate to get rid of this dark secret. But Drue won't back down, she is sure he has an obscure plan and won't even let him breathe.
Reluctantly, our two protagonists will embark on their adventure together to solve the mystery of the manipulated steel source and save those whom Drue love the most.
As an avid fantasy and romance reader, and I'm always looking for new interesting titles, so when I read the synopsis of this novel, I got very excited. At that time I was about to read Slaying the Vampire King by [a:Carissa Broadbent|16170636|Carissa Broadbent|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1574549177p2/16170636.jpg], another novel of these monsters lovers series, and I was ready to dive into this series head first.
Then the reality hit me: They are not independent stories.
Such an important aspect of this book is not advertised. Yeah, it's a standalone, but it happens in another series universe.
WHY IS THIS NOT BEING TOLD IN THE SYNOPSIS? This is a side novel of the series The Legends of Thezmarr and for that reason, it doesn't develop into a full standalone novel! I was full of disappointment, and I hardly finished it.
Then the reality hit me: They are not independent stories.
Such an important aspect of this book is not advertised. Yeah, it's a standalone, but it happens in another series universe.
WHY IS THIS NOT BEING TOLD IN THE SYNOPSIS? This is a side novel of the series The Legends of Thezmarr and for that reason, it doesn't develop into a full standalone novel! I was full of disappointment, and I hardly finished it.
The story had potential, and I'm always in the mood for this kind of romantasy books with the tropes mentioned in the blurb. And even if this book gave both fantasy and romance, it wasn't compelling enough, and I became quite bored while listening to it.
It felt so plain. I don't know exactly why, but everything about it felt cliché, not developed enough, and lifeless.
I expected the stakes to be higher, and to be a more dramatic love story due to their situation. But they have it quite easy: the fact that he is a shadow wraith hardly affects their romance and it doesn't feel like it makes their journey even a little bit harder. Where is the angst this situation would bring? Where is the internal conflict? WHERE IS THE FLAVOR???
As characters, Drue and Talemir could win an award for "uninteresting and unoriginal characters" without the bat of an eye. Not only they didn't bring anything new to the table, but they hardly felt to have a purpose. Just a bunch of characters playing in a vague fantasy setting, not well enough explained because it is part of another existing series!
It felt so plain. I don't know exactly why, but everything about it felt cliché, not developed enough, and lifeless.
I expected the stakes to be higher, and to be a more dramatic love story due to their situation. But they have it quite easy: the fact that he is a shadow wraith hardly affects their romance and it doesn't feel like it makes their journey even a little bit harder. Where is the angst this situation would bring? Where is the internal conflict? WHERE IS THE FLAVOR???
As characters, Drue and Talemir could win an award for "uninteresting and unoriginal characters" without the bat of an eye. Not only they didn't bring anything new to the table, but they hardly felt to have a purpose. Just a bunch of characters playing in a vague fantasy setting, not well enough explained because it is part of another existing series!
The book is sold as an enemies-to-lovers story, with the found family trope and forced proximity. And I have to ask... Is that found family here with us? 'Cause last time I checked, having each protagonist a friend didn't count as that trope. Not to get me started with the whole "enemies", because at this point I know it's sometimes used lightly, and...well, there are worse things out there that we can complain about.
The best part for me, and the reason I gave this two stars instead of one, was the audio. In particular the performance of Islay Jacobs, who worked magnificently in this narration, creating an essence for every character. Chase T. Walker also did a great job by voicing Talemir and narrating the story, and the dual POV narrated by different people was a nice touch to keep the listener invested.
In conclusion, I loved the work the narrators put into it and couldn't enjoy the story. I would not recommend this book unless you are reading the series it came from and I will not pick any other book from this series of Mortal Enemies to Monsters Lovers.
--------------------
Star rating: 2/5 General Rating: 3.5/10
Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review