A dual POV fantasy about an arranged marriage, a replaced bride, and a doomed union!

This book was enchanting, with Faraine, the main character, having a captivating, ethereal quality to her. The Shadow King, the other main character, is your typical male romantasy lead - handsome, trying to save his home, a great fighter - but it works! The romance is soft and sweet... until it explodes into a disaster.

As much as I enjoyed reading this, it almost felt like half a book - the ending felt like it should have been in the middle, and I expected more plot, and was left feeling quite unsatisfied. Nonetheless, I will be reading the next book to find out what happens! There was a lot of intrigue in the story, with the Tolde turning into rock, and the Gods gift that connects Faraine to the Shadow King's home. I was left with more questions than answers!

3.5 rounded to 4.

Well, this was a little slow burn wasn't it?! I'd have welcomed the fire, but we just got a little toasty in my opinion. I enjoyed the setting and scene that was sent and there were elements of a strong world building weaving throughout the book.

I personally enjoyed the change in direction with the time line, I think it helped me digest and I appreciated that, however there were so many ends to go into book two with I felt a little left in the lurch, I mean, I guess it will make me get into book two, but there wasn't just one cliffie, we had a host of untied knots. I'm eager to see what unfolds in the next book!

This book was interesting. I enjoyed the world building, and getting to know the two main characters. I was a bit confused at the start of the book, but by 30% of the way I was into it.

I enjoyed some different elements in this story than other fantasy books. Although I have to admit I don’t understand why they were called “trolls” but were actually fae. I get the skin condition thing, but if they were really all that powerful you’d think you’d only call them a mean name behind their back (not to their face).

This story was quite angsty which had some good moments in the first half, but then little payoff in the second half. I found some parts of the story dragged on a bit. There were parts of the story that made sense, but also seemed random and I didn’t get it. Maybe I’d have to read on to do so (which I’m not planning to).

Thanks NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for honest review.

𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5 rounded to 5)
𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 🌶

I was instantly captivated by this story, and read it in less than a day. It was a book I struggled to put down!

This book is seriously seriously slow burn, with not much more than kissing, which was fine, but I'm hoping for more romance in the coming books.

I loved the writing style (but it is first person dual POV, which isn't for everyone), I found the world-building easy to imagine, and felt a connection with the characters, especially the FMC.

I'm very excited to see what happens next!


☆𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓, 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒏𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.☆

Bride of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes is a fantasy romance involving forbidden love.

This was a really enjoyable read. It was well written and fast paced, I couldn't put it down.

The characters were very well done, and their relationship felt authentic and relatable.

I loved reading this book and will definitely read more of Mercedes's work in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Daphne Press for providing me with this arc.

This was an enjoyable read, a dual POV fantasy filled with forbidden romance, pining and wonderful world building.

Faraine is the unloved and unwanted daughter of the King, having been sent away, she is recently brought back with one task to accomplish: convince her sister to marry the trolde king. Vor is the trolde king in question and he needs to marry a human princess to gain access to their mages, in the hopes of saving his kingdom. Vor saves Faraine on her return to her kingdom and their connection is immediate, they both begin to have feelings for each other - but their relationship is doomed because Vor must marry Faraine's sister or his kingdom will never get the help it needs to survive.

I loved Mercedes' writing in this one, it's such an easy, fast-paced read that it was easy to get swept away on everything that was happening. The actual plot itself was a bit more disappointing. Most of the things that happen in the book are actually explained in the blurb so it seemed like nothing new was being introduced for a while.

I did enjoy the characters, particularly Vor who was such a gentlemen. He was sensitive and very caring towards Faraine's feelings. Even in regards to Faraine's sister, he is constantly concerned about how she perceives him and how he can ease the situation between them.

My favourite part was definitely the ending. Oh my gosh! Cannot wait for book two and to find out what happens next!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

This book was a fun book, with an angsty slow burn romance that kept me up at night waiting and wishing for the characters to finally get together sending me back into the book the moment I woke up again just for the absolute need for more.
Definitely recommend reading if you love a slow burn romance.

This scratched a romantasy itch and was an easy read, I don't think I'll continue with the series though

Rating ⅘

I want to thank Netgalley and Sylvia Mercedes for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

If you’re looking for a book full of forbidden love, Dual POV, fae and a very slow burn this is for you. I was captivated by the first chapter and struggled to put this book down at times.

You follow the story of Vor and Faraine. Vor is the trolde king in search of an arranged marriage with a human princess, to gain access to the human mages to help his kingdom. Whilst, Faraine is the disappointment of the royal family who falls hard for Vor, the king promised to her sister.

This fantasy novel follows the tale of an arranged marriage gone wrong.

I loved the plot and found myself sucked in. At times in the book I forgot I was reading.

The only issue I ran into was the blurb explains over 60% of the events in the book. This was disappointing as I spent the whole time wondering when that event was coming.

The character development is phenomenal and I might have just found another book boyfriend. Vor is soft, gentle and caring. Even though this is an arranged marriage he strives to make the human princess as comfortable as possible and tries his best not to scare her.

I also loved the exploration of this mysterious dark event happening slowly in the background in the trolde kingdom.

Sylvia had the world building in this book down to a T. It was a magical read and I will definitely be investing in the next two books in the Trilogy. Furthermore I loved Sylvia’s writing style.

Overall this was such a fun read! A quick pace storyline with likeable characters. World building was also easy and not just info dumping. Will definitely be reading book 2.

‘Ilsevel, you are to be queen of my people. But you are also my queen. You and you alone shall guide and dictate your desires to me. It will be my honor to act accordingly’

I absolutely adored this book. I love the arranged marriage trope and if it’s done between 2 kingdoms with a fantasy backdrop that’s even better.

I was so glad to see that Daphne Press picked up this book (and author) because BoTSK deserves all the love.

The writing’s brilliant (I love the dual POV) the pacing is excellent and quite frankly, being trolde seems superiors to being human.

I love the relationship between Faraine and Vor and the Faraine’s illness is so well depicted.

I’ll be jumping straight into book 2!

If you are like me and you enjoy an angsty, veryyy slow burn, high stakes romantasy filled with loads of pining, this one is for you! The chemistry between the two main characters, Vor and Faraine, was top notch and oh my.. the pining..

FYI I think I may have found a new book boyfriend in Vor..

I loved the way the dual POV was done in this book. Reading about both their thoughts and feelings really connected you to the characters and their growth. It made you feel for both of their struggles and the things they had to endure for the good of their kingdoms.

Bride of the Shadow King is filled with twists and turns, some of which I truly didn’t see coming. The magic system is very interesting. The side characters were really well written and made for some fun banter. This is the kind of story that you don’t want to put down from the first chapter, because you just need to know what happens next!

With that open ending we were left with I can’t wait to pick up the second book, Vow of the Shadow King, and continue on with the story, I still have so many questions.

Thank you Daphne Press, Sylvia Mercedes and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review

This book was a vibe. I really enjoyed it. It made me cry and it did not go where I was expecting it to go at all, but that made it even better. Vor is amazing, I love him, and sweet Faraine is beautiful with a beautiful heart.

I had the pleasure of reading Bride of the Sahdow King as my first arc via NetGalley. It’s a fast paced, short and easy to read fantasy romance. It was easy to get through with an interesting magic system.

This novel is a new adult fantasy-romance which follows the journey of a shunned princess, Faraine, and a reluctant king, Vor.

This novel is advertised as a slow burn and it is truly a slow burn romance. I LOVE slow-burn romances, the build-up, the tension, and the relationship development. EVERYTHING. I had zero issues with the pace, I thought it was perfect.

I didn't enjoy the writing style though. Some aspects of the dialogue especially, felt immature and unsuitable for a fantasy universe. While other aspects of the writing style felt like it was overcompensating because it was a fantasy novel.

I did think that the fantasy/world-building aspects of this novel were very unique. I think this is the first time in a LONG time unicorns were mentioned in a fantasy novel; so, I enjoyed the uniqueness of this universe.

Super good!

Bride of the shadow king is an addictive fantasy series with a heavy focus on romance


I absolutely love the characters. They are the main focus of the book as is the case in most romantic fantasy novels. Both characters stand out well enough in their own, but the chemistry between them, the dialogue, the back and forth? Yeah I was obsessed. This is a series for my fellow acotar fans with a hangover on the series, looking for a new bingeable series.

This book dragged for me a bit. I very much enjoyed the chemistry between the characters but it was just it took ages for them to get together amd by that time I lost interest really.

I enjoyed the dual perspectives and I could picture both in my head and hear their voices. My only issue was that i kept waiting for it to get started and then looked down and I was nearly 3/4 through the book and still felt like nothing had really happened. I understand that this is the first book in a series but it felt like the plot was put second to setting everything up and description. Compared to other first books I've read in fantasy series (Throne of Glass, Acotar, Fourth Wing and The Cruel Prince) this didn't have me wanting to reach for the second book as I needed to know what happened next but more as I want to see if the plot starts going somewhere in the sequel.

I will be reading the second book as I have come o care about Faraine and Vor and their friends but I hope that more happens and that the slow burn romance starts going somewhere more.

I was really looking forward to reading this but I was unfortunately disappointed by it. I felt the story was really slow and took so long to actually get going. There was not much character development or even that we got to see complex characters and I just didn't feel anything for any of the characters because we actually learn very little about them. The plot fell flat for me too especially as everything happened so conveniently that there was no tension build up that would make me invested in what is happening.
Ultimately this just didn’t work for me but I’m sure others will enjoy it.

I thoroughly enjoyed my read through of this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.