Author: Eliza Raine
Series: The Shadow Bound Queen Series book #1
Category: Fantasy Romance
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️
"'You are the Prince of the Shadow Court,' I whispered. 'Why in the name of Odin would you marry a gold-giver? A human?'" - Reyna
Court of Ravens and Ruin was a thrilling first book in The Shadow Bound Queen series and in all transparency, I started the next book right after I finished the first and wrote this review.
God knows I adore an animal sidekick, and Voror delivers in spades. He is simply the properly wise owl I didn’t know my books were missing, so helpful but oh so condescendingly blunt.
"'I am of superior intellect.'
'You're an owl.'
'A superiorly intellectual owl.'"
Max held his secrets close to his chest, and while he demanded to know all Reyna's secrets he refused to reveal his own. While a good guy at heart, he had been forced to do numerous bad things in pursuit of a better life for the Shadow Kingdom, including kidnapping the woman he loved and threatening to kill the family she had ever known. It clearly pained him to play the villain but with the stakes so high, time and time again he had no choice.
"Countless humans and enemy fae had died at his hand. He had kidnapped me. Threatened to cut Kara's throat. In what world did he not play the villain?" - Reyna
Reyna was resourceful, but combative, an interesting combination since her survival depended on keeping a low profile and not standing out. She had been a victim her whole life and was scrappy enough to get out of tough situations, though not always unscathed. Her loyalty had no bounds, but she struggled to trust anyone else outside of her circle.
"Tenacity, a smart mouth, and a talent for provoking people into making mistakes, were where I was comfortable. Wearing ballgowns was a far cry from anything I was equipped to deal with." - Reyna
This world is unique with a twist of Nordic mythology blended with magic. I loved learning about the different courts and the magic that their citizens possessed. There is clearly a whole lot more going on than what is currently revealed to readers, with so many different power players moving to consolidate their reign I am positive things are going to get more dangerous for Max and Reyna before the series ends.
I highly recommend this series to fantasy lovers who like a morally grey hero and a female lead who finds out just how strong she is when she has no choice but to stand up to powerful enemies.
Tropes and Themes: Fantasy, Fae Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Magic, Fake Dating, Forced Marriage.
Blurb
A defiant human woman. A dark fae Prince. Two enemies bound to a marriage that could destroy their world.
Reyna was born a valuable slave to the Gold Court, imprisoned her whole life in a glittering palace by sadistic, greedy fae.
When the palace is raided, she takes her opportunity to escape. But the raid is led by her worst nightmare. The Prince of the most feared fae of all; the Shadow Court. And he wants one thing.
Her. The copper-haired, rune-marked human.
Reyna doesn’t know why the Prince has kidnapped her. But when he announces her as his betrothed, she knows that she must escape before she is eternally bound to the monster behind the mask.
Only, when he takes the mask off, he isn’t what she expects. He’s lethal, beautiful and exudes sin. And he needs her.
Drawn into a deadly world shrouded in secrets, and desperate to keep her own hidden, Reyna must find a way out. If she doesn’t, she risks more than just death. She risks giving everything to her intoxicating captor.