Review: Slaying the Shadow Prince by Helen Scheuerer

Name: Slaying the Shadow Prince
Series: The Legends of Thezmarr #2.5
Author: Helen Scheuerer
Publisher: Alchemy
Format: Paperback
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Explicit Open Door

Rating:

Synopsis: Goodreads
In a realm on the brink of destruction, evil forces snatch innocents to suffer fates worse than death. Only a monster hunter and her monstrous enemy can stop them.

Drue Emmerson, noblewoman-turned-ranger, wants one vengeance. With her family slain by the vicious shadow wraiths, she’s determined to defend her fallen kingdom. And that means carving out the hearts of every dark creature she can find.

Talemir Starling, celebrated warrior of the realms, has a dangerous he’s a half-wraith, kin to the creatures wreaking devastation on the world. He’ll do anything to keep his true nature under control… especially around the woman who’s vowed to destroy him.

When someone Drue cares about disappears, all signs point to Talemir’s kind. But he’s determined to prove he’s no monster, and to seek answers of his own. Begrudgingly, the pair must join forces to uncover the deadly truth.

But in a world of chaos and carnage, where danger lurks at every turn, deadlier still is their attraction to one another – the one thing that might just spell the end of them both.

Will Talemir win Drue’s heart? Or will she carve his out before the end?

Review:

Slaying the Shadow Prince was originally published as part of the ‘Mortal Enemies to Monster Lovers’ collection, however it is part of The Legends of Thezmarr universe, and Helen has recommended reading it 3rd (after Vows & Ruin) for the emotional impact. I however, did not realise it was connected until after I had finished The Legends of Thezmarr, so here I am reading it late…

This is a standalone full length novel set within The Legends of Thezmarr universe. You can read it without reading Legends! And you can read Legends without reading this. However, there are characters that cross over, so personally I wish I had realised they were connected earlier so I could have read it following Helen’s recommended order…

I already loved Drue and Talemir for their involvement in The Legends series – however, I believe if I had read Slaying after Vows & Ruins, I would have gone into books 3 and 4 of Legends loving them even more and understanding more than I did. Note to self, you should absolutely pay attention to the authors recommended reading order for their work! They do tend to know best.

We follow Drue and Talemir as they’re trying to find a lair of shadow wraiths in order to rescue people that Drue cares much about. The trouble? Drue knows Talemir’s secret and wants to kill him over it. And Talemir wants to help her and try to find a way out of his curse. So the question is – will Drue carve out Talemir’s heart? Or love it? And although I know how this story ended because I read Legends first, I still loved every minute of it.

Seeing an origin story is always going to be a good time, even if you know how it ends or where it is at currently. And the origin story of these two was no exception. I love Helen’s FMCs – we have Thea in Legends and now Wren in Ashes and they are both excelent examples of femine rage done well. Then we have Drue and she’s another solid example of women being badass and angry and battling to do what they deem to be the right thing!

And this wouldn’t be a Thezmarr book without a scrumptious MMC – and we have Talemir in Slaying; a shadow daddy Warsword. And it was very interesting for me, finally finding out about Talemir pre appearance in Legends! Not only Talemir, but like I said there is a cross over of characters! So you get to find out more about them in Slaying making their appearance less out of the blue in Legends (though honestly Helen does such a great job with Legends that new characters don’t keep the ‘out of the blue’ feeling for long).

Is it imperative to read Slaying? No. But I loved it so much and would absolutely recommend you make it an imperative read. And I’m beyond pleased to say that I’ve actually read all of Legends now! This God-Tier series for me will always hold a special place in my heart for the characters we have met are one of the best found families (if not the best) I have ever read. Luckily for me, Silver & Smoke releases the day I’m writing this, so whilst I don’t have long left in this world… I’m glad for the time I have spent here.

‘I love you against all reason. […] If it’s not enough […] then carve out my heart, Wildfire. It’s yours.’

Reading With Tyler