Review – The Shadow Prince by Stacey O’Neale

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.**

Title The Shadow Prince (Mortal Enchantment #0.5)

Author Stacey O’Neale

Description from Amazon

Sixteen-year-old Rowan is an elemental prince. Banished to the mortal world, he doubts he will ever return to Avalon and claim the fire court throne. Until he receives a challenge from his estranged mother. If he slays Kalin, the half-human, half-elemental princess and heir to the court of air, she will abdicate her throne. Is he capable of completing such a heinous task? And what price he will pay if he refuses?

Initial Thoughts

I had not heard of the Mortal Enchantment series until I saw this novella on NetGalley. The premise sounded interesting so I decided to apply. I was also intrigued by the idea of reading a series chronologically, instead of by order of publication date. This novella was published after the series, but I think reading it first will give me a unique perspective on the other books.

Some Things I Liked

• **Edit to the below** The rest of the series is told from both Kalin and Rowan’s POV!
  POV. I love a good novella, especially one from a different character’s POV. Although I haven’t read the rest of the series, I did read the description of the first book on GoodReads and learned that the rest of the series is told from Kalin’s POV. Using Rowan’s POV here gives so much backstory and I loved that.
• Length. This was the perfect length for a novella. It gives a rich backstory and was a quick read.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

• This is completely a personal opinion, but I don’t love when fantasy and contemporary mix. I thought the colloquial language mixed with the elemental court setting was too much. I prefer one or the other.

Series Value

I would definitely continue reading this series. This novella gave me just enough to crave more without giving too much away. I am especially intrigued to read about Kalin in the rest of the series as she is only a background character here.

Final Thoughts

I liked this novella a lot. Am I going to binge read the rest of the series right now? No, probably not. Did I add it to my TBR to be read sometime (possibly soon but more likely not so soon)? Yes, I did. I think there are a lot of promising elements in this series and I am interested in seeing more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

• The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter – if you’re not like me and you do enjoy a good contemporary and fantasy blend, definitely check out this book (just announced to be a series) by Gena Showalter.
• Storm Born by Stacey O’Neale – it seems like a pretty natural progression, if you liked this story, check out the next book in the series. I haven’t read it yet, but I definitely want to.
• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – I think the contemporary setting with supernatural elements idea gave me Mortal Instrument vibes. If you’re a fan of this novella, try Cassandra Clare’s books.