Princess of Thorns and Ruin

A Vampire Fantasy Romance (Throne of Shadows, Book 1)

By: Anya J Cosgrove

Narrated by: Addison Barnes, Brendan Robert Kane

Princesses are expected to smile and stay in the shadows... but not this princess.

Becoming a vampire is not the debutante party I'd hoped for. I'm being hunted by my enemies and cast aside by my friends.

The night court runs on betrayals and secrets. As its newest, sparkling addition, I can't trust anyone.

Especially not them.

Alec, the arrogant assassin-turned-bodyguard who mocks me with his feline grace and sexy smirks.

Leo, the addictive human who swore his life to me for all the wrong reasons.

And Sebastian, the childhood bully who broke my heart.

I have to fulfill my duty to my family and not be seduced by any of them... let alone all three. But in the face of temptation, stuck in a world that wants me to be pretty and silent, how could I resist something so forbidden?

It only takes one bite to defile the most perfect bloom. And this particular rose is heading straight for ruin.

Princess of Thorns and Ruin is book 1 in a fast-paced, sizzling fantasy romance duet set in the deadly Delacroix Night court. You’ll love this story if you like sexy vampire bites, enemies-to-lovers, and heroes who love to share.

This duet is set in the same world as Magnetic and Shadow Witch but it stands alone. Downton Abbey meets House of Dragons.

©2023 Anya J Cosgrove (P)2024 Anya J Cosgrove

Good first installment!

This is the first installment in the Throne of Shadows Series, a steamy fantasy RH romance. The characters (Ariel, Alec, Leo and Sebastian) are well developed, and interesting. The world building is intriguing, and captivating. The story ends on a cliffhanger. Addison Barnes and Brendan Robert Kane did an excellent job bringing this story to life. Looking forward to listening to Queen of Ashes and Scars, the next book in the series. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Real time vampire

I love the story and the lady that read the story but the man they had his voice bothered me. I love how the author had the vampire in the current century. I would get the book and not the e book.

Long Live!

I had already read this in the Kindle format, but getting to listen to the audio of it as a reread was amazing. The narration is fantastic and I felt just as consumed by the story as I did by reading it myself. The characters are portrayed so well, and it is super smooth to listen to. I highly recommend this book in either format!

I read Princess of Thorns and Ruin in one day, and I am CRAVING the next book already. This was a page turner with great world building, romance, and great background building for all characters. I believe it takes place in the same universe as some of the authors other books, just not fully intertwined. I look forward to reading her other books from the same universe though!

I need more Alec. I’d love a whole book of just Alec being swoon-worthy. Kinda mad at Lucas right now, but hopefully he redeems himself in the next book. And I’m curious about our handsome angel man! I wanna know if he sticks around. You know characters have been well written when you want to know more about everybody's backstories.

Arielle is tough. She’s not going to let any of what she is facing tear her down. Not grief, not an arranged marriage, and certainly not these insane men. Hopefully she’ll be able to rule her kingdom without too much chaos, but that would take all the fun out of it!

Long live the Dark Queen!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Turning into a vampire princess

I loved this story of Princess Ari who is coming of age as a vampire. She has waited her life to finally turn into a vampire and now she must deal with court intrigue, learning to feed and staying alive. Between murder attempts, her human blood servant and the many people that want her for what she is, she will learn to stand on her own two feet. This book ends in a cliffhanger and it has my curiosity as to what happens next in this story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Confusing But Fascinating

This complex story is actually hard to truly understand in audiobook format. With a physical book or ebook, you can easily flip back and forth to gain clarity on who exactly is who and what their relationship is to others. Frankly, I was confused about exactly who was who in this story until I started listening to the second book of the series! In this story, we learn of the vampire princess who is about to experience her full turning. In this world, vampires don't truly come into their blood hunger/need until they are adults who choose their First Blood (the first human they will feed from as vampires) and go through a particular ritual. The First Blood chosen by the princess is reluctant, but situations in his family goad him to offer himself to improve the situation. For most of this book, he is resentful of the entire situation, wishing he didn't have to do so, but understanding why it makes sense for him and his family. He's also somewhat resentful of the princess herself, being both drawn to and repelled by her. Several other men play somewhat minor but important roles in this story; we will certainly see more of them later in the next book, where the story really starts to come together (and becomes less confusing!).

If the princess' full turning into a vampire takes up the first part of the book, the second part centers on her wedding to another powerful vampire for political reasons. But things are not all what they seem, and I love how the princess pulls all this together and decides to not merely be a pawn of powerful men but chooses her own path, even though it's at the last moment. She gathers powerful allies quickly, ones with whom she would not have survived without.

The book is highly sexually charged in many places, bordering on erotica of several different types. (You need to be comfortable with ideas of different sexual expressions, including LGBTQIA+ ones.) At times, it felt like the story itself was lost between the many sensual scenes. Toning it down a bit would have made the story better, keeping the grander sweeps of the plot and the princess’ growth arc in the forefront more often.

The book has a male narrator and a female one. The female narrator did a fantastic job voicing the female characters, though they are few compared to the males. I loved the male narrator's voice of the Celtic angel; it came across perfectly, imbued with both quiet strength and lilting softness. I wasn't particularly wild about his voicings for the more evil or villainous characters. Each had a similarly maniacal, melodramatic sound, not quite in keeping with the contemporary fantasy/supernatural feel of the story. The voices of the male allies, though, were perfectly fine. Despite the points I didn't like, including the general confusion I mentioned at the start of this review, I was intrigued enough by the story to want to continue with the second book.

Great Narration with a Captivating Story!!

Thank you to Anya J Cosgrove and Booksprout for allowing me to listen to a copy of this book. I absolutely loved this story. Although there were times that I was like not wanting to pause the audiobook because it was so good. The performance of the narrators was amazing too. This book felt similar in vibes to From Blood and Ash, but it was so much better, if I'm honest. I will definitely be continuing the series. I would definitely recommend to anyone who's looking for a good fantasy or paranormal romance to sink their teeth into.

incredible

I loved the drama, suspense and steam. This vampire romance was incredible. It was great to see depth and growth for the characters stprylines. I cannot wait to see whatelse this author comes up with.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Interesting

If you like paranormal reads than this one
is well and truly up you alley.
It has all the right things to make it a real
attention grabber.
The narrator was easy on the ears.
Does finish up on a cliffhanger.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Great Story, Great Narration

A good story can only go so far in narrating; you also need great voices to bring the characters into another realm of existence.

I absolutely loved both narrators' work with this story. It was great. This was finished in one sitting.

Vampire Monarch Fantasy 👑🧛‍♀️

I will admit, I didn't fully get invested in this book until closer to the end. This book is about vampires, humans, kings, queens, princesses, blood servants, and a harem that hasn't happened yet. Ari is currently a human princess but nearing the day that will turn her into a vampire high born princess. Ari's family, The Delacroix's, are currently the reining monarchy, with her brother the King. Their parents are dead. I need more information about their parents, especially their mother. Ari must select a first blood to be her blood servant. That basically is a human she will exclusively feed on. The human Ari picks to be her feeder greatly resents being picked. Ari's feeder resented her but Ari was in the same boat. Ari is VERY naive and I feel like so many things are intentionally kept from her, for other's benefit. Ari is pulled between 3 men. Except her brother the King decides she needs to marry for her country, and it's not to any of the 3 men she likes. It's to a lecherous, creepy, old vampire King of another country. This is where the book hooked me. Ari basically was pining for these 3 men and they were pushing her away. I think Ari really felt alone when she had to leave her country. Obviously, there's a lot more going on than she realizes. I liked Alec most of all. I would love to see Ari run away with Alec! This book does end on a pretty big cliffhanger that makes me wonder what's going to happen in the next book. Long live the Queen 👸.