Hey ForeverBookers,
I’ve just finished reading “Slaying The Shadow Prince” by Helen Scheurerer and I bloody LOVED it! It only took me 3 days to get through, I loved it that much!
5 Stars! (It would be infinity stars if I could)!
“Slaying The Shadow Prince” starts with our FMC, Drue Emmerson coming across Talemir, the Warsword, shadow prince. These are our two main characters. I loved the back and forth between the two! As soon as they meet they’re hardly separated. I loved this too, as I love when there’s a lot of chat between our MMC and our FMC. That was certainly the case here, as is the case with the first two books in the Legends of Thezmaar that follow different characters. Wilder Hawthorne is a part of this book, although he’s not as present as he is in the “Legends Of Thezmaar” books. He’s very much a side character in “Slaying The Shadow Prince.”
I read “Slaying The Shadow Prince” for a couple of readathons. They were:
Reading Rivalry - Mushroom, Coin or Star on the cover - There are stars on my hardcover copy of “Slaying The Shadow Prince” under the dust jacket.
Always Fully Booked Reading Challenge 2026 - Authors first name starts with same letter as yours - I’m called Hannah, and Helen starts with an H like my name does too.
Spoilers Below…
“You were attacked?” Adrienne gaped, all hints of mischief vanishing from her face. “Why didn’t you say?”
Drue ran a hand through her hair, suddenly wary. “Well, were it not for the Warswords,” she said reluctantly, “we would have been done for.”
“Then why are we not toasting to their heroics?” Adrienne asked.
“Because…” Drue looked around, checking to make sure that Coltan had indeed scarpered off somewhere and that no one else was in earshot. “Because one of them is a fucking shadow wraith.”
Adrienne’s spoon froze midway into the pot of stew. “What?”
Drue subtly tapped the cuff on her wrist and flicked her eyes towards the Warsword named Talemir. She had confided in Adrienne long ago about her experiments, and the general fully endorsed her ambitions. Slowly, her friend turned to face the mess hall, her gaze lingering on the large warrior still talking with Fendran.
“You’re sure?” Adrienne murmured.
“Positive.”
“That’s an interesting development.”
“Interesting? Don’t you mean terrifying? The power of a shadow wraith and a Warsword combined? You know they’re gifted by the Furies, don’t you? Gods-given strength, speed and agility… Some of them are even rumoured to be immortal Adri.”
At the beginning of Slaying The Shadow Prince, Drue finds Talemir and welcomes him back to her home, the ruined kingdom of Naarva. There she learns that he’s indeed a shadow wraith, what killed her mother and brothers years before. Drue obviously doesn’t mean to fall in love with Talemir, but as this is a fantasy romance, I’m sure you can tell that this inevitably happens.
The plot is very much on the back burner, I found. While there is a plot, the character dynamics were everything and more to the story. I loved seeing every interaction between Drue and Talemir. Wilder the MMC from “Blood & Steel” and the other “Legends of Thezmaar” books is present in this standalone novel too. He plays the role of the character who keeps Talemir on the straight and narrow. He doesn’t want Talemir involved with Drue. Of course, as Talemir is Wilder’s Warsword teacher, he’s in charge, so just does what he likes.
I loved the love scenes in this book too, of course. One being when Talemir doesn’t want to hide his true self from Drue any longer. He wants her to know the real him.
“Gods,” he panted leaning against her,
Drue still couldn’t catch her breath, the aftermath of her climax still coursing through her, Talemir’s cock still seated inside her. “That was…”
“Like nothing else,” Talemir finished for her, staring down at their sweat-slicked bodies, to where they were still joined. He rested his brow against hers. “How did I finf you?” he murmured. “How did this happen…?” He trailed off, words failing him this time.
Drue traced the curve of his shoulders lightly. “I believe I tried to kill you.”
Talemir huffed a laugh. “A woman after my own heart.”
“Something like that,” she whispered. The weight of what they’d done fell over her like a heavy blanket. Whatever it was between them had amplified, morphed into something beyond recognition, beyond sanity.”
Before this love scene, there’s a scene of honesty between Drue and Talemir. Talemir tells Drue that she brings colour to his world, as a shadow wraith he can’t see colour. “When I am… this,” he said slowly. “I see the world around me in black and grey… There is no colour, only shades of darkness. But you…”
Drue closed the little remaining space between them. “Tell me.”
Talemir reached for her, but recoiled at the sight of the black talons protruding from his fingertips.
Drue took a deep breath, covering those claws with her hand. “Tell me,” she said again.
Talemir’s dark gaze met her. “You are a spectrum of colour in the shadows. You pull me back towards the light…”
Words failed her.
For a second, Drue’s heart seized, stopping mid-beat before it started to pound without mercy. Her skin tingled all over and her knees threatened to buckle as she realised she had been living in darkness too, and that Talemir had —
Slowly, his wraith form faded.”
I loved all these sorts of moments and there were a lot of them. I love any sort of honest love scene in a book and the lead up to it. It shows the characters keenest desires as well as the desperation they feel towards each other. Talemir hates the Warsword he’s become, can Drue bring him back to himself, back to what he once was? Or is he lost forever to the shadow-wraiths. I’ll let you read for yourself but that’s what this book ultimately answers, I believe. If we’re willing to let our not so good side be shown to everyone else, or if we should we hide it away from the world?
The main plot of “Slaying The Shadow Prince” focuses on Talemir and Drue as well as them finding one of Drue’s comrades that’s been changed into a shadow wraith or has he? I’ll let you read for yourself but this story was very easy to follow! It was the romance that I loved as I said above, rather than the intricacies of the storytelling.
I’m going to read a couple of manga after this, which I don’t review here. After that I think I know what I’m going to read but I don’t want to say it yet, in case that changes, so I’ll leave you in suspense…
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