Series: The Dragons Ballad
Author: Karina Espinosa
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romantasy, Romance
Release Date: 24th January 2025
BLURB
My name's Cat, and boy, do I have a tale for you. Imagine waking up to find yourself in a world utterly devoid of life's essentials—no Netflix, no Wi-Fi, and, brace yourself, not a single Starbucks in sight. Where, you ask? Well, that’s a nightmare I’m still unraveling.
Here’s the one moment I'm pulling off a daring stunt on a Hollywood set, and the next, I'm gasping for air in a realm that's straight out of a fantasy novel. This place? It’s overrun with werewolves, vampires, warlocks, fae and, to top it off, dragons. Yes, actual fire-breathing dragons!
But wait, there’s more—I’ve somehow taken the place of my doppelgänger Lady Arya Ryder, a noblewoman whose reputation is as tarnished as an old sword. Now, caught in the mess she left behind, I’ve got no choice but to navigate this medieval minefield. And then there's Damien Drakonar, the third prince. He’s a dragon, yes, but not the knight-in-shining-armor type.
No, Damien is the sort who would sooner burn you alive than glance your way. He’s a perilous enigma, straddling the line between savior and destroyer. Despite our mutual contempt, our fates are ominously intertwined as we face the devastation Arya’s actions have unleashed.
Now my only option is to find my way back home and fast, but many obstacles stand in my way—including Damien. Will I ever make it back home? Only the shadows hold the answers.
My name's Cat, and boy, do I have a tale for you. Imagine waking up to find yourself in a world utterly devoid of life's essentials—no Netflix, no Wi-Fi, and, brace yourself, not a single Starbucks in sight. Where, you ask? Well, that’s a nightmare I’m still unraveling.
Here’s the one moment I'm pulling off a daring stunt on a Hollywood set, and the next, I'm gasping for air in a realm that's straight out of a fantasy novel. This place? It’s overrun with werewolves, vampires, warlocks, fae and, to top it off, dragons. Yes, actual fire-breathing dragons!
But wait, there’s more—I’ve somehow taken the place of my doppelgänger Lady Arya Ryder, a noblewoman whose reputation is as tarnished as an old sword. Now, caught in the mess she left behind, I’ve got no choice but to navigate this medieval minefield. And then there's Damien Drakonar, the third prince. He’s a dragon, yes, but not the knight-in-shining-armor type.
No, Damien is the sort who would sooner burn you alive than glance your way. He’s a perilous enigma, straddling the line between savior and destroyer. Despite our mutual contempt, our fates are ominously intertwined as we face the devastation Arya’s actions have unleashed.
Now my only option is to find my way back home and fast, but many obstacles stand in my way—including Damien. Will I ever make it back home? Only the shadows hold the answers.
REVIEW
I quite like the book cover for Song Of The Shadow Prince, it fits the rather dark, mysterious feel of the book really well. Very medieval with maybe a hint of Game Of Thrones in there too!
The main female character is Catalina, a young, confident, no nonsense young woman who is a stunt woman. Its whilst on set in Hollywood that something strange happens and she is catapulted into another world. She literally closes her eyes in Los Angeles, a world of internet, Netflix and modern technology and opens them in what I guess you could say is a medieval land called Elaria which is filled with various paranormal races, witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, dragons, seers and fae as well as humans. Everyone thinks Catalina is this Lady Arya, who has plenty of secrets and dodgy dealings going on that Catalina will have to navigate as well as being in a world totally alien to her.
The main male character is Damien, the Shadow Prince, the youngest son of Emperor Valenor. Damien has been imprisoned on the Obsidan Island for the crime of killing his mother during child birth by Emperor Valenor. The Emperor also had his powerful Seer remove Damien’s dragon bones, preventing him from shifting into a dragon, and his heart scale which gives Damien protection. When the Seer approaches Damien he is shocked at the markings on his arm. He looks at the markings with a mixture of reverance & fear! A twin flame marking means the legend is reborn. It signifies the one true king, but only when he meets his mate, who bears the matching marking.
Damien, his Uncle Bai and the Emperor sort of haggle over Damiens sentence and eventually rather begrudgingly the Emperor decree’s that one Sunday per month Damien is permitted to leave his Island prison to go in search of his mate who will also bear the twin flames markings.
Damien and Cat are literally thrown together when Cat arrives in Elaria. Damien doesn’t like Lady Arya as she is the arrogant spoilt favourite daughter of Zacharia Ryder. Damien has been dating Zacharia’s other daughter Gianna, the not so favoured one because her mother was the servant mistress. Damien has heard many tales of Lady Arya being nasty to Gianna and the servants and people around her at the Ryder home. Of course, when Damien is being curt and brusque towards Lady Arya/Catalina, Cat has no idea why and basically being the strong female she is gives as good as she gets! Though he dislikes her Damien does save Cat on numerous occasions, noticing the different behaviour and slowly warming to her. Though of course it is Cat he is falling for not Lady Arya. I thought it was hilarious the way Cat kept calling Damien David just to rile him. Cat thinks its funny to irritate him and though she won’t admit it she finds him quite attractive too. However Cat has one mission on her mind, and that is to get back home to Los Angles.
I loved the sassy, tattooed, straight talking, sweary, kick-butt, taking no nonsense from anyone whether they’re a peasant or a Prince, Catalina, or Cat as she prefers to be called. She seems to be the polar opposite of Lady Arya the young woman she has switched places with. Well, I presume that Lady Arya is in Cat’s world, but that hasn’t been totally confirmed yet, maybe there will be some of Lady Arya in Cat’s world in bk2. Though I have to admit I am loving Kat in Lady Arya’s world so much I’m not all that concerned with Lady Arya, though I bet she has been in some comical situations in Cat’s world. How will she have handled the cheating boyfriend situation with Fernando and how on earth will she have managed to work as a stunt woman with no experience of anything like that at all from her world.
I also loved the dark, brooding, ruggedly handsome yet hiding a softer-side Damien. He starts out being quite brusque and making the fact he doesn’t like Lady Arya very clear! But as he gets to know the “new Lady Arya” or rather Cat, you see him slowly thaw towards her until it’s clear he has fiery (well he is a dragon) passionate feelings of love towards her.
I also adored Maeve, the loyal servant that Lady Arya had bought when they were children. Maeve proves to be an invaluable source of information for the stranded Catalina. Maeve is loyal to her Lady Arya despite being treat cruelly at times. Maeve can read and write thanks to Lady Arya too which is unusual among the Palace servants.
I also adore Klaus & Garrick who are turning out to be unlikely allies to Cat at the moment. I love the way Klaus talks to Cat, he genuinely seems to care, but then she has Garrick telling her she must never trust the fae, especially Klaus. Garrick is a bit more of a lovable rogue, though I’d be interested to learn what his disagreement with the Emperor was about.
I’m still pondering on what I think to Gianna and Prince Thorne who on the surface seem to be okay yet I get the feeling they could both perhaps turn out to be “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Uncle Bai is giving me mixed feelings, is he a genuine good guy, taking care of his beloved nephew, or is he waiting on the sidelines for a chance at power? Only time will tell.
I think the other “one to watch out for” could by Lysandra who works at The Gilded Serpent and obviously has a soft spot for Damien to the point of being quite persistent and possessive!
I’m definitely enjoying disliking the Emperor Valenor, and his middle son who attempts to corner and manhandle an unsuspecting Catalina thinking she is his lover Lady Arya. He certainly gets more than he bargained for! Though Uncle Bai intervenes thinking he has rescued Lady Arya/Catalina but I think it was the amorous Prince, he rescued as its clear that Catalina can handle herself in a fight!
My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were, Wow! So, I don't normally like time-travel or fae, but I absolutely loved this and can't wait for more! What will bk2 bring? Will we meet Arya in Cat's world? Does she even want to return to her world? I think we may be going to see a nastier, devious side to Gianna. Definitely want more Cat & Damien, more Garrick, Klaus, Maeve, and Uncle Bai too!
Summing up, so maybe I don’t usually like time-travel and books with fae in them, and I was kind of wrinkling my nose thinking I wouldn’t like the medieval type setting but, honestly, I truly loved this one. I was enthralled by the fae songs and tales and how they were entwined within the great, well written plot. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions which helped me visualise the scenes within the book clearly such as The Broken Tankard and The Gilded Serpent. The book has fantastic characters that you quickly become attached to and care about! Definitely left me wanting more. I get the feeling theres a lot more to be revealed about both Garrick and Klaus and I have to admit I am hoping for a happy ever after type ending for Catalina & Damen!
I quite like the book cover for Song Of The Shadow Prince, it fits the rather dark, mysterious feel of the book really well. Very medieval with maybe a hint of Game Of Thrones in there too!
The main female character is Catalina, a young, confident, no nonsense young woman who is a stunt woman. Its whilst on set in Hollywood that something strange happens and she is catapulted into another world. She literally closes her eyes in Los Angeles, a world of internet, Netflix and modern technology and opens them in what I guess you could say is a medieval land called Elaria which is filled with various paranormal races, witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, dragons, seers and fae as well as humans. Everyone thinks Catalina is this Lady Arya, who has plenty of secrets and dodgy dealings going on that Catalina will have to navigate as well as being in a world totally alien to her.
The main male character is Damien, the Shadow Prince, the youngest son of Emperor Valenor. Damien has been imprisoned on the Obsidan Island for the crime of killing his mother during child birth by Emperor Valenor. The Emperor also had his powerful Seer remove Damien’s dragon bones, preventing him from shifting into a dragon, and his heart scale which gives Damien protection. When the Seer approaches Damien he is shocked at the markings on his arm. He looks at the markings with a mixture of reverance & fear! A twin flame marking means the legend is reborn. It signifies the one true king, but only when he meets his mate, who bears the matching marking.
Damien, his Uncle Bai and the Emperor sort of haggle over Damiens sentence and eventually rather begrudgingly the Emperor decree’s that one Sunday per month Damien is permitted to leave his Island prison to go in search of his mate who will also bear the twin flames markings.
Damien and Cat are literally thrown together when Cat arrives in Elaria. Damien doesn’t like Lady Arya as she is the arrogant spoilt favourite daughter of Zacharia Ryder. Damien has been dating Zacharia’s other daughter Gianna, the not so favoured one because her mother was the servant mistress. Damien has heard many tales of Lady Arya being nasty to Gianna and the servants and people around her at the Ryder home. Of course, when Damien is being curt and brusque towards Lady Arya/Catalina, Cat has no idea why and basically being the strong female she is gives as good as she gets! Though he dislikes her Damien does save Cat on numerous occasions, noticing the different behaviour and slowly warming to her. Though of course it is Cat he is falling for not Lady Arya. I thought it was hilarious the way Cat kept calling Damien David just to rile him. Cat thinks its funny to irritate him and though she won’t admit it she finds him quite attractive too. However Cat has one mission on her mind, and that is to get back home to Los Angles.
I loved the sassy, tattooed, straight talking, sweary, kick-butt, taking no nonsense from anyone whether they’re a peasant or a Prince, Catalina, or Cat as she prefers to be called. She seems to be the polar opposite of Lady Arya the young woman she has switched places with. Well, I presume that Lady Arya is in Cat’s world, but that hasn’t been totally confirmed yet, maybe there will be some of Lady Arya in Cat’s world in bk2. Though I have to admit I am loving Kat in Lady Arya’s world so much I’m not all that concerned with Lady Arya, though I bet she has been in some comical situations in Cat’s world. How will she have handled the cheating boyfriend situation with Fernando and how on earth will she have managed to work as a stunt woman with no experience of anything like that at all from her world.
I also loved the dark, brooding, ruggedly handsome yet hiding a softer-side Damien. He starts out being quite brusque and making the fact he doesn’t like Lady Arya very clear! But as he gets to know the “new Lady Arya” or rather Cat, you see him slowly thaw towards her until it’s clear he has fiery (well he is a dragon) passionate feelings of love towards her.
I also adored Maeve, the loyal servant that Lady Arya had bought when they were children. Maeve proves to be an invaluable source of information for the stranded Catalina. Maeve is loyal to her Lady Arya despite being treat cruelly at times. Maeve can read and write thanks to Lady Arya too which is unusual among the Palace servants.
I also adore Klaus & Garrick who are turning out to be unlikely allies to Cat at the moment. I love the way Klaus talks to Cat, he genuinely seems to care, but then she has Garrick telling her she must never trust the fae, especially Klaus. Garrick is a bit more of a lovable rogue, though I’d be interested to learn what his disagreement with the Emperor was about.
I’m still pondering on what I think to Gianna and Prince Thorne who on the surface seem to be okay yet I get the feeling they could both perhaps turn out to be “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Uncle Bai is giving me mixed feelings, is he a genuine good guy, taking care of his beloved nephew, or is he waiting on the sidelines for a chance at power? Only time will tell.
I think the other “one to watch out for” could by Lysandra who works at The Gilded Serpent and obviously has a soft spot for Damien to the point of being quite persistent and possessive!
I’m definitely enjoying disliking the Emperor Valenor, and his middle son who attempts to corner and manhandle an unsuspecting Catalina thinking she is his lover Lady Arya. He certainly gets more than he bargained for! Though Uncle Bai intervenes thinking he has rescued Lady Arya/Catalina but I think it was the amorous Prince, he rescued as its clear that Catalina can handle herself in a fight!
My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were, Wow! So, I don't normally like time-travel or fae, but I absolutely loved this and can't wait for more! What will bk2 bring? Will we meet Arya in Cat's world? Does she even want to return to her world? I think we may be going to see a nastier, devious side to Gianna. Definitely want more Cat & Damien, more Garrick, Klaus, Maeve, and Uncle Bai too!
Summing up, so maybe I don’t usually like time-travel and books with fae in them, and I was kind of wrinkling my nose thinking I wouldn’t like the medieval type setting but, honestly, I truly loved this one. I was enthralled by the fae songs and tales and how they were entwined within the great, well written plot. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions which helped me visualise the scenes within the book clearly such as The Broken Tankard and The Gilded Serpent. The book has fantastic characters that you quickly become attached to and care about! Definitely left me wanting more. I get the feeling theres a lot more to be revealed about both Garrick and Klaus and I have to admit I am hoping for a happy ever after type ending for Catalina & Damen!
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