Adventure.It’s what my boring life is missing, so when I fall through a portal into another world, I’m excited. Here, I’m important. Here, I’m special.I find out just how special when I meet Death.Yup. That guy. He’s been exiled to the mortal realm to work through his flaws, and he’s just as spoiled and awful as you’d think. Rhagos, the Shadow Lord, is arrogant and rude and controlling and … and rude and controlling and demands to get his way. He’s selfish. He’s impossible.
He’s also utterly gorgeous. Magnetic. Lonely. And strangely protective of me.
Thanks to a magic bond, I now serve him as his anchor to the mortal realm. It means that I’m his conscience, his guide…and the target for any assassin or glory-seeker. After a few days of this, I’d rather go home than continue on this ‘adventure’. I need a way back to Earth, and fast.
As the world falls down around us and we’re hunted simply for existing, I find myself wondering what it’d be like to serve the lonely god of death…in all ways. To kiss him. To touch him. To bed him.
Except…I’m supposed to be finding a way home, not trying to kiss Rhagos. No matter how tempting he is. No matter how much he stares at my lips.
No matter how much I want it.
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The first book in this series, BATTLE GOD, changed my life. So, I was beyond excited to see an email in my inbox revealing that the much-anticipated sequel, SWORN TO THE SHADOW GOD, was already released and had been out for a week before I realized. Thus began my ignoring every day life so I could consume the story of Rhagos, Lord of the Death, and Max, the corporate assistant/gamer. It would be easy to spoil this book, and I don’t want to do this. So I what I will say is this: these books are phenomenal. They are long and agonizingly wonderful. Yet, you will wish it hadn’t ended. You will laugh, you will gawk, and you will sigh. Do yourself a favor and read this book!
Adventure. It’s what Max’s life is missing. When she falls through a portal into another world, she’s excited. She’s going to be important. She’s going on a quest.
THE BLURB
The Anticipation happens every couple hundred years, when the Gods are exiled to the mortal realm to work through their flaws. . Rhagos, the Shadow Lord and God of Death, is among them. Only he has plans, and he’ll stop at nothing to reach his goal.
Max was looking for her friend when she slipped through a portal into the land of Aos. She’s prefers to look at a glass half-full. As a big fan of video games, she’s decided that she’s the chosen one, and this is her chance at a quest.
When she’s told that she’s to be the anchor to a god, his conscience and guide, she jumps at the opportunity. She just didn’t realise that being an anchor means she’s a target for any assassin or glory-seekers.
TONE OF THE BOOK
Did I ever wish for adventure in the past? I’m clearly an idiot.
Dixon, Ruby. Sworn to the Shadow God: A Fantasy Romance (Aspect and Anchor Book 2) (p. 43). http://www.rubydixon.com. Kindle Edition.
I’m a huge fan of Ruby Dixon’s writing style; she has this innate ability to write deep and heart felt stories filled with banter and humour. Sworn To the Shadow God is a perfect example of this; there are heart-wrenching moments, but never long dwelled upon as tension is replaced with fun adventure.
Overall Sworn To The Shadow God has a more positive and fun mood.
SENSITIVE TOPICS
Bound To The Battle God features a number of war-like scenes, so there are some mention of gruesome deaths (stabbings, decapitations, etc).
Women also don’t tend to have a high status in the fantasy world of Aos, and so the main character Faith is somewhat regularly sexually-harassed by villainous men (they are set up to be exactly that – villains). These moments are mostly hand-grabs, and at no point is the heroine forced into anything beyond that. Thankfully the hero Rhagos treats Max respectfully.
SERIES SYNOPSIS
Sworn To The Shadow God is the second book in the Aspect and Anchor series. The first novel is Bound To The Battle God (our review). You could read this novel as a standalone, somewhat, but I would highly recommend you read the first book in the series.
Each novel so far in the series has focused upon a different couple and a happily ever after. There is no cliffhangers, however there are many hints at characters that will feature in future novels.
The novel is 645 pages long. It’s nearly twice as long as a typical romance (at around 300 pages). It does drag slightly in the middle when it takes Max a while to realise her mistake, but despite this it immediately picks up again. The extra length lends well to the world building and various character interactions; you come to really care for even the side characters that you meet.
REVIEW
I won’t deny that I may be a little biased when it comes to Ruby Dixon’s works; she’s definitely in my top five favourite authors. It seems that as time goes by and she releases new novels, they improve more and more. She’s one of the few romance authors that writes complex characters that undergo character growth and personality changes. There’s more to her novels than simply a quick fix. Sworn To The Shadow God is a perfect example of this; both the hero and heroine learn from their experiences and numerous mistakes as time goes by.
Aos is a fun and exciting, and more often very dangerous, world to explore. Ruby Dixon’s done an amazing job making each town, city and region come alive with vibrant cultures and lifestyles. You’ll find yourself wanting to discover what the next town is like, or if some mythical beast truly does live there.
I loved how Sworn To The Shadow God varied so much compared to Bound To The Battle God. The heroine’s experiences were so different, and yet so similar; and both fun!
FINAL WORD
I cried bittersweet tears. I am emotional, but Ruby Dixon’s writing connected with me. Sworn To the Shadow God is all about desperation, compassion and forgiveness. It’s an amazing read with deep undercurrents that give this book soul. Perfect, since Rhagos the God of Death collects your soul when your time comes.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS AND AUTHORS
If you liked Sworn To the Shadow God, chances are you will love Ruby Dixon’s other works. Ice Planet Barbarians is about abducted human women surviving an ice-scape planet, with only the help of the local alien barbarians. The first book is aptly named Ice Planet Barbarians. Theres 21 books in this series, and partway through it also branches into the Icehome series with 14 more books, starting with Lauren’s Barbarian. The books are much shorter, focusing on different couples each time, but just as fun.
Ruby Dixon has also written the Fireblood Dragons series. A fun adventure set in a post apocalyptic world that’s been taken over by mad dragons. Only when the dragons meet their soul mates, a human woman, that their madness clears. The first book in this series is Fire In His Blood.
Calista Skye’s writing is very similar to Ruby Dixon; a focus on fun and adventure with steamy romance mixed in. I love her Caveman Alien series, the first book being Caveman Alien’s Ransom. It’s filled with action, and tension and just the right amount of tension and story-twists. As the title suggests, this series is a more classic fantasy sword-fighting barbarian style. Oh and there’s dragons. Expect dragons.
If you are after another novel with character growth and romance, check out Stolen By An Alien series by Amanda Milo, the first book aptly named Stolen By An Alien. In this series human women are mistaken for a rare and elite species, and thus fetch a high price on an intergalactic space market. The series tends to be a bit more on the serious, slightly darker side.
Ruby Dixon has a vivid imagination!!!
She creates whole worlds, mythology, legends…
I love the idea of the series with the aspects and their anchors.
I give 5 stars to Sworn To The Shadow God because i really loved this story and the characters, and every Ruby Dixon’s ideas, and it was really difficult to stop reading to go to work… it was that addictive.
The god of death is oddly moving and sweet and romantic and caring.
Being the god of death is a lonely job, everyone asks you for something, everyone hates you or dreads you. I loved the way the author humanized him and gave him life. I loved how Max makes him more compassionate. I loved the way Rhagos loves Max.
Max is an angel, she’s perfect for being the god of Death’s anchor.
I love all of Ruby Dixon’s books. But this series is fabulous!!! I hope she continues to write more of them. The plots are original and great storylines
Definitely just as good as the first one.
Remarkable, memorable, achingly romantic fantasy
Bound to the Battle God made me a Ruby Dixon fantasy fan. Sworn to the Shadow God has me completely enthralled. I loved every infuriating, puzzling, heartrending, steamy, mind-blowing page. NO SPOILERS, but I can’t remember ever reading a book with such a wonderfully agonizing protracted climax – I was in tears for pages! Good tears. GREAT book. DO. NOT. MISS. THIS.
I would definitely call this an epic fantasy adventure! I loved this book! I think this could be read as a stand-alone, though there are a lot of nuances from book 1 that carry over into this book that deepen the plot. I think book 1 (Bound To The Battle God) was well worth reading first as it was also fantastic. Both book 1 & 2 have a HEA at the end, so are separate stories for different characters. There is so much going down in this book, and it is totally fantastic! Max & Rhagos take my breath away, and had me totally into the story. The twists & turns, and Max was totally perfect for Rhagos! I didn’t get anything done because I couldn’t put this book down, luckily I picked it up on a Friday evening, so I could read this huge book without worrying about having to work for a few days…Can’t wait for book 3!