The Shadow Prince: A Mortal Enchantment Prequel Novella

Action packed from the first page. I couldn’t put it down. So excited to find out what happens in the rest of the series.

Stacey O’Neale, you might be thinking to yourself. That name sounds familiar. This book sounds familiar. But it also sounds…brand-new?

I read THE SHADOW PRINCE when it first came out, as well as the first book STORM BORN (Previously titled MORTAL ENCHANTMENT), but never went on to finish the series, I don’t think. Re-reading THE SHADOW PRINCE made me want to dive back into this world and re-acquaint myself with all the characters.

Plus, if I had never read the series before, I would have wanted to anyway. The series was recently re-packaged, and now features all-new, fierce, kick-ass covers, and a brand-new, more intriguing title for the first novel in the series. I will always pick up a book in the store if it is called something like STORM BORN because I have a huge weakness for elemental magic! And I seriously can’t stop staring at these beautiful covers!

If you’ve read the series before, you’re still going to pick up the brand-new box set because it features new chapters, POVs, and more — I’m especially excited that there are more Rowan chapters now!

Two things initially hooked me when it came to Stacey O’Neale when I first discovered her:
1) She was once New York Times Best-Selling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s publicist.
2) Elemental magic.
Need I say more?

Normally, I don’t like reading prequel novellas before I read the full novel it accompanies. (And then when I DO read it, there’s nothing new to be learned. But there also aren’t spoilers, so!) With THE SHADOW PRINCE, on the other hand, I DO recommend reading it before SHADOW BORN. (And, hey, it’s free as an e-book, so it’s worth the read if you’re undecided!) There’s so much background and story that takes place before the core story ever gets off the ground. A lot of it is never explained or mentioned in the first full novel. I would actually be hesitant to call THE SHADOW PRINCE a prequel novella and rather call it the first book in the series, to be honest. The title is from Rowan’s perspective, while the full-length novel STORM BORN is from Kalin’s.

In THE SHADOW PRINCE, Rowan is the ill-favored prince and heir of the Fire Court. His mother will only abdicate her throne if Rowan kills a half-elemental heir of the Air Court, Kalin, before she ascends to power. Rowan wants nothing more than to stop the carnage and corrupt rule of his mother, but he hates the thought of murdering an innocent girl, too. Rowan sacrifices much in this novella leading up to the start of Kalin’s journey.

SHADOW BORN begins with Air Court heir Kalin about to leave the mortal realm and step into her future title as she enters Avalon and learns the rules of the Elementals. Despite being royalty, not everyone at court is happy to have a half-blooded heir to the throne. The day Kalin journeys to her new home, her father is abducted. It’s now up to untrained Kalin to maintain the peace and stop a war from brewing with the Fire Court.

I love books featuring elemental magic, and I really liked the unique shape and new ideas that Sta.cey O’Neale brought to the table. It feels a little like fae, only not. The magic and lore is seamlessly melded together into something that feels both familiar and new. There’s also a lot of action and the promise of a romance that will sweep across the series. I like the fact that romance isn’t the focus or the be-all-end-all of the novel: There’s actual plot and, for now at least, the romance is a bonus side story. The trope of falling for one’s instructor and stealing forbidden interludes reminded me slightly of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s novel HALF-BLOOD, and seeing how O’Neale was her publicist, it makes sense to have the two sitting together in my head. If you like one, you’ll enjoy the other as well, though both series are wildly different from one another.

I’m also a fan of the way family is at the heart of this series. It’s great to see more YA books with this message, especially in fantasy. Kalin may not have grown up with her father, but she’s loyal, and she’s eager to spend more time with him and make sure he’s returned to her. I’d also like to dive more into her mother’s secret in future books and see her reappear at some point. There are a lot of things I’m looking forward to seeing in future books, such as interactions with elemental courts so far only mentioned in passing, and, of course, Kalin’s journey to step into her destiny and learn how to control her newfound abilities.

I’m excited that the rest of the series is finally available and I can binge it at once. When it first came out, I didn’t have time to go back and re-visit the world and it slowly fell from my radar. There are always so many newer books begging for attention, and older TBR titles that I am genuinely excited for sometimes fall off the pile, especially if they’re e-books, because I can’t see everything on my nook at a glance the way I can a physical book, you know? I’m very excited for this second chance!

This prequel novella gave a proper introduction to the Mortal Enchantment series. I really enjoyed the story, and I find it to be quite amazing. The world of the Mortal Enchantment series that can be seen from this novella was so brilliant. Most novella doesn’t give a proper introduction to its own series, but this one was different. The proper introduction made me understand what the Mortal Enchantment series was about, and what it will be like.

The story started off with Prince Rowan in the mortal world and after finding out the news of his upcoming coronation, he had to go back to his realm, Avalon. But when he found out the truth behind his coronation, he had to make the hardest choice.

I can see where the story is going, it was a little bit predictable but that doesn’t take away the joy I felt reading the story. I liked how the story was already intense from the start and it made me nervous to see what will happens next. The plot was very engaging, and I just couldn’t stop myself from making up some theories of what’s gonna happen in the next book.

I loved the concept of elemental magic here, and I’ve always been so fascinated by elemental magic. The four courts that can be seen in the story are divided using the four elements of magic, and the story mainly focused on the fire court and the air court. But the fire court play a huge role since Rowan is from there. The story mostly shown the abilities of beings from the fire court and some from the air court.

But I was wondering about Kalin, princess from the air court. She was said to be the Akasha, the being who can wield all four elements and that makes her the most powerful, in my opinion. And she was said to bring balance too. So I wonder how big her role will be in the other books. The story doesn’t show her that much, only when Rowan was spying on her. Still, she is so important if Rowan’s mother see her as a threat. I need to know more about Kalin. Even though she is a halfling, she’s still very much important to Avalon, especially her court. It saddens me seeing how she was so sad living a life in the mortal world with her mother. I understand it was for her own safety, but the girl doesn’t know what threat awaits her and I’m worried.

Kalin is still a mystery to me, she is the princess that no one has seen before, so I’m really excited to read the next book and get to know her character more.

Rowan is a nice guy, and I was so heartbroken by the treatment he got from his own mother. Honestly, he deserved so much better than living his life at his own court. He came off as a strong character, but what he went through later on only toughen him up more. He became a warrior, obviously going to be Kalin’s knight seeing how keen he was on protecting her. I find him to be quite interesting and fun, he cracks me up a lot. He was so sarcastic and so sassy, just what I’m looking for in a prince. And most importantly, I need to see him using his magic more often. I was preparing myself for a huge showdown between him and his mother or him and his adopted brother, Valac. But since this is a novella, I get why there isn’t much battle.

Rowan is just great, and I loved his character. Such a kind-hearted gentleman, the book showed the side of him that not many have seen before. There are times when he was so anxious and just very unsure about everything. The mission he had to carry put him in a huge struggle, and I’m glad he made the right decision not to continue. It was the right thing to do. He has always been so honest, and I’m excited to see what he will do now that he gained a new title.

Prisma was vile and very wicked. What an awful mother she is. Not only she was awful toward Rowan, but she was also breaking all the rules that she was supposed to follow. I had to say, she deserved getting what she got in the end. She is beyond redemption, and is the actual villain of the story. I tried to see the reason behind her unfairness toward Rowan, but there isn’t any strong reason. She made me angry the whole time, and she is definitely the cruelest ruler in Avalon.

Marcus is Rowan’s friend, and what he had to endured in the story was truly heartbreaking. He was a good friend and always been helpful, and I can’t wait to find out where he went to after the choice he made, and what will his story be like in the sequel.

The story was exciting and very intriguing, and the epilogue made me want to read the sequel straightaway. I’m so eager to know what happens next. Especially Kalin, is she safe? And is Rowan going to get to her right on time? So many questions. I have theories about the next one, but I don’t want to jinx it. I need to see the interaction between Kalin and Rowan, that’s what I’m hoping for the most. I was satisfied by the ending but the cliffhanger really testing my patience. Overall, I really loved it and enjoyed it. It was an incredible story.

I received a free copy of this book from the author.

Even though you can purchase this book for free on retailers I did receive a review copy from the author. This is the prequel to the Mortal Enchantment series. It’s a YA Fantasy novel that has quite a bit of twists and turns included.

Rowan is the heir to the Fire Court of the Elemental Courts. His mother is a powerful Queen but has decided to retire. Or that’s what she’s allowed others to believe. Rowan is her only biological child and she’s called him home after banishing him to the human world long ago.

Rowan has one task to complete to claim his title. One he’s not fully on board to claim. His family isn’t liking his claim to the thrown either. They can’t get away with murder when Rowan is King.

This prequel is quite interesting and jam packed with events and information. I will definitely grab the whole series to see how it plays out. My vote is on Rowan to kick butt and take names!