Review: Bound By The Summer Prince by Mistral Dawn

Book Description

The Summer Court is in an uproar. The king has just been executed for unpardonable crimes, and the queen is prostrate with grief over his loss. This leaves the Summer kingdom bereft of true leadership; a problem which is compounded by the fact that the laws of Fairie require balance to be maintained by having a male and a female ruler for both Season Courts at all times. Uaine, the Summer prince, is the only one who can put things right, but he is without a mate. Knowing that he must take a bride quickly, for the sake of his people, even though he is struggling with his own feelings of pain and anger over his father's treachery, he goes for a walk in a forest near the palace to try to clear his head and determine how best to choose a female to rule beside him. 

While walking Uaine discovers a human female running loose in Fairie, which is against the most basic tenets of Fae law. Furious at one more problem he must deal with, he takes her prisoner and locks her in the dungeon; only to discover later that she is his soul-mate. The magical bond between them means they are meant to be together forever, but humans can't feel the magic of Fairie. Will Uaine be able to win her heart and convince her that she can trust him to keep her safe from all the dangers of Fairie...including himself? 

Roni is a human con woman and petty thief. Having run afoul of the local crime syndicate in the city where she is staying, she finds herself running for her life. Trouble is no stranger to her, but when she falls through a hole in a wall and finds herself in a world with carnivorous trees and rocks that eat people she realizes she may have found more of it than she can deal with. Rescued/arrested by the prince of the Summer Court, it doesn't take long for her to formulate a plan to use him to get herself home. Unfortunately for her, she soon finds that her heart, which she had thought long ago turned to stone, has begun to feel the love she has been playing at. Will she be able to overcome a lifetime of caution and allow herself to follow her heart? Can a criminal love a cop? 

Please be aware that this book contains explicit sexual scenes, depictions of BDSM, and anal play. If these things disturb you, then this may not be the book for you.

My Review

Roni is a small time thief who has had a bad childhood and is on the run from someone she shouldn't have stolen from. The story starts off really fast with her running away after stealing from the wrong guy and then falling through a portal to the land of the Fae. The men who had been chasing her follow her through the portal but the Fairie forest is quite deadly and they meet a painful death. The only thing that saves Roni is something from the human world that she carries with her. 

Uaine happens upon the human female when he decides to go for a walk to clear his mind. He's mad that the death of his father is hurting his mother so much and that he is next in line to be King. But in order to fulfill his role as King he must first find a mate and he's just not interested in the females that are vying for his attention since he thinks the attention they are giving him has more to do with his role as King than getting to know and love him as a mate. 

The Fae law states that once a human comes to Fairie they can never leave. The last thing they want are more humans coming to the land of Fae and making problems for them so they do everything they can to keep it a secret. But what is Uaine to do with this human female now? It's off to the dungeon at first but he can't stop thinking of her so he goes to make preparations to make her more comfortable and that's when things get complicated. He feels the mate bond and knows that she is his soul-mate and fated by the goddess to be his forever. 

The world building in this book really lets us see what life is like in Fairie. The laws are explained because Roni has to learn what will be expected of her when she is queen. We really learn why they have the laws they have and why they are carried out in the ways they are even if that means a criminal is found guilty of something horrible and sentenced to a torturous death. 

One of the things I really liked about Mistral Dawn's first book, Taken By The Huntsman is that it had a cat that was a big part of the story and was featured prominently on the cover. The same can be said for this book and I really love that. I love when an author adds animals or pets to the story of a book and not only is there a cat in this story but there's a bunny as well, but this bunny is from Fairie so expect some surprises. 

When these two start to get comfortable with each other and a little bondage and BDSM is added to the mix, it's done in a way that shows how a loving couple would add it for fun and pleasure. So if you're worried that this is a dark BDSM story, you needn't be. That aspect was added in a loving fun way that was easily enjoyed and fit with Uaine's personality.  

I read this book in one sitting, staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish it. When a book can keep me engaged in such a way that I don't want to put it down, I know it's a good one. 

If you like the fae, creepy forests, interesting animals, a sweet romance with a little D/s thrown in for fun, then you'll like this book. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars

If you'd like to read this book, you can get it here.