Review: Hunted by the Fae King's Shadow: A Dark Romantasy Standalone

Book: Hunted by the Fae King's Shadow: A Dark Romantasy Standalone by Shaylin Gandhi

Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy

Rating: 4/5

๐“๐“ž ๐“ข๐“Ÿ๐“ž๐“˜๐“›๐“”๐“ก๐“ข
โšœ๏ธ๐”ป๐•–๐•ฅ๐•’๐•š๐•๐•–๐•• ๐•ฃ๐•–๐•ง๐•š๐•–๐•จ ๐• ๐•—- Hunted by the fae kings shadow

๐ˆ ๐š๐ฆ ๐š ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐ญ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฏ๐ข๐ž๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐ž๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐€๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ฆ๐ž ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐š๐ง ๐€๐‘๐‚ ๐œ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฏ๐ข๐ž๐ฐ, ๐ข๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐š๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐š๐ฌ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐›๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐›๐จ๐จ๐ค.

โšœ๏ธโ„๐•’๐•ฅ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜๐•ค-
(out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
๐Ÿ“š ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ / 5
๐ŸŒก๏ธ ๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ / 5 -๐‘โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘๐‘˜ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐บ๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ค ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘™๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘–๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ 
Which books have I also given this same rating? (๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘ฆ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘›)
5โญ๏ธ Fourth wing / Bound by inked flame / Anathama / The Lies of Lena / Of silver and Curses
4.5โญ๏ธ Bitten / The Female / Quicksilver / Bride / Lights Out / A Bargain so Bloody
4โญ๏ธ Spellcaster / One Dark Window / From Blood and Ash / Phantasma / Butcher & Blackbird
3โญ๏ธWe Who Will Die / The Wolf King / Daughter of No Worlds / The Ex Hex

โšœ๏ธ๐•‚๐•–๐•ช ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐•—๐• :
Genre- Fantasy romance
๐Ÿ“–ย 414 ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€
๐น๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘› solo ๐—ฃ๐—ข๐—ฉ
๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ- 18 June 2026
๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜ or ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ driven? ๐’ž๐’ฝ๐’ถ๐“‡๐’ถ๐’ธ๐“‰โ„ฏ๐“‡
๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ & ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—ป๐—ผ- Standalone - Immortal hunters
๐—”๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ on ๐—ž๐—จ? โœ…๐’ดโ„ฏ๐“ˆ
๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ- โ„ฑ๐’ถ๐“ˆ๐“‰
๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ? โœ…โ“not sure with this one
๐€๐ง๐ฒ ๐‘๐ž๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง? (Disability, plus size, mental health etc...)โŒ
โ„ณโ„ดโ„ด๐’น๐“ˆ; ๐‘จ๐’…๐’—๐’†๐’๐’•๐’–๐’“๐’๐’–๐’”, ๐‘บ๐’•๐’†๐’‚๐’Ž๐’š, ๐‘ฌ๐’Ž๐’๐’•๐‘–๐’๐’๐’‚๐’, ๐‘ฏ๐’๐’‘๐’†๐’‡๐’–๐’, ๐‘ท๐’“๐’†๐’…๐’Š๐’„๐’•๐’‚๐’ƒ๐’๐’† ๐’ƒ๐’–๐’• ๐’”๐’‚๐’•๐’Š๐’”๐’‡๐’š๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ, ๐‘ด๐’‚๐’ˆ๐’Š๐’„๐’‚๐’, ๐‘ด๐’š๐’”๐’•๐’†๐’“๐’Š๐’๐’–๐’”, ๐‘ฏ๐’‚๐’–๐’๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ, ๐‘ป๐’†๐’๐’”๐’†
๐’Ÿ๐’พ๐’น ๐’พ โ„ฏ๐“ƒ๐’ฟโ„ด๐“Ž ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐’พ๐“ˆ?โœ…
๐’ฒโ„ด๐“Š๐“๐’น ๐’พ ๐“‡โ„ฏ๐’ถ๐’น ๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐“Ž๐“‰๐’ฝ๐’พ๐“ƒ๐‘” โ„ฏ๐“๐“ˆโ„ฏ ๐’ท๐“Ž ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐’พ๐“ˆ ๐’ถ๐“Š๐“‰๐’ฝโ„ด๐“‡?โœ…
๐–‚๐–๐–” ๐–œ๐–”๐–š๐–‘๐–‰ ๐–Ž ๐–—๐–Š๐–ˆ๐–”๐–’๐–’๐–Š๐–“๐–‰ ๐–™๐–๐–Ž๐–˜ ๐–™๐–”? Anyone dipping their toes into the dark side of romance, itโ€™s a great beginner friendly level, with no info dumps or complicated fantasy elements.

โšœ๏ธ๐•Šโ„™๐”ผโ„‚๐•€๐”ผ๐•Š ๐•€โ„• ๐•Š๐•‹๐•†โ„๐•:
๐Ÿ’‹๐ป๐‘ข๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ 
๐Ÿงโ€โ™€๏ธ๐”ฝ๐•’๐•–

โšœ๏ธ๐•Š๐•ก๐•š๐•”๐•– ๐”ฝ๐•’๐•”๐•ฅ๐•ค:
๐Ÿค๐‘‰๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘› ๐น๐‘€๐ถ
๐Ÿ”ฅ๐’๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง
๐Ÿฅต๐’Ÿ๐’พ๐“‡๐“‰๐“Ž ๐’ฏ๐’ถ๐“๐“€
๐Ÿ™๐ป๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘  ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ ๐‘ก
๐Ÿ’Œแด€ส€ส€แด€ษดษขแด‡แด… แดแด€ส€ส€ษชแด€ษขแด‡
๐Ÿ—ก ๐™ƒ๐™–๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง๐™š๐™™ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™‡๐™ค๐™ซ๐™š๐™ง๐™จ
๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ‘จ๐™ต๐šŠ๐š๐šŽ๐š ๐™ผ๐šŠ๐š๐šŽ๐šœ
๐ŸŒก๐•๐•–๐•’๐•ฃ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜, ๐”ธ๐•Ÿ๐•˜๐•ค๐•ฅ, ๐•‹๐•–๐•Ÿ๐•ค๐•š๐• ๐•Ÿ
๐Ÿ‘€๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜บ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฎ

โšœ๏ธ๐•‹โ„๐•†โ„™๐”ผ๐•Š
๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐•Š๐•–๐•”๐•ฃ๐•–๐•ฅ๐•ค & ๐”น๐•–๐•ฅ๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ช๐•’๐•๐•ค
๐Ÿ†Tแ–‡Iแ—ฉแ’ชี
๐Ÿงธ๐น๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘–๐‘™๐‘ฆ
๐ŸคฉEpic Side Characters
๐Ÿงฉ๐‘ญ๐’๐’“๐’„๐’†๐’… ๐’‘๐’“๐’๐’™๐’Š๐’Ž๐’Š๐’•๐’š
๐Ÿ’ˆ แ—ทแ—ฉแ‘ŽTแ—ดแ–‡
โ˜ ๏ธ๐•‹๐• ๐•ฆ๐•”๐•™ ๐•™๐•–๐•ฃ ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐••...
๐Ÿคฌ Feminine Rage
๐Ÿถ Underdog
โŒš๐”ธ-๐•™๐• ๐•๐•–

โœจ Tแ•ผแ—ดแ—ฐแ—ดี โœจ
๐Ÿ“Cliff Notes Review-
The plot was rather predictable all the way through but as it was written well it was satisfying to read, the yearning and steamy moments were delicious and the angst was threaded all the way through and kept my attention right on the edge!

๐ŸŒ ๐•Ž๐• ๐•ฃ๐•๐•• ๐•“๐•ฆ๐•š๐•๐••๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜, ๐•จ๐•ฃ๐•š๐•ฅ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐•ก๐•’๐•”๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜:
The world was beautifully written, the sharp differences between the worlds jumped out at you, I loved the contradictions between their beliefs and lifestyles. And the way that the fe castle was described was ethereal and beautiful and I want to visit!

The pacing was fast and remained steady throughout. I found no slow bits or lulls and no info dumps of sections I had to skim read.

๐Ÿงโ€โ™‚๏ธ โ„‚๐•™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•’๐•”๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค:
I loved the idea of the pretty on the outside ugly on the inside and visa versa but I was hoping for a darker shade to the characters, something to push it a little further for a stronger contrast between the good and the mean sides.

The worshiping was written effectively, I enjoyed the idea of her finally being wanted and needed, again I would have liked this to have been pushed more to the devotion side where he feels he needs to prove himself but that a personal preference.

๐Ÿ˜ฅ ๐•Ž๐•™๐•ช ๐•Ÿ๐•  ๐•—๐•š๐•ง๐•– ๐•ค๐•ฅ๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ค?
I feel like this was a great story, I just wish the author pushed it that little bit further and created this as a true dark fantasy, it would have flowed perfectly and elevated the whole book as the characters would have sung their own stories.

โณ ๐•Ž๐• ๐•ฆ๐•๐•• ๐•š ๐•ฃ๐•–-๐•ฃ๐•–๐•’๐•• ๐• ๐•ฃ ๐•ฃ๐•–๐•”๐• ๐•ž๐•ž๐•–๐•Ÿ๐••?
I wonโ€™t be re reading no, but I will be recommending, definitely!

๐Ÿชง๐”ฝ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•’๐• ๐•ฅ๐•™๐• ๐•ฆ๐•˜๐•™๐•ฅ๐•ค:
This is a perfect book to dip your toe into dark fantasy, itโ€™s on the more vanilla side of dark leaving it open to a wide range of readers. The spice is hot, the yearning is steamy and the tension is enough to keep you up till 3am saying โ€˜just one more chapterโ€™!

๐น๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ค๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘”๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ ;

๐•‹๐•š๐•œ๐•‹๐• ๐•œ
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ย 

*

๐•„๐•ช โ„๐•’๐•ฅ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ ๐•Š๐•ช๐•ค๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ž๐•ค:
โญ๏ธ DNF

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, butย  it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!

๐Ÿ”ฅโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐Ÿ”ฅ
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!

ย SPICE SCALE:
๐ŸŒถ๏ธโ€“ segsual language and a little on-page action

๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธโ€“ a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times

๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธโ€“ a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers

๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ โ€“ super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.

๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ โ€“ Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more dark / taboo fantasies and realities.

Read full review on ARC Library