On the night Gwen discovers her boyfriend has been cheating on her, her cat sets her house on fire and sends her through a portal into a strange realm.

You know, a standard weekend for a young woman.

Naked and afraid, she follows her (now talking) cat to a nearby village. Apparently the cat is from this realm, and he escaped the evil Prince of Iron to earth. The prince had captured all the magical beings and imprisoned them in a large crystal. Now the cat needs Gwen's help in freeing them all.

Let me preface this by saying I LOVED this book. The only reason I didn't rate this book 5 stars is because of the depiction of Kansas. I live about 20 miles away from Wichita, the city Gwen lives near. There are no black bears anywhere near us. It's a metropolitan area with several suburbs on all sides. We also are not considered "backwater."

On to why I loved it...

Mordred, the Prince of Iron, makes one heck of an entry. He's big. He's bad. He's incredibly gentle with and protective of Gwen. He doesn't seem like the evil madman she's been told rules over Avalon. He even agrees to let her roam his kingdom to make up her own mind about him and his motives.

He's also hilarious. His dry sense of humor meshes well with Gwen, and their banter itself would make this a 5 star book. You really feel for Mordred and the difficult decisions he's had to make. There's a scene at the end where he's sitting in his room and Gwen joins him that will tug at your heart strings. His reaction to her is so sweet and pure, and I DESPERATELY wanted them to resolve their differences on the spot.

But of course not everything is perfect in Avalon. If it was, Mordred wouldn't be considered a villain. He has a clear dark side, and he's his own worst enemy. He and Gwen could have had an easy HEA, but they both made questionable decisions that leave the story open for a sequel. A sequel I may be ravenously drooling over...

If you like slow burn romances with morally grey characters, rich fantasy settings, witty banter, and the eternal struggle of morality, you'll love this book!

Thank you, NetGalley and Kathryn Ann Kingsley, for the opportunity to read this book. These thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

In To Charm a Dark Prince we follow Gwen who is teleported from our world to the magical realm of Avalon, a place once filled with magic that’s now under the ruthless rule of Prince Mordred, known as the iron prince. He holds total power over Avalon and keeps all magical beings locked away in a crystal prison. Bad luck for Gwen who finds out she has elemental powers in this world. But with the the iron prince showing her unexpected kindness it leaves her wondering who she can trust and if she can ever find a way back home.

This is an isekai fantasy romance with Arthurian legend and Beauty and the Beast vibes. The world and magic is really interesting and I liked the use of Arthurian legend mixed with the world the author has created. The morally gray characters and their motivation provide interesting moral conflict for Gwen, our protagonist, and is great for building tension as we get closer to the story’s climax. There was nice contrast between the naive but relatable Gwen and Mordred’s dark intensity which suited this slow burn enemies to lovers story. This is book one in a series and while the book does end in a cliffhanger, the story and ending still feels satisfying while leaving the reader eagerly anticipating what will come next. I’m really looking forward to seeing the characters and the world be developed more. It was a really enjoyable start to a new series and it made me want to check out more from this author while waiting for the next book to come out especially since it looks like there is a connection between the world in this book and her other stories which would be really fun if that’s the case.

This is a great autumn read that can be read in one sitting. (I know this because I couldn’t put it down) If you love mystery, dark fairytales, elemental magic, and fantasy romance, you should check it out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a slow burn and totally addictive fantasy romance.

It is the first one in a new series that is just finding its feet, as i do feel the the characters do need to be more fleshed out but I’m sure that will happen in the following books which i hope there will be many.

I liked to two leads the young heroine who is very naive and a little annoying but very likeable and the hero/villain with his dark brooding side and will love you so fierce that he will start a war for you.

I love how the tension builds between them and i will look forward to how that happens in the next in the series

Thank you Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

"Boyfriend's betrayal. House on fire. Portal to somewhere. Falling to her death. Waking up in a flaming crater unable to burn. Naked. And now her cat could talk. Sure. Okay. Fine."

A quick thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Second Sky for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let's start with Gwen. Gwen is a 19 year old stuck in her hometown. After she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, while attending the college she couldn't afford, Gwen finds herself wishing for a new life. That wish is granted when she is catapulted into Avalon right into the arms of the iron prince himself, Mordred.

Mordred has contained all elemental magic of his world within a prison in the form of a giant crystal. That is, until Gwen quite literally falls from the sky. But will he imprison her too? Or has the prince learned the error of his ways?

This one is getting 4.5 stars from me because I think this really set up a fun series that piqued my interest enough to want the next book. Gwen was immature but also relatable, and Mordred was the dark, brooding prince most of us look for in our fantasy reads.

I did find some of the story underdeveloped, but I've come to expect that with starting books in a series. I believe this set up the next book perfectly and I'm excited to see what happens in the world of Avalon, and more importantly what happens between Mordred and Gwen.

To Charm a Dark Prince is a slow burn story full of angst, sexual tension, and betrayal. Fast-paced and addictive, you wont be able to put it down!

This is a classic morally grey character getting with the "evil" character and I'm here for it! This book screams fantasy and I'm so glad to see a wonderful plot amongst some good spice as well. The book really steps up to make the book a romantic fantasy and not a fantasy romance in some spots. Although, it does fall into a lot of the same tropes as other books. But that's just what makes it such a comfort read.