Title: The Shadow Prince
Author: Bree Despain
Series: Into the Dark #1
Genre: YA Mythology, Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 512 pages
Release Date: March 11th 2014
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Source: eARC received by publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for honest review

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Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.

Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.

Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.


I am a sucker for all things Greek Mythology and this book is seeping with it, and that is why I knew I had to read it. And I am glad I did because it was a great start to new and exciting series!

What I think I loved most about this book was the way the story evolved. First we meet Haden who is a very complex and dangerous character, especially since he grew up in the Underworld with no experience with humans. The we meet Daphne who thinks she is an ordinary human but is really the key to Hadens whole world. When these two characters meet it is great collide of cultures of also of personalities. They bicker and fight but you can also tell that there is a hint of intrigue on both sides, and Haden knows there is a ticking clock always following him.

I did feel like this book was a little long winded for me, there were many times where the descriptions and character got to be too much and I think that drove a wedge into my reading experience. I found that there were a lot of characters and many of them had Greek names so they got confusing. I found that I wanted to know more about Haden then any other character because i felt like he had the most intrigue, BUT then there was this amazing twist at the end that blew me away and them everything changed. Daphne was now my main interested and I wanted to know all about the her life because the one we knew as readers was a lie and that was amazing!

Although there is a love interest in this story I loved that it was not your typical "love at first sight" kind of thing. It was actually quite amusing to read because each character felt differently about the other but you could see subtleties that gave clues as to the way they really felt. I liked that a lot.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Although it was quite long winded i thought the two main characters were great and entertaining and then the end happened and it made me crave the next installment. If you love Greek mythology at all this book is for you.