Paranormal Romance — slow burn romance, happily ever after, swoony romance reads.A fae prince who burns with vengeance. A human woman who carries his secret. And a court where one wrong move means death. In the vein of dark fantasy romance with forbidden love and a hidden child, this grumpy-sunshine vampire romance will shatter your heart before piecing it back together. Riona Hartley has spent years hiding from the fae who slaughtered her family, scraping by in the mortal realm with her younger sister, Lily. But when Lily is taken to fulfill a blood tithe owed to the cruel High Lord of the Court of Thorns, Riona has no choice but to enter the deadly faerie lands she swore to avoid. Her only hope is a bargain with the prince she once saved as a child—Prince Caelan, a vampire-fae hybrid cursed to serve his tyrannical father. Caelan is as cold as the winter storms that ravage his court, his heart locked behind walls of rage and grief. He agrees to help Riona, but only on one condition: she must pose as his intended bride to infiltrate the royal household and gather secrets that could bring down the High Lord. Riona agrees, knowing that every smile she gives the prince is a lie, and every stolen glance is a betrayal of her own heart. But the closer they get to the truth, the harder it becomes to ignore the heat that smolders between them—and the secret Riona has kept buried for seven years: a child, conceived in a single night of desperate passion before she fled the fae realm. When the High Lord discovers the boy’s existence, he demands the child as the ultimate sacrifice to cement his power. Riona faces an impossible choice: reveal her son and doom him to a life of servitude, or keep her silence and watch Lily die under the tithe. Meanwhile, Caelan must decide between the freedom he has craved for centuries and the woman who makes him feel something other than hatred. As a coup brews within the court, old alliances shatter, and a new enemy emerges from the shadows—one who knows the truth about Riona’s bloodline and the prophecy that could either save or destroy them all. Tropes: grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity, forbidden romance, secret baby, enemies-to-lovers, one bed, who did this to you, fae politics, vampire romance, morally gray hero, strong-willed heroine. This is the first book in the A Court of Thorns and Shadows series, a dark paranormal romance saga of power, sacrifice, and the bonds that refuse to break. If you love the passion of Sarah J. Maas, the gothic tension of Anne Rice, and the secret-baby angst of J.R. Ward, you will devour this tale. The series continues in A Court of Moon and Embers, where Riona and Caelan’s son comes of age and must claim his own throne.Perfect for readers who love **Harley Laroux** and **Liv Zander**.