• Curse of Shadows and Thorns

  • The Broken Kingdoms, Book 1
  • By: LJ Andrews
  • Narrated by: Stina Nielsen
  • Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (754 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Curse of Shadows and Thorns  By  cover art

Curse of Shadows and Thorns

By: LJ Andrews
Narrated by: Stina Nielsen
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $33.90

Buy for $33.90

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A rebellious princess. A cursed rogue. A forbidden love that will bring a kingdom to its knees.

As niece of the king, Elise Lysander cares about two things: sneaking into gambling dens, and avoiding an advantageous marriage at all costs.

When her uncle holds the life of her deathly ill father over her head, reluctantly, Elise puts her fate into the hands of Legion Grey, the handsome and mysterious dowry negotiator. He may be arrogant and infuriating, but soon Legion incites a blistering, forbidden passion she can’t ignore.

As their attraction grows, so do the dangers: attacks from black-eyed people, a cursed enemy who is more beast than man, and rumors of fae returning for the crown they believe was stolen from them long ago.

After a bloody coup upends the kingdom, Elise flees with Legion, but nothing is as it seems. The man she allowed into her heart reveals his own secret plans with the return of magic—and he has every intention of using Elise to see them through.

With war between magic and mortal on the horizon, Elise must pick a side to protect her kingdom. Does she stand with her people who stole the throne? Or with a man who lied his way into her heart and whose secret past could bring her destruction?

Filled with luscious world building, banter-filled romance, and epic battles, Curse of Shadows and Thorns is the first book in The Broken Kingdoms series.

©2022 LJ Andrews (P)2022 Podium Audio

What listeners say about Curse of Shadows and Thorns

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    523
  • 4 Stars
    148
  • 3 Stars
    52
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    8
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    557
  • 4 Stars
    81
  • 3 Stars
    30
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    466
  • 4 Stars
    124
  • 3 Stars
    63
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    11

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great concept, poor execution on the writing side

Ok so I have thoughts.

First things first... This is a beauty and the beast retelling and NO one mentions it. There's a bit of insta-love/lust and court intrigue.

My biggest issues are as follows...

⚪ The world building is a bit chaotic. There's a ton of information thrown at the reader and lots of things renamed to be more "fantasy." But readers need a frame of reference and renaming common terms only confuses us more.

⚪ The romance was weird. The FMC finds this guy hot. And apparently sneaks out to gaming halls to stalk him, but she's never talked to him. And suddenly he's in charge of her marriage hunt? And he's just instantly drawn to her? It didn't feel believable. And the whole ending was so bizarre. They seemed like they went from "Ok, we can be friends after I felt betrayed by you" to " I love you, never leave me and I'll die for you!!!" It just threw me... I'm still invested but sceptical.

⚪ The plot was all over the place. I feel like the core story is really good, but there was so much extra fluff and alternative stuff going on that it detached from the main plot. And when the betrayals and court politics begin to unravel a lot of it seemed random and opportunistic for the author rather than well thought out.

This book felt like it was trying to incorporate too much. It has the vibes of being like A Song of the Marked by SM Gaither but didn't execute it well. Like, the author wanted a core group of friends to get that found family vibe but it didn't work at all. The banter fell flat and the characters just didn't seem well thought out. And when someone important dies they do so almost immediately after saying something poignant to the MC. Literally, like 5 seconds after. It was so random. I guess as the reader I was supposed to be upset but because the heartwarming moment barely had time to solidify it just didn't do much for me. I was all, "oh and now they're dead, huh. " Not exactly the reaction I think the author was going for.

Overall
Story ⭐⭐
Spice 🚫
Audio 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (Stina Nelson is always fantastic)

I know this review was negative but I'm hoping the next book fixes a lot of these issues and it's just an issue of the first book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I loved this…with mixed feelings

First, let me say that I loved this book. The reason for that may be heavily influenced by two things: (1) it was narrated by Stina Nielsen, who I love, and (2) its plot and characters are VERY similar to the From Blood and Ashes series by Jennifer Armentrout…which was also narrated by Stina Nielsen. You have to wonder at the coincidence. Not to say that the book doesn’t have its own merit…it’s definitely shaping up to be an outstanding series. It’s just that I wonder how much of my feelings about it are influenced by its similarity to a series I’m crazy about. I am glad that she decided not to voice Legion and Casteel similarly to keep some kind of separation. As much as I love Stina, I may not be able to wait for the next audiobooks since the ebooks are ready and waiting :)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Boring and Uneven

I couldn't finish it. The repetitive angst, the lack of character growth and the superficial story line could not hold my attention. There were moments of interest but the "poor me, no one treats me as a real person" whining by Elise got old. if you like a good Beauty and the Beast story, read Radiance by Grace Draven.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ugh!

SO GOOD!!! I discovered this on TikTok and I can’t believe only the first book is on here. I neeeeeed to know what happens next!!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hot dayum!

This book was great! I loved Elise and her relationships, her bravery, her kind heart & her thirst for adventure.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Obsessed

One of my favorite books! It's an entertaining story and part of a great series overall. The narrator does such a good job, too. I can really get a good sense of each character!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fun read

I really enjoyed this the characters really build and although it's not shocking in it's originality it's still well done. I enjoyed it so much I'm starting the 2nd book immediately which I haven't done with any series in a while.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

PAINFULLY Dragged out

I LOVE Stina. She is hands down one of my favorite narrators. I did also like this book. BUT I found myself passing out because not until the last 3 chapters did things start to pick up get intriguing and the plot started coming together. This was a s**t ton of filler. I will get the next book and I PRAY 🙏 that it continues the momentum from the last few chapters and doesn't get stagnant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

FBAA Vibes

The vast majority of this book felt like an alternate telling of From Blood and Ash from the first chapter to the last. Everything from the mention of “second <relative type>” and “pure maidens” vs “Royal society” vs “insurrectionists” style writing. I’m not saying it’s a bad book because i definitely finished it quickly but it felt extremely familiar having read FBAA last year.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This one’s a no brainer!!

G dammit Stina is the best narrator.
Every time I see her listed as the narrator on a book I know it’s going to be good narration. She is able to really convey the emotion in each character, and she never uses cringe voices! I will say she definitely doesn’t talk too fast.. I like listening to her on 1.5x speed to keep it moving haha (just another reason why I love audible). I really enjoyed this book so much. I didn’t think it dragged out at all, in fact I usually get bored with books but I never once got bored. Each interaction had a purpose. I thought it was going to be predictable but there are more twists than you might think ;) and there are even more coming. Read it!
PS. Tim freaking narrates the MMC in the next book- just another reason to read it :) he’s soo good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!