A Deal with the Shadow King

Curse of the Fae, Book 1

By: Anya J. Cosgrove

Narrated by: Lilly Drake, Anthony Palmini

A spirited princess. A cursed king. A forbidden love that could ruin or save them both.

My father sold me to the Shadow King.

Faerie is a completely different world than the one I'm used to. Winged creatures fly in and out of mirrors, and fantastical gardens conceal treacherous illusions.

Shadows draw me in a little more for each day my magic grows, but I can't afford to let my guard down.

To survive, I must play by the king's rules and protect myself from the nightmares, dreams, and fantasies that govern his seductive realm. Most of all, I must resist him.

If I don't, my kingdom will fall.

Nothing will get in the way of my duty, not even a witty beauty like Penelope Darcy.

The Shadow Court is in ruins. The rules of the curse are simple—they draw our enemies away and keep us safe.

She can't know my secret.

But I'm hungry for her.

This novel is a full-length romantasy with a happy ending for our main couple. It's part of an interconnected series with a story arc spanning across multiple books, but each book will feature a different romance and a new couple.

Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone collide in this enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, slow-burn romance perfect for fans of ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, and The Ever King. This MF series is perfect if you love feisty, magic heroines; morally gray, broody heroes; curses and secrets; and dual POVs. For mature listeners.

©2024 Anya J Cosgrove (P)2025 Podium Audio

Why wasn’t this a duet??

I just won’t give anything a five star anymore unless it’s a duet. I got this because it had two narrators and I love Anthony Palmini, but you hardly get to hear him at all. And bless him, much as I love him, his voice for Nell was cringe. If it was done in duet format, it could’ve been a five star book easily. I know this was done to save a buck but truly, they would sell more audiobooks this way. It makes such a huge difference. Both narrators are very talented, to be fair; it’s just asking the impossible. Anyway, I can’t imagine in 2025, it’s that hard to do, even across distances. The story was good. It just all could’ve been so much better if they’d invested the extra money and time for duet narration.

Excellent story!! Could’ve left out the spice.

If our heart is not in spice can we not please? Cuz it’s cute and all but it ruins it if it isnt serious. The story was awesome though! I’d have just read it for that! Emotional growth was pretty good. World building is 9/10 cuz I feel we missed out on a lot that could’ve been done with the world. I’m reading the others though so it’s not bad. Just some small things.

Storyline was ok

Narration was really slow and made me lose interest. Had to speed it up to 1.20. which made it so much better. I wouldn't say this had spice, it was just a few scenes that were thrown in awkwardly. The storyline was ok. I felt it could have been more developed. If not for the intimate scenes, I'd say this book would be better suited for YA readers.

Lilly Drake and Anthony Palmini NEVER disappoint!!

I received this ALC from Podium Entertainment and I have to start by saying that Lilly Drake and Anthony Palmini always make the audiobooks sound so good. There is nothing they can be featured on that I don’t want to listen to. They made this book so gripping that I am already looking to listening to book 2.

The book itself was amazing. It was a dark fantasy romance with a feeling of beauty and the beast. Penelope was forced to travel to meet the Shadow King because her dad made a deal with the Fae. However all her life she was taught to fear and except them to be the absolute worst. However upon being there things ultimately shift. Things are not what they seem and every aspect of what she has know is no longer. This book had me gripped. The slow burn and steamy romance was right up my allies. The twist along the book had me freezing in place waiting to hear what was happening.

Really Good

I absolutely loved this book. The voice actors are perfect. The story is really good. I love when you read/listen to a book and then want to reread it again right after.