Think twice if…
- Content warnings: Sexual content, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Classism, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Captivity, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Parental death, Sex work, Manipulation
The Starlit Shadow
by Cidney Mayes
Book 1 in Starlight and Shadows
Sorsha and Corvus have instant heat, terrible timing, and exactly the kind of political mess that makes every soft moment feel expensive. The bargain starts as survival, then turns into forbidden magic, fae power plays, and a love story with teeth.
Quick fit
Is this story right for you?
A decision-first view of the reading experience.
Length360 pages
Series statusOngoing series
Spice3/5 · Passionate / intense
PacingFast
Story profile
What the story promises
The strongest reviewed signals about romance, fantasy, and the reading experience.
Romance promise
- Enemies to lovers
- Male/female pairing (M/F)
- Instant attraction
- Medium
- Passionate / intense
- The angst delivered
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- Rogue/scoundrel
- Forbidden love
- Taboo / forbidden
- Book hangover incoming
- Golden retriever
- Star-crossed
- Desperate / urgent
- The swoon
- Secretly soft
- Power imbalance
- Explicit but vanilla
- Protective love interest
- Class difference
- Tension
- He falls first
- Longing glances
- Possessive love interest
- Eye contact intensity
- Touch starvation
Fantasy promise
- Romantasy
- Fae romance
- Secret society / club
- Fae realm / faerie courts
- Fae
- Royal court / palace
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- Regency/victorian
- Undercover/spy romance
- Contract/transactional romance
- Star-crossed lovers
- Political intrigue
- Hidden identity
Reading experience
- Dual POV
- Fast
- Romantic
- Lush
- Moderate
- Spy/thief
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- Dark
- Atmospheric
- Survivor
- Seductive
- Performer
- Tense
- Fast-paced
- Ambitious schemer
- Magical
- Adventurous
- Fae courts and politics
- Bargain with consequences
- Court of shadows
- Forbidden knowledge
Similar stories
Similar in ways that matter
Matched by the most important shared story signals, with the tradeoffs made explicit.
217 pages Completed
Heart of Silk and Shadows
Lisette Marshall
Similar because
Contract/transactional romance · Taboo / forbidden · Secretly soft
Different because
Spice is higher (4/5 vs 3/5). Medium pacing rather than Fast.
324 pages Completed
Blood Kin
M.J. Scott
Similar because
Undercover/spy romance · Secretly soft · Protective love interest
416 pages Completed
Heartless Hunter
Kristen Ciccarelli
Similar because
Star-crossed lovers · Undercover/spy romance · Hidden identity
Book details
- Length
- 360 pages
- Publisher
- Cranthorpe Millner Publishers
- Language
- English
- Format
- Book