Think twice if…
- Content warnings: Sexual content, Dubious consent, Violence
A Deal with the Shadow King
by Anya J. Cosgrove
Book 1 in Curse of the Fae
A dark fae bargain with Beauty and the Beast bones, Hades-and-Persephone flavor, and enough late-book chaos to make the soft-focus cover feel like a lie.
goodreads 3.66/5 5,291 ratings
storykind_community 5/5 1 rating
Quick fit
Is this story right for you?
A decision-first view of the reading experience.
Length358 pages
Series statusOngoing series
Spice4/5 · Passionate / intense
PacingMedium
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)
- Slow burn
- High
- Passionate / intense
- The swoon
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- Cursed
- Forbidden love
- Rough / primal
- Book boyfriend/girlfriend acquired
- Morally gray
- Morally gray love interest (LI)
- Kinky / adventurous
- Tension finally satisfied
- Push and pull
- Power dynamic
- Possessive love interest
- Possessive / claiming
- Fantasy / supernatural intimacy
- Power imbalance
- Slow seduction
- Longing glances
- Possessive/protective
- Tension
- First time/virgin romance
- Eye contact intensity
- Possessive
- Sharing/passing
- Gang bang themes
- Dubious consent elements
- Magic-infused intimacy
Fantasy promise
- Romantasy
- Fae romance
- Royal court / palace
- Fae realm / faerie courts
- Fae
- High fantasy
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- Cursed love interest
- Beauty and the beast
- Fairytale retelling
- Forced proximity
- Dark romance
- Mythology retelling
Reading experience
- Dual POV
- Medium
- Dark
- Atmospheric
- Moderate
- Royalty
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- Dreamy
- Seductive
- Magical
- Mysterious
- Dangerous
- Court of shadows
- Beauty and the Beast retelling
- Hades and Persephone retelling
- Fae courts and politics
- Forbidden desire
Similar stories
Similar in ways that matter
Matched by the most important shared story signals, with the tradeoffs made explicit.
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Similar because
Dreamy · Fairytale retelling · Cursed
Different because
A longer read (496 vs 358 pages).
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Similar because
Beauty and the beast · Fantasy / supernatural intimacy · Push and pull
Different because
A longer read (472 vs 358 pages).
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The Curse of the Seelie King
Chloe Everhart
Similar because
Cursed love interest · Cursed · Royalty
Different because
Spice is lower (2/5 vs 4/5).
Book details
- Length
- 358 pages
- Publisher
- Anya J. Cosgrove
- Language
- English
- Format
- Book