A Dance of Shadows

The Royal Spares, Book 3

By: Eva Chase

Narrated by: Meg Sylvan, Aaron Shedlock

How can you win against the man who makes the rules?

An unexpected confession from my husband has left me reeling. How can I trust him after everything he's put me through? This feels like one more layer in his sadistic game.

I can't let his secret matter, not when I'm so close to claiming the empire and setting all its horrors right with the princes I love by my side.

But as we set off on a tour of the conquered countries, my resolve is tested at every turn. One moment, my husband is reveling in tormenting the innocent—the next, he's proving he can be as tender as he is cruel. To play to win, I have to walk a tightrope between both sides.

Is it possible part of him could be redeemed? Uncovering the answer could lead me to my greatest victory—or my most fatal mistake.

*A Dance of Shadows is the third book in a new fantasy romance series with a sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance, smoldering morally grey men, and a determined heroine they'll regret underestimating. There is one more book to come.*

©2025 Eva Chase (P)2025 Eva Chase

The Royal Tour

I didn't know what to expect following the cliffhanger ending to the preceding book, which was certainly shocking! Most of this book takes place as Aurelia and both emperors are touring all the defeated kingdoms of the Empire, meeting all the Royal families within their kingdoms. Whilst the Royals and their subjects are terrorised by their Emperor, Aurelia tries to let them know she is on their side, something she has to do without appearing to be treasonous, a difficult task while trying to manoeuvre her way around court politics.

On the Royal tour, she too has to endure much at the hands of her "husband", but she still manages to find some time to meet with the men who hold her heart.

This instalment flowed well and kept me hooked while continuing to move the plot along, though at times it did seem a little slow. Aurelia's life is in danger from an unknown source, and her three Princes have their hands full keeping their vow to protect her no matter what!

Once again, we are left with a humdinger of an ending, leaving me eager to listen to the next and final book in this incredible series.

The narration is perfect, Meg Sylvan and Aaron Shedlock bring all the important players to life wonderfully.

enjoyed

picks up where the last book leaves off and it doesn't slow down. As they travel the kingdoms things get progressively worse. A must listen and/or read.

I enjoyed this listen 🎶.

Well now continued twists and revelations throughout this very complicated thorough story. There's enough detailed descriptions you'll be immersed into the story with the characters. The emperor doesn't cease to amaze with his treatment of his subjects and even his wife. There is DA so if that's a trigger be warned.

Amazing! Want book four!!!!!!!

Storyline is long but well worth the wait. The action is wonderful. You don’t know if you should hate or love the main character.

Difficult Choices, Deceptions, & a little Heat

It took me some time to get back into the swing of this series with the start of this book but once I did I couldn't put it down. Chase continues her excellent character development and world building to expand on her already expansive world environment and to add even more depth to complex characters. This installment in the series allows us to gain even more background knowledge into the princes, Lorenzo, Bastien, and Raul, emperor(s) Marc & Linus, and our FMC, Aurelia. Morally grey is definitely the descriptor of the day when it comes to the twins, Marc more than Linus. Linus falls heavily into the villain box but it was interesting to see that the cruelty Marc subjected others to in the first book, was almost as bad as Linus' but becomes even more devastating considering his character growth. The conflict within Aurelia, feels extremely real. Overall the book really added much to the overall story and I can't wait to read/listen to the conclusion. The narrators food a brilliant job once again making each character distinctive and solidifying the complexity that Chase brings with her writing. 🌶️ 2.5/5