What do you think?
Scales of Fate #3
Scales of Fate: The Celestial Princess
An impossible quest. A whispering darkness. And the real irritating siblings and a ridiculous number of princes.
Once in a generation, the Eldest Celestial Princess comes of age. To find a suitable mate for the Empress-to-be, a Celestial Courting Ceremony is called, allowing the princes of the Eight Dragon Kingdoms a chance to compete for the right to rule alongside her as Emperor. It is a tradition as old as the Realm itself.
Virriel would rather read novels than rule an empire, yet whether she likes it or not, she has a secret mission all her own. While the Chosen Princes train for glory, Virriel is to infiltrate each kingdom, alone and disguised, to seduce them before year’s end. Between an overbearing brother, princes kindhearted and repulsive alike, and the weight of a throne she never asked for, Virriel must somehow master self-defense, stealth, Arcane powers, and—Cosmos help her—the art of talking to boys.
If she can thread this delicate needle, she may just avoid catastrophe with her heart and mind intact. If she can’t, she’ll face the wrath of the most powerful being in her mother.
This story contains explicit erotic scenes involving dragons and drakes, not humans or shifters. It also features intense depictions of violence. For mature audiences only.
Once in a generation, the Eldest Celestial Princess comes of age. To find a suitable mate for the Empress-to-be, a Celestial Courting Ceremony is called, allowing the princes of the Eight Dragon Kingdoms a chance to compete for the right to rule alongside her as Emperor. It is a tradition as old as the Realm itself.
Virriel would rather read novels than rule an empire, yet whether she likes it or not, she has a secret mission all her own. While the Chosen Princes train for glory, Virriel is to infiltrate each kingdom, alone and disguised, to seduce them before year’s end. Between an overbearing brother, princes kindhearted and repulsive alike, and the weight of a throne she never asked for, Virriel must somehow master self-defense, stealth, Arcane powers, and—Cosmos help her—the art of talking to boys.
If she can thread this delicate needle, she may just avoid catastrophe with her heart and mind intact. If she can’t, she’ll face the wrath of the most powerful being in her mother.
This story contains explicit erotic scenes involving dragons and drakes, not humans or shifters. It also features intense depictions of violence. For mature audiences only.
416 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 13, 2026
Compared to the first two books, this one is much different as it takes Virriel's perspective.
While a fair part of covers the same time as those, there is no repeat as overlapping events are taken from Virriel's perspective.
The previous installments hinted at some political scheming, but how could there not be in such a setting ?
But here, we have the opportunity to peer deeper in the gears of the realm. What we discover does not bode well for Virriel when she should ascend to her title. The nature of the celestial empress is ominous at best.
So, not only does she have to go from some haughty and contemptuous prince, to a nice one she'll leave heartbroken to achieve a goal not hers, having little choice in the matter, but her very self is in danger.
Let's hope things will get better... in the meantime, at least they're all having good times when they can.
And I'm sooo immensely relieved that there was no soup kink in that one. *That* really went too far. The author pretended it was a typo but I know better :-D
While a fair part of covers the same time as those, there is no repeat as overlapping events are taken from Virriel's perspective.
The previous installments hinted at some political scheming, but how could there not be in such a setting ?
But here, we have the opportunity to peer deeper in the gears of the realm. What we discover does not bode well for Virriel when she should ascend to her title. The nature of the celestial empress is ominous at best.
So, not only does she have to go from some haughty and contemptuous prince, to a nice one she'll leave heartbroken to achieve a goal not hers, having little choice in the matter, but her very self is in danger.
Let's hope things will get better... in the meantime, at least they're all having good times when they can.
And I'm sooo immensely relieved that there was no soup kink in that one. *That* really went too far. The author pretended it was a typo but I know better :-D
June 5, 2026
In the first book, a prince crawled out from the darkness of the Burrows — one of many, a single gear in a vast machine. Yet a thread of hope moved him forward. In the second, a kingdom was torn apart, and every step forward came with a price — but the prince was never truly alone, as long as she was near. Now, at last, that thread of hope was supposed to take shape. Take wings.
The second most powerful figure in the Realm. How did she come to stand where she does? And when she faces the Realm's most dangerous secret — what will she become?
That's what I was waiting for. Until I finished this book.
The second most powerful figure in the Realm. How did she come to stand where she does? And when she faces the Realm's most dangerous secret — what will she become?
That's what I was waiting for. Until I finished this book.
September 25, 2026
THIS SERIES IS PEAK! I really enjoy how this book bridges all the gaps between books 1 and 2 AND does an amazing job showing the emotional rollarcoaster the princess has to go through. This series is so smutty but also very emotional and dear to my heart.
June 4, 2026
9.2/10
Three books in and I'm hooked. I can't wait to see how this saga ends because it's such an enigma for me and I don't know how to respond in any way but with eagerness. I read a lot of romantasy, and I write a lot of fantasy erotica. I'm quite familiar with the inner workings of explicit scenes. I've made a point of trying to find the most outlandish and creative spicy bits in the genre that I can find on audible and in the publishing sector but not a lot really works for me. This, though? This hits me hard. I've been responsible for helping others find new things they never knew they were into but it's not often I find a piece of media that unlocks something for me.
So it's incredibly special to think that these books have done that for me.
To back up a bit, I'm a writer myself. Like I said, I write a lot of erotica myself and have no qualms about going off the deep end with the scenes I write. I have always intended to eventually publish books, but until recently I lacked the confidence to do it. You know, the usual crap. “What if my stuff doesn't sell? What if there's no market for my particular brand of spicy fantasy?” And of course the age old “What if I'm not good enough?” So I've been 'practicing' for decades instead of just doing it, but now that I've been able to get into reading more I can say with confidence I know I'm good enough. I just needed to also find out if there was a market for my particular blend of fun stuff.
So from the get-go my intention was to read romantasy because it's the closest to what I write. Fantasy with new worlds to explore, and a lot of spice. Hopefully. I was doing market research but found that I did in fact enjoy it, which is good. Most of the genre is trashy but that didn't stop me. Once I dipped my toes into the genre I started seeking just how creative the spice got and that's where I got bored. Once I started looking for truly creative material it became increasingly clear that the entire Romantasy genre is just the same half dozen tropes remixed to hell and they're almost never good because the audience doesn't care about quality, they just want their daily fix of needlessly contentious 'enemies' being brats before deciding to be lovers on a whim. It's not about good storytelling, it's about getting off.
And that's sort of where a disconnect started brewing. I'm very pro smut. I love kinky scenes. But I don't really get the same visceral reaction other people do. Especially not when all the participants are functionally just humans doing it in the most vanilla way. Doubly disappointing when it takes place in a fantasy world where there's so much more room for creativity than just your basic vanilla fun. But since an overwhelming percentage of the stuff I've found in the Romantasy genre is vanilla and boring, I just find myself skimming over the scenes or tuning out. I like spice. I want spice. I am actively seeking spice and am making an effort to find the most creative stuff out there. But I still end up not caring much because it's always so boring.
Which is sort of indicative of the whole genre, honestly. Romantasy on the whole has so much potential to be a mixture of everything I want in a book. It can be epic, it can be awesome, it can be dramatic, it can be tense, it can be romantic, it can be spicy, it can be violent, it can be creative. My ideal genre to write within is a version of fantasy that doesn't exist. A version that's basically the world building and quality writing of someone like Brandon Sanderson with the spice level and style of Scales of Fate (See? I am able to bring it around to the subject at hand).
What I want is an epic story that has a lot of good world building and interesting magic systems, but for some reason nobody's able to write books that have that but aren't afraid to be salacious. It's like writing a good book means you can't also write sexy scenes. It can't be both sides of the coin, despite there being a genre named after the fusion of the fantasy I want and the romance I need. Normally I'd accept that if it's a romance book then you can forgive lacklustre world building or eschew complex plot navigation since that's not the point. The romance is the point. But that always sucks, too. Like I said, just the same stupid assed tropes being added to a list to appeal to people seeking that trope with little to no understanding as to why those tropes are interesting. Just needlessly contentious brats for characters pumping up the drama like it's a soap opera but in a fantasy world.
If your book is about dragon riders, then I want the dragons to be involved as much as the riders. I don't think that's too much to ask. If you're going to not bother with writing good world building or plot, then at least give me a fun romance within this poorly developed world. And if all else fails, just give me some creative spice using your magic systems. There are so many ways to salvage the genre and most books fail at every opportunity.
Which was why this whole series so far has been so refreshing to me. It's not trend-chasing so it's clear the plot, the characters, and indeed the spice are all the focus here. I don't feel like I know all that much about the world these stories takes place in but that's fine because I love the characters, I love the romances, and in a twist I never expected the spicy bits worked their magic on me. Something that has almost never happened for me. I love to write this sort of thing but reading it doesn't really do much for me. But this? This series has awakened things in me and gave me things I didn't know I wanted as well as satisfied the things I've been asking for.
I won't go into great detail about the plot, but the core concept of the story on its own is kind of silly. She's gotta 'collect' dragon essence from the chosen princes, and it specifically has to be inside her lady bits. On the surface, that just seems like a silly excuse to write some dragon smut. And it probably is. But once the reason for it is explained, why it has to be 'essence' and why it has to be collected inside her, I couldn't help but rub my chin and nod my head. Like, yeah, that's a bit silly and convoluted but you made me get invested in a quest to collect cuMacguffin, and in spite of it being an excuse to write dragon erotica, it also had a lot of heart.
I love Virriel. I love both the prior drakes in the first two books. I love the story, even if it's a bit simple. And most shocking of all, the spicy bits are not just sultry but actually had plot significance. Finally, a book that blended the kinky bits I love to read and write with the romance I need to see more of and the fantasy that fuels my soul. A near perfect blend of the things I want to see in this kind of book. And above all else, it turns out I'm more into 'pheromone play' than I realized, and there are a few other kinks in this book series that awakened things in me I didn't know were there.
I was going to give this four stars because honestly the writing is a wee bit clunky at times (there's a lot of instances of using the same descriptor multiple times in the same paragraph, and there were a lot of situations where we were just suddenly in a new place doing new things with little to no indication, which might have been the audiobook narration; I wouldn't see paragraph breaks) and a few elements of the ending bothered me. But then when I took some time to reflect upon the time I had and how many elements of the story stood out to me as relatively unique or unheard of in books that I keep coming across, I couldn't help but bump it up to 5-stars.
Scales of Fate, though way too viscerally violent in the first two but luckily not so much here, has given me the sort of spicy fantasy book I've been looking for. Story and world building wise it reminds me a lot of Wings of Fire, which I think was intentional and very much so a good thing since I've been in love with those books ever since beginning to read them a few months ago. It plays with fantasy magic in its spicy scenes, which is something that is woefully lacking in most of the romantasy books I Read. It has characters I care about and despite being primarily smut, there are romantic elements here that make me care more than I figure I should.
It's a smut series with actual plot and characters I care about. Why is that so difficult for most writers to do? Hell, even I'm not entirely convinced I can do that, so I will be leaning a bit more into the creative spice. But here? Well, there's a reason I picked this book up the moment I saw it was on sale and ripped through it in two days (which is very quick for me.) One of the only book series that has gotten the visceral reaction out of me that every romantasy fails to do, all while also creating a world I want to visit and characters I want to know.
I'm eager to see where this goes next but potentially sad for it to be over in a book or two from now. I want to read all about the celestial princess choosing her prince, the fun times they have together, and the world altering results from their union. Not a lot of writers can get me excited like these do, and I think at least some of that is because Scales of Fate is a fantasy that isn't afraid to incorporate the fantasy elements into the smut. I've said before I wanna see an epic fantasy like Stormlight Archive with spice, this is what I imagine Wings of Fire would be like with spice and I can't ask for more.
Sorry for the rambling review. There's room for improvement but I had a great time and I sincerely wish more books were like this. I want to see more books that are fantasy and romance and both halves of the equation get love and spice.
More like this, please.
9.2/10
Three books in and I'm hooked. I can't wait to see how this saga ends because it's such an enigma for me and I don't know how to respond in any way but with eagerness. I read a lot of romantasy, and I write a lot of fantasy erotica. I'm quite familiar with the inner workings of explicit scenes. I've made a point of trying to find the most outlandish and creative spicy bits in the genre that I can find on audible and in the publishing sector but not a lot really works for me. This, though? This hits me hard. I've been responsible for helping others find new things they never knew they were into but it's not often I find a piece of media that unlocks something for me.
So it's incredibly special to think that these books have done that for me.
To back up a bit, I'm a writer myself. Like I said, I write a lot of erotica myself and have no qualms about going off the deep end with the scenes I write. I have always intended to eventually publish books, but until recently I lacked the confidence to do it. You know, the usual crap. “What if my stuff doesn't sell? What if there's no market for my particular brand of spicy fantasy?” And of course the age old “What if I'm not good enough?” So I've been 'practicing' for decades instead of just doing it, but now that I've been able to get into reading more I can say with confidence I know I'm good enough. I just needed to also find out if there was a market for my particular blend of fun stuff.
So from the get-go my intention was to read romantasy because it's the closest to what I write. Fantasy with new worlds to explore, and a lot of spice. Hopefully. I was doing market research but found that I did in fact enjoy it, which is good. Most of the genre is trashy but that didn't stop me. Once I dipped my toes into the genre I started seeking just how creative the spice got and that's where I got bored. Once I started looking for truly creative material it became increasingly clear that the entire Romantasy genre is just the same half dozen tropes remixed to hell and they're almost never good because the audience doesn't care about quality, they just want their daily fix of needlessly contentious 'enemies' being brats before deciding to be lovers on a whim. It's not about good storytelling, it's about getting off.
And that's sort of where a disconnect started brewing. I'm very pro smut. I love kinky scenes. But I don't really get the same visceral reaction other people do. Especially not when all the participants are functionally just humans doing it in the most vanilla way. Doubly disappointing when it takes place in a fantasy world where there's so much more room for creativity than just your basic vanilla fun. But since an overwhelming percentage of the stuff I've found in the Romantasy genre is vanilla and boring, I just find myself skimming over the scenes or tuning out. I like spice. I want spice. I am actively seeking spice and am making an effort to find the most creative stuff out there. But I still end up not caring much because it's always so boring.
Which is sort of indicative of the whole genre, honestly. Romantasy on the whole has so much potential to be a mixture of everything I want in a book. It can be epic, it can be awesome, it can be dramatic, it can be tense, it can be romantic, it can be spicy, it can be violent, it can be creative. My ideal genre to write within is a version of fantasy that doesn't exist. A version that's basically the world building and quality writing of someone like Brandon Sanderson with the spice level and style of Scales of Fate (See? I am able to bring it around to the subject at hand).
What I want is an epic story that has a lot of good world building and interesting magic systems, but for some reason nobody's able to write books that have that but aren't afraid to be salacious. It's like writing a good book means you can't also write sexy scenes. It can't be both sides of the coin, despite there being a genre named after the fusion of the fantasy I want and the romance I need. Normally I'd accept that if it's a romance book then you can forgive lacklustre world building or eschew complex plot navigation since that's not the point. The romance is the point. But that always sucks, too. Like I said, just the same stupid assed tropes being added to a list to appeal to people seeking that trope with little to no understanding as to why those tropes are interesting. Just needlessly contentious brats for characters pumping up the drama like it's a soap opera but in a fantasy world.
If your book is about dragon riders, then I want the dragons to be involved as much as the riders. I don't think that's too much to ask. If you're going to not bother with writing good world building or plot, then at least give me a fun romance within this poorly developed world. And if all else fails, just give me some creative spice using your magic systems. There are so many ways to salvage the genre and most books fail at every opportunity.
Which was why this whole series so far has been so refreshing to me. It's not trend-chasing so it's clear the plot, the characters, and indeed the spice are all the focus here. I don't feel like I know all that much about the world these stories takes place in but that's fine because I love the characters, I love the romances, and in a twist I never expected the spicy bits worked their magic on me. Something that has almost never happened for me. I love to write this sort of thing but reading it doesn't really do much for me. But this? This series has awakened things in me and gave me things I didn't know I wanted as well as satisfied the things I've been asking for.
I won't go into great detail about the plot, but the core concept of the story on its own is kind of silly. She's gotta 'collect' dragon essence from the chosen princes, and it specifically has to be inside her lady bits. On the surface, that just seems like a silly excuse to write some dragon smut. And it probably is. But once the reason for it is explained, why it has to be 'essence' and why it has to be collected inside her, I couldn't help but rub my chin and nod my head. Like, yeah, that's a bit silly and convoluted but you made me get invested in a quest to collect cuMacguffin, and in spite of it being an excuse to write dragon erotica, it also had a lot of heart.
I love Virriel. I love both the prior drakes in the first two books. I love the story, even if it's a bit simple. And most shocking of all, the spicy bits are not just sultry but actually had plot significance. Finally, a book that blended the kinky bits I love to read and write with the romance I need to see more of and the fantasy that fuels my soul. A near perfect blend of the things I want to see in this kind of book. And above all else, it turns out I'm more into 'pheromone play' than I realized, and there are a few other kinks in this book series that awakened things in me I didn't know were there.
I was going to give this four stars because honestly the writing is a wee bit clunky at times (there's a lot of instances of using the same descriptor multiple times in the same paragraph, and there were a lot of situations where we were just suddenly in a new place doing new things with little to no indication, which might have been the audiobook narration; I wouldn't see paragraph breaks) and a few elements of the ending bothered me. But then when I took some time to reflect upon the time I had and how many elements of the story stood out to me as relatively unique or unheard of in books that I keep coming across, I couldn't help but bump it up to 5-stars.
Scales of Fate, though way too viscerally violent in the first two but luckily not so much here, has given me the sort of spicy fantasy book I've been looking for. Story and world building wise it reminds me a lot of Wings of Fire, which I think was intentional and very much so a good thing since I've been in love with those books ever since beginning to read them a few months ago. It plays with fantasy magic in its spicy scenes, which is something that is woefully lacking in most of the romantasy books I Read. It has characters I care about and despite being primarily smut, there are romantic elements here that make me care more than I figure I should.
It's a smut series with actual plot and characters I care about. Why is that so difficult for most writers to do? Hell, even I'm not entirely convinced I can do that, so I will be leaning a bit more into the creative spice. But here? Well, there's a reason I picked this book up the moment I saw it was on sale and ripped through it in two days (which is very quick for me.) One of the only book series that has gotten the visceral reaction out of me that every romantasy fails to do, all while also creating a world I want to visit and characters I want to know.
I'm eager to see where this goes next but potentially sad for it to be over in a book or two from now. I want to read all about the celestial princess choosing her prince, the fun times they have together, and the world altering results from their union. Not a lot of writers can get me excited like these do, and I think at least some of that is because Scales of Fate is a fantasy that isn't afraid to incorporate the fantasy elements into the smut. I've said before I wanna see an epic fantasy like Stormlight Archive with spice, this is what I imagine Wings of Fire would be like with spice and I can't ask for more.
Sorry for the rambling review. There's room for improvement but I had a great time and I sincerely wish more books were like this. I want to see more books that are fantasy and romance and both halves of the equation get love and spice.
More like this, please.
9.2/10
June 6, 2026
Okay, so this is now the 3rd volume, and im still as hooked as i was with the first book, or the second.
This Continues to be my absolute Favourite Saga, and gods be damned, this plot is legendary.
This time we get the point from Virriel, how she gets through the world, what hardships she endures, and alot of new characters that also get a bit of a build up.
The book is Slow in the beginning, very slow even, but this Helps alot to get a deeper look into virriel. Yes, it maybe is not as action packed as Book 2, but then if you put it into the right timeline, its pace is just how it should be. Like, im amazed how book 1 also was abit slower in the beginning story wise, but picked up a good big during the middle and end, and this is perfectly transfered into this 3rd volumes timeline.
What is amazing to me, is the End. Or rather the last third of the book. This is really again the best story advancedment and plot ive seen in very very few books. I can sadly not tell why, but Trust me bro, this is just amazing.
The plot, how it picks up, where it picks up, and with what speed. we Go from Tense to heated to MACH-5-ACTION-PACKED in literally 2 sentences. To pull that off in any kind of coherent story is usually impossible, but here? i dont know how, but this fits so perfectly well into this whole plot, im still in awe....4 hours after fninishing the book.
So yeah, i could go on and on and praise this book and the series and the plot to the the Stars and Cosmos and beyond, but i think to give you my opinion of this book, this is enough.
Give the Story a Read, Start with book 1, and just enjoy the Ride. Don't get crushed by the Trauma towards your feels meanwhile, and we see ourselves again at book 4.
Thank you for Continuing this work
This Continues to be my absolute Favourite Saga, and gods be damned, this plot is legendary.
This time we get the point from Virriel, how she gets through the world, what hardships she endures, and alot of new characters that also get a bit of a build up.
The book is Slow in the beginning, very slow even, but this Helps alot to get a deeper look into virriel. Yes, it maybe is not as action packed as Book 2, but then if you put it into the right timeline, its pace is just how it should be. Like, im amazed how book 1 also was abit slower in the beginning story wise, but picked up a good big during the middle and end, and this is perfectly transfered into this 3rd volumes timeline.
What is amazing to me, is the End. Or rather the last third of the book. This is really again the best story advancedment and plot ive seen in very very few books. I can sadly not tell why, but Trust me bro, this is just amazing.
The plot, how it picks up, where it picks up, and with what speed. we Go from Tense to heated to MACH-5-ACTION-PACKED in literally 2 sentences. To pull that off in any kind of coherent story is usually impossible, but here? i dont know how, but this fits so perfectly well into this whole plot, im still in awe....4 hours after fninishing the book.
So yeah, i could go on and on and praise this book and the series and the plot to the the Stars and Cosmos and beyond, but i think to give you my opinion of this book, this is enough.
Give the Story a Read, Start with book 1, and just enjoy the Ride. Don't get crushed by the Trauma towards your feels meanwhile, and we see ourselves again at book 4.
Thank you for Continuing this work
June 13, 2026
A worthy continuation to "The Scarred Prince", told from the perspective I was craving for. And no gruesome deaths this time! This third installment delivered everything I was begging for. :)
Review of advance copy received from Author
After finishing this book I really just want to give Virriel a hug, she's been through so much.
This third book in the series has relatively less gore/violent as compared to the previous one, which you may see as something fortunate (or unfortunate, if you're into that sort of thing). However, this book is still very much sharp and capable of cutting you emotionally.
This book answered as many questions as it did open up new ones, as standard Shaidan Barnes fashion (I'm not complaining). I am however refraining from dumping my entire list of theories here because that's for you to uncover and come up yourself!
There are relatively much more raunchy and lewd scenes in this book too (Virriel has a creative mind and imagination), so if you're here just for that, then there's that (do consider reading the book in full!).
All in all, if you've already read the previous books, I'm sure you'll greatly enjoy this one as well.
This third book in the series has relatively less gore/violent as compared to the previous one, which you may see as something fortunate (or unfortunate, if you're into that sort of thing). However, this book is still very much sharp and capable of cutting you emotionally.
This book answered as many questions as it did open up new ones, as standard Shaidan Barnes fashion (I'm not complaining). I am however refraining from dumping my entire list of theories here because that's for you to uncover and come up yourself!
There are relatively much more raunchy and lewd scenes in this book too (Virriel has a creative mind and imagination), so if you're here just for that, then there's that (do consider reading the book in full!).
All in all, if you've already read the previous books, I'm sure you'll greatly enjoy this one as well.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews