Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Maniscalco

Here is a summary with spoilers for Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Maniscalco

Prince Sloth has been searching for the Book of Nightmares for some time. He wants to retrieve the book as the Goddess of Night has been tormenting his realm for some time, and he believes the book will finally put an end to the torment.

Lore Brimstone is a librarian in a small town and has a big imagination. She lives with her parents and brother in a loving home, but the books she reads have her yearning for adventure. One day she encounters a traveling caravan, and a mysterious man gives her a glowing stone that he says is called a Phoenix Tear. As Lore grabs the stone, she is pulled into a portal and into an unknown world.

Prince Sloth gets pulled into a new realm as well, this time into the realm of Somnia, which is associated with the Goddess of Nightmares. While trying to figure out his surroundings, a human girl arrives, and while he is distracted, he realizes he is on top of a volcano surrounded by lava. He gets injured fast and tries to tell the girl to run, but instead she comes to his rescue and tries to save him. Some of his last thoughts before he passes out are that she is an idiot for coming to help, as he will just heal and come right back.

Lore does not understand how she got to this new realm, but knows she needs to hold onto the stone and stick close to the man she just saved on the volcano. When he finally comes to, the two make brief introductions before he suggests that they start getting further away from the danger. On the walk, Lore starts to get hypothermia, and it only gets worse as Sloth ties her to a tree while he goes out searching for secure spots. When he returns she is passed out, and he realizes he needs to get her back to a normal temperature. After a very long night where he was not sure if she would make it, she finally gets back to a normal temperature and he feels okay leaving her for a moment. He then is able to get some of his power back and take her back home, and he starts researching the realm and what just happened. He then sees Lore come to him and start talking to him, but very quickly he realizes that it is not her and the woman stabs him instead. Sloth realizes that it was the goddess who used her likeness to do so, and it was all done in a dream.

When Lore wakes up, she is in the arms of her mysterious man, but now he has a knife in him. She quickly gets it out so he can start healing. He then tells her about the dream he had, and continues to tell her his true identity as a Prince of Sin. Lore is shocked as she thought the princes were all just a myth. The two then set off to look for more shelter, and they end up finding an inn, but it only has one bed. Lore, the book lover, thinks it is quite funny that she is living one of her favorite tropes with a beautiful man. Then she realizes that she has also been living the adventure that she has been yearning for ever since she first entered Somnia. She makes this observation to Sloth, and he tells Lore that he believes her to be a Dreamweaver. This means that he thinks the two of them are not in a different realm, but rather they are in her dreams, and she is in full control, which is why they are living her book fantasies. Sloth believes that in order to get out of the dreams the Goddess of Nightmares has put them in, Lore is going to need to go through a series of trials, which are going to include some of her book tropes and fantasies. He starts to train her quickly to work with her mind so the Goddess cannot mess with her too much.

Thus start the trials, and the two are quickly taken through a number of different scenarios and adventures. Lore meets one of her book boyfriends, who she learns she cannot be fully obsessed with. After completing that, the trial turns into a regency romance ball, where she and Sloth get a little closer, especially when Sloth makes a scene by asking to dance with Lore multiple times. From there the two go to pirates, where their relationship turns into banter. But during this trial, Lore starts to realize that even though she has the stone, she does not think she can control the dreams anymore. Sloth meanwhile realizes that he is having strong feelings towards Lore, so much so that he makes a move on her and kisses her. The two sleep next to each other that night, but then the dream finally changes, this time into a full battle, and the two get separated. Lore gets introduced to the fae, whom she thought would be amazing, but quickly finds out is a terrible experience.

Meanwhile, Sloth is frantically looking for Lore. He is willing to kill anyone in his way. He realizes that Lore is his mate and becomes even more desperate to get back to her. When he finally finds her and saves her from the fae brutes, they have an intimate moment together and he admits he loves her, though soon after they are split up again during another fight.

The fight is Lore’s last trial. She is taken right back to her home, back to the caravan that gave her the stone. They tell her she has been gone for mere moments, not the days that she thought. She starts to realize that she is acting crazy, but then she sees Sloth, who is trying to take the stone from her and acting like he does not know her. She realizes it is still part of her trial and is able to shift the dream yet again. From here Lore realizes that she herself is the Goddess of Nightmares. She is the one doing this to herself. She starts to fight her inner self and uses the Phoenix Tear stone to make sure that evil part is gone. Sloth is there near the end to help encourage her through it all. Once the dust settles and it is just Lore, Sloth is there to help. Lore still wants to help the realm of Somnia, but is also ready to leave it. Sloth tells her he loves her again and then reveals that they are mates. He offers a marriage proposal and says that she and her family can move in with him into his realm. Lore agrees, and then Sloth tells her what is required for a mating ceremony.

Back in Sloth’s realm, the two try to wait to complete the ceremony, but after a few days they just cannot wait any longer and they finally complete it, making both of them much stronger. Lore is happy to have her new life, her new library in her husband’s realm, and unlimited adventures coming her way.