Tricia Levenseller, author of Daughter of the Pirate King, is back with an epic YA tale of ambition and love in The Shadows Between Us… him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.
No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.
But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?
“Tricia Levenseller’s latest, The Shadows Between Us, is a decadent and wickedly addictive fantasy, full of schemes and court intrigue, and delightful descriptions of food, which I am always a fan of.” —Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series
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Tricia Levenseller’s latest, The Shadows Between Us, is a decadent and wickedly addictive fantasy, full of schemes and court intrigue, and delightful descriptions of food, which I am always a fan of.
Ooooo this was perfectly conniving and Slytherin—full of political intrigue that I couldn’t get enough of. I’ve been a Hufflepuff all my life and I still appreciate how Slytherin this romance story was. It was so much fun to read! And sometimes I forget how nice it is to read a standalone without having to commit my life to six other books.
I pretty much loved Alessandra from the very beginning when she was bossing her dad around and he followed her like a lost puppy. And I loved the Shadow King too of course. It was awesome how morally gray they both were while still getting me to root for them. These two lie, cheat, and murder their way through life and somehow I had zero problems with it.
Also, the story was great and completely unexpected! I thought I had a pretty good idea on how this was going to end, but there were a couple twists that threw me for a loop. It was great! And can we give a shout out to Levenseller for those wholesome feminist vibes?? Because I was LIVING for them.
—FINAL WORD—
This was such a fun, slytherin romance! TWO THUMBS WAY UP <3
Fun, flirty, humorous, and very stylish. This book was a joy to read. Nothing complicated or dark, just a fun half regency, half modern tale of a woman who thought she had it all planned out until she met her match. I loved The Shadow King, Kallias, from the first page he was introduced and Alessandra was my kind of herione. Funny and bold but also charming in fallable. Great fun.
Wow. Just wow. This book is all things dark and delicious, and the heroine is not for the faint-hearted. I loved her. She’s ruthless, ambitious and Not-Very-Nice.
Plus, can anyone say: Shadow King.
Basically—Girl plans to woo the Shadow King, and once she is his queen, kill him. Of course, twists ensue.
The Shadows Between Us is my favorite kind of fantasy: dark, mesmerizing, and completely addictive. With a gripping mystery and layered characters, it’s a glittering tale of love and the pursuit of power. Put simply: it’s the Slytherin romance we’ve all been waiting for.
Omg I am in love with this book! This is my first five star read for 2020. Tricia Levenseller is a new author for me and I’m so glad that this was my first read of hers, I will definitely be following her for now on. This was an easy read for me and had me wanting to read more and more and not put it down. I only wish the book was longer or that there was a sequel because I want to know more about the characters!
The Shadows Between Us is an exciting novel that leaves the reader uncertain of what to expect from the novel but leaves the reader satisfied.
Interesting Protagonist
What makes The Shadows Between Us entrancing is the protagonist Alessandra. Alessandra is a character worth reading because she is no damsel in distress. She lives in a restricted kingdom, and for a woman, Alessandra lives her life in a carefree manner. Alessandra loves her freedom and fights against the conformity of the court.
However, what truly makes her a compelling narrator is how the novel opens with her remembering how she murdered her ex-lover. Alessandra thought she was in love with him only to discover he was using her and tired of her. Then the story moves on to her trying to win the King’s heart for power as she plots his demise.
However, the murder comes back to haunt her, reflecting her character and the lies she continues to weave as she plays her hand with the king.
It is interesting to follow the Alessandra as she embarks on this journey to prove her worth. Alessandra is not only trying to prove her worth to her father and the king but herself as well. As the second daughter, she is only worth what she can get as a dowry and it cheapens her.
Nevertheless, the fact that Alessandra never relents and faces those who would look down at her with her head held high makes her remarkable. The reader admires her, even if she is a murderess, underhanded, and devious, they do not overshadow her charisma and strength as a character.
Multilayered Storytelling
While the characters themselves are engaging for the reader, what makes the story compelling are the many layers to it. Yes, the novel follows Alessandra trying to become queen, but there is this other story investigating the disappearance of her former lover. And then another story of the former Queen and King’s assassination. The King has brought back all the players who were around the time of his parent’s murder and with Alessandra, they team up to try to solve it. A friendship blossoms there, a real one, before the romance does, giving depth to their relationship.
Now, while all these stories are going on, they blend together. The reader is pulled in by the characters, by their dynamics, and by the stories that keep them on edge. There is much going on, but it is not distracting. Instead, it is compelling, pulling the reader deeper and deeper into the story.
Final Thoughts
The Shadows Between Us is an unexpected delight. The Shadows Between Us is a story with so many layers to it but they build off one another to create a powerful story. The characters have much depth to them a lot of personality that makes them engaging for the reader as well.
The book jacket tells you what to expect, and although the premise isn’t super original (girl ends up falling in love with the boy she absolutely promised not to fall in love with), the variation in the story makes it interesting. And there’s also a murder mystery to keep you on your toes!
It’s also nice that this is a stand-alone book. So many fantasy/YA novels come in series these days, but this story is tightly contained and wraps everything up.
Romance? Tick.
Dark fantasy? Tick.
Totally sassy and stubborn MC? Tick.
Believable romance? Tick.
Amazing love interest? Tick.
Just generally all hands down amazing book? Tick tick tick!
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Great book and something I read in one go. It is an absolute page turner. Loved all of the characters since they were well developed with unique personalities. I liked that I couldn’t quite clarify who was the villain and a hero in the story since everyone had a dark part to them. In my opinion, the ending was a little rushed and quite predictable but I enjoyed every second of it!
4.5 stars.
THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US is the first novel I have read by Tricia Levenseller. I have to admit that the opening line was the first thing to catch my attention, and made me realize I needed to read this book.
“They’ve never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart. And they never will.”
In a society where daughters are “sold” into marriages, and second children are of no importance until the first is married off, it’s all too easy to believe in our main character’s motivations. Alessandra Strathos is a second daughter whose mother passed away when she was young. Ignored by her father who obviously favored her beautiful–but rather unintelligent–sister (who naturally took after his deceased wife), Alessandra took to getting attention elsewhere.
Specifically, from the men around her.
“. . . it has been my experience that most ladies do not like me . . . ”
Unlike her sister, she is remarkably conniving. She knows what she wants, and how to get an edge over everyone she encounters so as to keep her activities secret.
Her grand plan is to get the elusive “Shadow King” to fall in love with her, marry him, and then kill him, in order to take the kingdom for herself.
“. . . they say the Shadow King has some sort of power, but no one knows what it is . . .”
Our other main character–The Shadow King, himself–appears to be just as self-assured and calculating as she.
The characters in this novel were all so well defined, with individual characteristics of their own. The dark humor and sarcasm was laced all throughout–something that always manages to keep my attention. In fact, these secondary characters felt as real to me as the main ones. This is a feat not all authors can pull off successfully.
“. . . I’m reluctant to stab anyone ever again . . . ”
The book had many “side stories” going on that were quite engaging. Aside from the fact that one of the main issues was relatively transparent very early on, the majority were great ways for the author to show us more of the characters and their beliefs/motivations, as well as further the main plot. These insights were often as much “fun” to read about as Alessandra’s plot to rule the entire kingdom.
“. . . Just feel like it, really . . . ”
Overall, I was very impressed with this darkly humorous novel. Everything from the characters, dialog, ideas, and their actions was presented in such a way that I felt as though I could have been watching everything happening before me. There were a few moments where I felt someone was doing something “out of character”, and the one mystery that I found too easy to figure out, but other than those, the scenes flowed well from one to the next. The characters were original and likable in the roles they played, and the action never felt slow or forced to me.
“. . . nothing so dreadful as leaving me. He only died . . .”
I’m looking forward to reading more form this author in the future.
Recommended!
You can purchase a copy here: https://amzn.to/2WcBEX8
This is mehhh. It’s Overhyped
There’s nothing much about this book. Honestly, it’s the most boring fantasy book that I’ve ever read!
Kallias shadows aren’t even useful! Like really have anything to do with the story.
Alessandra has plans. She’s going to win the heart of the Shadow King, marry him, and then kill him for his power and kingdom. Wouldn’t it be horrible if she accidentally falls in love?
This book was INCREDIBLE. It stole my heart from the first line and never let me down once. I loved everything about this book. Every character, every plot twist, ever single line. It was phenomenal. I loved it. LOVED it.
3.5 stars
I liked it. The mystery behind who was trying to kill the Shadow King was good. I liked that Alassandra & the king both wanted women’s equality. But it fell a little short. I didn’t fully understand why alassanda wanted to kill the king originally and the romance between the two had so much potential.
All in all it was an easy entertaining read.
I started reading this book this morning. I did not put it down. I did not get the chance to use a bookmark – I couldn’t stop reading. This book has everything I love: romance, mystery, a fantastical world, and a kicking female MC who takes what she wants.
My Rating: 1/2
Type: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Primary Characters: Shadow king & Alessandra Stathos,
Narration: Limited third party
I am an amateur in this genre and still trying to explore and understand this big fantasy world. I picked this book for 2 reasons. One because of reviews/ popularity and other this being standalone, as many fantasy books are generally series. This dystopian world of power and deception wasn’t for me. This book was severely underdeveloped, and wholly uninspiring. In short I was disappointed.
The plot blurb was really interesting and the beginning was promising. Female protagonist Alessandra was antagonist. She was murderous, self-absorbed and wicked. She has set her eyes on Shadow king. She wants to rule the kingdom, have power, be remembered, and have a strong reputation. Her plan seemed simple. But is it really that simple to work on?
1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.
I was super disappointed with Kallias, the Shadow King. He was supposed to be the strongest and intimidating person in six kingdoms, but he just lagged in all. The man is called the Shadow King and yet we never get more than a passing understanding of what that means. His powers weren’t properly explored.
The voice of the novel didn’t resonate with Shadow world. There was no consistency in writing. Plot era altered from semi-automatic revolver to arrow. From Switching on light to burning candle. It varied in a blink from page to page. Eg- “In the name of Devil” to “Name of God”
There was a lack in character depth. Plot was promising but was very downgraded. Romance was bland with no chemistry. Writing style was pathetic.
I wish The Shadows Between Us would’ve been something more sinister. Sadly, this book just flopped for me. What are your thoughts? Don’t let my thoughts hamper your decision to pick this up. Read and decide for yourself and let me know your views.
Blog — https://meander23.com
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This book has been on my TBR basically since it came out, and I just never got around to it. Now I cannot believe I let myself go this long without reading the book! Alessandra is everything I want in a bada** female heroine/anti-hero who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She dresses how she wants, acts how she wants, and in many ways is the type of person that I strive to be. I also can’t deny that I am a sucker for enemies to lovers romance, especially when there’s a dark and brooding male character like Kallias. I’m so torn, I both desperately want to get more of this story and more of Alessandra and Kallias, but I also never want the beauty that is this book to be ruined for me.
Loved this
The plot was cool, but I wasn’t a fan of the writing in some areas. I also wish that the book had been more diverse. Overall, I personally wasn’t a HUGE fan of the book, but that has nothing to do with whether or not it was good, it’s just how I perceived/felt about it. If you’re a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope you will probably like this!
You know when a book is so uninteresting its physically taxing to read? That was this book.
I guess I’ll start with the characters.
Our female MC Alessandra was sold as an ambitious badass, but was instead self-serving and manipulative with no redeeming characteristics. She had zero growth the whole book and her supposedly sex positive beliefs were not that sex positive as is seen when she visits the gentleman’s club. I wouldn’t have minded so much if she was self serving if she was at least interesting, which SPOILER ALERT SHE WASN’T!!!!
Our male MC was supposed to be this illustrious shaow king and yet his powers were barely explained or explored. Instead of being this unattainable king he read more like a power hungry child whose only redeeming quality was that he loved his parents. He was supposed to be ruthless and powerful yet we never read of him doing anything that supports either claim. He wasn’t half as bad as he could have been, and maybe if he hadn’t been sold as morally grey and ruthless and his character had been fleshed out more he wouldn’t have been half bad.
Now when I went into this book I was fully aware that since it was a romance Alessandras plan to kill Kallius was going to be abandoned. Now despite this I still hoped that it wouldn’t go the cliche and infuriating route of having our male MC find out and be furious ( rightfully so), then later be the one doing the apologizing and groveling. As you can probably guess from my rating that is precisely what happened. When I tell you I hate that particular trope with a passion I HATE that trope with a passion.
The characters where sold as morally grey and I expected them to be morally grey, but alas to add to my disappointment they were not. Because for characters to be morally grey they have to do BOTH good and bad things, our main characters however where simply self serving with no redeeming qualities. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy reading about unapologetically bad characters when they are interesting with interesting goals our MC’S where none of those things.
The plot was dull and predictable and you could probably find hundreds of other books just like it with better plots and characters. The book was not with its redeeming qualities, however it was woefully underdeveloped and felt poorly thought out. The court intrigue raved about in other reviews is clearly coming from people who haven’t read a proper monarchial themed book. Also for a supposed powerful conquering king we really saw little of battle or his powers. Really this book was a badly written romance there was no fantasy, intrigue or anything of the sort.
In conclusion this book was a major disappointment for me as I had very high expectations based on everyone else’s rave reviews. If your looking for something different and interesting look elsewhere.