I was not disappointed at all. The story telling, the twists and the character development was superb.
Alessandra's mix of feminity and strength made her such a likeable character.
This book has everything a fantasy reader wants, Tricia is now one of those Authors I will always read.
Thank you for the perfect escape from life, I need more.

"They never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart...
Alessandra.
His last word was my name. his last thought was of me. I won."

And I hooked from the first page!

In the land where the law forbids younger daughters to marry before the older ones, and have sex before marriage (I wasn't surprised!), there is a young king.

"How can men expect all the ladies to remain virgins while they don't? The numbers don't add up."

Death is the punishment for those who touch the Shadow King, he has some sort of power, but no one knows what it is, an ability was granted by the devil of pain!

Till now the Shadow King dismissed many single women at the ball, it is Alessandra's turn who wants to go to the palace, seduce the king, marry then kill him and rule the world. Only there will be one problem, LOVE

Meet my new favorite character, Alessandra Stathos, the second daughter of a minor nobleman. She is the master of herself, and very good at getting men to propose to her!

"When a man sees something that several other men want, he can't help but want it, too."

Very engaging story combination of Slytherin Cinderella and Brown hood. A romantic fantasy with magic and mystery!

I read Tricia Levenseller's awesome books before, she is a perfect storyteller and very talented, and now I'm a big fan.

"Sometimes, I don't think there are enough men at court, And I'm convinced the perfect man doesn't exist."

Many thanks Pushkin Press, to via NetGalley for DRC, I have given my honest review.

This was such a fun book. It's very suitable for the YA (Young Adult) market though it could easily - and gratefully may I add - be adapted into a saucy romance if the writer wanted to.

The story focuses on Alessandra, an ambitious and power hungry young women that sets her sights on the Shadow King. But he keeps her at arms length, instead, proposing a mutual agreement that gives them both what they want.

The book had some serious and well thought out feminist undertones, with both Alessandras encouragement of her friends, the Kings desire to change the way social norms are expected as well as Alessandra's own exploits in knowing her own mind and body.

the only thing that threw me off was the time period - though the story is clearly fantasy (you'll be able to tell this early on), the presence of electricity threw me off, combined with the clothing which is described at length, and then the social boundaries and class standings.

Overall, I enjoyed it and would be keen so see what happens with the sequel!

This book was a hit when I first joined bookstagram and it had good reviews. However, why didn’t anyone told me that it was THAT GOOD?!

First of all, I really liked the characters in this book. Not only the main ones that I resonated a lot but literally all of them. They’re so interesting and bring their own vibe to the plot.

The story is a nice one too. Who doesn’t like a story about a shadow king? The setting of the book is also nice and I liked that I read a closed room mystery within the fantasy.

Lastly, the writing was so real and smooth. It made the reading effortless and I truly enjoyed every page of it.

Tricia Levenseller is officially an auto-buy author for me! This was such a delightful ride. Honestly, it was SO fun to read! Tricia knows how to write amazing, complex characters. I loved the protagonist - she’s so smart and capable! Her scheming was top-notch. This was absolutely a page-turner. The ending is satisfying and wraps everything up well, so this could be read as a standalone. Seriously, if you’re looking for an action-packed adventure look no further. I’m absolutely obsessed with the villainous, scheming characters. <3

This book was so funny and refreshing.
I loved the characters and their relationship and found their whole dynamic fabulous.
A sublime exemplar of villain romance in all its delightfully wicked glory.

This was a really fun read. Yes, the main characters are awful, but I was definitely rooting for them being awful together! This is at the lighter, faster moving end of fantasy, rather than the detailed world building type, but that suited me as something I could pick up and put down over the festive period- I enjoyed this and have added the companion book to my TBR, even if I will be waiting a year for it!

Thank-you very much to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the opportunity to read this.

🖤The Shadows Between Us🖤

By Tricia Levenseller @tricialevenseller

Description:

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, tired of being overlooked, has a plan to gain power: woo the Shadow King, marry him, then kill him and take his kingdom for herself. But Alessandra's not the only one trying to kill the king.

As he dodges assassination attempts, 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?

🖤🖤🖤🖤

I’d heard of Tricia Levenseller’s Daughter of the Pirate King series, and seen a fair bit of hype around this new book so when I saw it pop up on @netgalley I requested it. That was a good shout because this is a really fun read.

The main characters are pretty morally grey if not outright villainous, but likeable all the same. Alessandra is a modern woman in a world that is just a bit too slow to progress. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like her to start with but her take no sh*t attitude soon brought me around.

The Shadow King seems like a pretty decent guy but there are definitely background things going on that suggest he kind of a sketchy ruler. Hopefully more on that in future books!

The plot moves along quickly, and while it’s fairly predictable, it’s still a fun ride. The chemistry between the main characters is well developed and I was rooting for them as a couple. The King’s shadow powers add an interesting element/barrier to the relationship that takes things up a notch.

This was a really fun standalone romance that wraps up in a satisfying way. I believe there is going to be a follow up book that will be another standalone in the same world which I will look forward to.

Thanks to @netgalley and @pushkin_press for the copy in exchange for an honest review. The Shadows Between Us is out on the 2nd of February.

Full of dangerously tempting shadows.

Tricia Levenseller is quickly becoming one of my favourite writers and I adored this book! Alessandra is a young woman with skewed morals, blood thirsty ambitions and is a sucker for tall, handsome men with swirling shadows. Kallias is an exciting romantic lead with an intoxicatingly compelling part in this story. The unveiling of their slow-burning romance makes this a sheer delight to read and I loved every minute. Full of twists and turns with a mystery at the heart, it is certainly one I will be buying for my bookshelf!

In stressful moments I only want to read absolute trash. The Shadows Between Us isn't the kind of compelling trash that becomes a guilty pleasure though. Instead it's more like a mediocre knock off of many of its better developed predecessors.

The Shadows Between Us does have something that those books don't have though - a King with the ability to wield shadows, moving him seamlessly from human form to something of a corporeal being impervious to harm. As long as the King doesn't touch anyone his shadows are impenetrable, but should he come into contact with another human his shadows will disappear in their presence making him a possible target to a suspected murderer in the palace.

The idea was original and I did quite like it as an unknown entity within the YA fantasy genre. There are a couple of problems with this book though which are pretty difficult to ignore. The world building is really superficial and basically forever stays in one location (a gaudy palace), the premise of a rebellious and power hungry woman setting out to seduce a King to steal his throne by murdering him isn't a new one but, most importantly, the main character mostly sucks.

Alessandra is the worst parts of Sarah J Maas' (otherwise likeable) Celaena Sardothien, complete with misplaced arrogance, and some sort of horrible blend of Draco Malfoy's thirst for societal power and Voldemort's joy of flippantly murdering people he doesn't like. These qualities are supposed to be endearing, and I can actually see why they would really work for some people because they are only present in small bursts, but it just didn't work for me. I didn't really like her, despite the fact I definitely did like to see a woman strive for what she wanted and climb her way to the top unapologetically to get it.

This is really that classic three star YA Fantasy book: fun, but kind of rubbish. I’m

Many Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the digital review copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Having read a few of Tricia’s books I thought I knew what I was getting myself into with this book. This is from the POV of Alessandra the youngest daughter of a duke, constantly being looked over in favour of her oldest and newly married older sister, Alessandra has mostly kept to herself and her long list of male conquests, but now with her sister married Alessandra now wants the spotlight herself and has set her sights on the shadow king.

When we first meet Alessandra she is a spoilt sociopath, already having killed a previous lover that has broken her heart, Alessandra decides that she wants to marry the king and take over the throne herself. There is absolutely nothing likeable about her and I just feel sorry for everyone around her that she manages to blackmail and manipulate into getting what she wants. I imagine the story arc to be along the lines of her growing love of the king she manages to change her attitude, but honestly, I didn’t even get through 50% of the book. It does worry me that this book is intended for young adults and yet has some really outdated attitudes. This was a DNF for me, and it's not a book I would be recommending.

I really enjoyed this one! I did find the plot a bit predictable at times but I stayed up until 2am to finish it nonetheless. If you like an easy read with morally grey MC then I would recommend.

I really wanted to like this book but it just fell flat to me. The concept and the characters were interesting, but I hated the way that problems were solved as soon as they arose.

Yeah I totally loved this book. Love the fact that the MFC is a BAMF. She did good well done. There were several plots which were not overwhelming at all. I wanted to say I was expecting more romance but I stoll enjoyed the angst. I think otherwise wouldn't have worked. Oh and there was no smut which was totally fine too as again it wouldn't have fit the plot.

So in general me very like, very well written, plots executed in a sensible manner. It was a perfect book to read on a day off.

This book has so many fans and the romance is so popular, it made me very excited to see what all the fuss is about. And I can see why so many people love it: It's fun, it allows its protagonist to be kind of morally corrupt and evil-ish, and it wants to be feminist and sex positive very very much. The writing is engaging and simple, making this an easy and quick read.

In the end, it was... okay at best. If you want something easy to digest without too much substance for a relaxing sunday afternoon, something that doesn't expect much from you but lets you forget your troubles for a while, then this book might be a good fit. It doesn't add anything to any conversation on the themes it plays with, but it's a good little snack.

Our protagonist, Alessandra, really wants to be an Evil Badass Bitch, and she tries so very hard to convince us just how morally ambiguous she is, just how easily she can kill someone, that it's borderline cringey most of the time. Alessandra is also convinced she's a feminist, fighting for women's sexual freedom. That's cool, that's great, but it's done in such a heavyhanded and on the nose way, without any subtlety or nuance but with good old looking down on women who are not as Free and Liberated as herself, that it, too, becomes cringey. A book that wants to advocate for the sexual freedom of women, but doesn't understand or care for the intricacies of why women are sexually unfree in their particular society and instead paints these women as lesser than the protagonist, does nothing to actually further the point it wants to make. Alessandra is just horrible and thinks too much of herself, and not in a good way.

This is basically the main issue of "The Shadow Between Us": Levenseller wants to use certain themes, wants to tackle certain subjects, and wants her characters to defy certain standards, but none of it actually means anything. Both Alessandra and her love interest, the Shadow King Kallias, are villaineous characters who do terrible things, but somehow we are supposed to think these are really cool and actually morally good things, because no time at all is spent on dealing with the implications or consequences of anything. If you write villains, then let them be villains and don't half-ass their villainy. If you just let them conquer a country but don't show what their conquest actually does to the people there, then it means nothing, then it's just a scene intending only to show how Badass and Clever these two characters are. If Alessandra does villainous things without any consequences, getting out of a murder charge just by being loved by the right person instead of having her actually deal with (and possibly revel in) her villainous act, it means nothing. If her villainous act is painted in a positive light, because the guy she murdered was mean to her after all and she was just so Empowered in that moment, it means nothing. Nothing means anything.

The characters in general are mostly rather flat. Alessandra is the only one with any complexity, and most of this complexity is faux. She's a faux feminist, a faux Badass, but at least she is the cleverest of them all, too, apparently capable of finding solutions to problems a whole group of very experienced politicians are struggling with. She's 18. Ah well, suspension of disbelief and all that. She's also an incredibly talented seamstress and designer, capable of changing the fashion of an entire country with her never-been-seen designs. It's a little much, especially when she is given no actual weaknesses or flaws. Kallias is... well, he has shadow magic and he instantly falls in love with Alessandra, there's nothing more to him really. The side characters are kind of there, though I quite enjoyed them anyway.

The plot itself is a little meandering, the book spending too much time on Alessandra describing her new elaborate fashion designs and not enough time on building up the threat they're supposed to be fighting. The big plot twist is more or less predictable, with the only unpredictable part of it being unpredictable only because it relies on throwaway information that wasn't properly incorprorated in the story.

Still, sometimes you just enjoy books because they're not super deep. I think that "The Shadows Between Us" could have been a great book, but a lot of potential was wasted - I didn't hate my time with it despite all its issues though. It's fun if you don't think too hard about anything.

For a while I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this book as it was quite slow and felt a bit uneventful. The only thing that made me want to keep reading is that I really liked the characters. They were enjoyable to read about and I really liked their personalities, the main characters and the side characters. The plot began to pick up around halfway, and I started to enjoy it more. Then the last 20% I loved. I was surprised by the ending as it wasn’t what I had predicted, and it did shock me. I like Tricia Levenseller’s writing because although I don’t love the storylines, I do love the characters. I would recommend this one and I’d love to know what happens next to these characters, so I’d definitely read a sequel. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

5/5 stars! I adore this book. The opening line is by far the greatest opener I have ever read. The author does an amazing job of employing the concept that not all villains are truly villains and that sometimes we need to give in to the 'evil' within. I loved both MCs in this story and would read 1,000 sequels of this book.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Shadows Between Us
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Tricia Levenseller
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Romantic Fantasy
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 25th February 2020
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.5/5

”A woman is not defined by what she does or doesn’t do in the bedroom.”

I really wish this was a series! I need more Alessandra and Kallias ruling the world as the anti-heroes that they are. I always appreciate a bit of murder mystery in whatever I’m reading too and this book was full of assassination attempts. Also my petty ass needs a sequel to see Alessandra’s sister destroyed 😂.

I really enjoyed all this book had to offer, the premise was so intriguing: woo the king, marry the king, kill the king. The dynamics between Alessandra and Kallias were so immersive to read, and everytime I was nervous something would sour their companionship, they would always come up trumps.

”No one but me is allowed to decide when Kallias Maheras, king of six realms and counting, is going to die.”

I also liked the themes of feminism interwoven in everything Alessandra does. I honestly love her so much. So determined to become a queen in a man’s world. She’s cunning and villainous and I just know we would be best friends. The pacing of the story was great, kept me engaged the entire time and was really, really hard to put down.

🧚🏻‍♀️

“They've never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart. And they never will.”

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

❗This review is spoiler-free❗

I read this almost three years ago and never managed to write a decent review until now. I honestly don't know how I managed to find the time and write one now, but I'm not about to question it 🤩🤩


I want to start by saying that I have never, in my entire reading experience, found a better starting line than that of The Shadows Between Us. It thoroughly blew my mind and has had me in a chokehold ever since. (see quote at the top) Not to mention, Tricia Levenseller quoting Damon fckn Salvatore in her dedication 🤯🤯 HOW ELSE WOULD ANYONE START A BADASS ANTI-HERO STORY THAN QUOTING ONE OF THE SEXIEST MORALLY GRAY CHARACTERS IN TV HISTORY!?!?!? Riiiight??? There was no way for me to escape after that. Not that I would ever want to, this book is incredible 😍😍

This was so refreshing! It's not often that I come across an anti-hero story like this one. Yes, there are plenty of books with morally gray protagonists but most of the time these characters have the trademark of the tortured hero. They are usually characters who are forced into bad situations that make them morally questionable while still maintaining some heroic traits. No this time, though. Nope! Alessandra Stathos is not the self-sacrificing hero type, ready to give up everything to save the world. She is a selfish, scheming, self-centered villain who wants to take a whole damn kingdom for herself by seducing the king and murdering him. AND I LOVE HER!!! Sure, she ends up falling in love with the guy but no one's perfect, right? 😂😂 As for my shadow boy Kallias Maheras, he isn't much of a hero, either, which only excited me more. He is flawed, selfish, and kind of an ass to people he doesn't like. Also, he has killer shadow powers, is ripped af, and has a dog. So, in other words, he is the whole package. 😍😍

Obviously, I loved their relationship. Say what you want about villains, but they sure know how to heat up a room with intense sexual tension even if the book is YA, which was a huge bummer by the way. Tricia Levenseller really missed an opportunity with this one, but alas, I shall forgive her. Also, the fact that she was planning to kill him and take his crown, yet ended up falling in love with him instead makes the romance a thousand times better. Don't ask, I don't know what's wrong with me. I acknowledge the fact that normal people don't find things like that romantic, I just don't care 😇😇

Moreover, for those of you who don't know, The Shadows Between Us will no longer be a standalone as there will be a sequel entitled The Darkness Within Us coming in 2024. I know, the wait is unbearably long and it will most likely drive me insane, but it's more than worth it. It will not be a continuation of Alessandra and Kallias's story, however. It is Alessandra's sister Chrysantha's turn to tell her story and I couldn't be more excited because we only catch glimpses of her through Alessandra's POV in The Shadows Between Us and they did not leave the best impression. If you hear erratic squealing in the distance, it's just me gloriously failing to control my excitement. 😄😄

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

First of all I have loved everything that I’ve read by Tricia Levenseller…this book was no exception!

It was very unique with the magic of the shadows! I also loved Alessandra’s character!

This was a super quick read. Very entertaining!

4/5 stars will definitely be recommending this and will be buying a physical copy for my shelf!