A quick easy read and a great companion novels. I love that Levenseller's fantasy is always detailed with complex themes and yet doesn't make you work too hard to enjoy the story.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫
Chrysantha Stathos has won by hiding her intelligence and ambition behind the mask of a beautiful but daft girl. She has become a wealthy duchess. Once her elderly husband dies shell will have all the freedom, money and safety she has ever wanted. Or so she thought. A man claiming to be the estranged grandson of her lecherous late husband has turned up to steal her inheritance.

This supposed grandson will have to go, never mind that he’s extremely handsome and secretive with mysterious powers. Chrysantha wants Eryx Demos dead, and in the end, she will always get what she wants.

A darkly mesmerising romantic fantasy following a young duchess and a powerful heir determined to steal her inheritance. A bargain is struck between would be enemies to keep each others secrets while attempting to bring each other to ruin. There is something delicious about two people attempting to storey each other and ultimately falling in love, or at least, that’s what you hope will happen.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘗𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘜𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳

I loved the Shadows Between Us and was eagerly anticipating the next instalment. It feels like I’ve been waiting forever but I can now confirm it was absolutely worth it. I loved everything about it. Chrysantha was feisty and forthright, determined and dark. I loved the feminist aspect of this, where marriage was not the epitome of life, in fact it was downright detested at times and it portrayed all the negative sides which I love for young women today.
The male MC was interesting with depth and secrets that played out nicely, making the pacing an absolute page turner. I also loved that he was younger, if only slightly, but it was a constant topic of fun banter.
All the side characters were great too and we even have appearances from Alessandra and Co. An absolute must read if you enjoyed Shadows or if you enjoy a good enemies to lovers romance.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Chrysantha as our narrator for this book, she is cunning and a bit diabolical but you can’t help but root for her and her schemes. The story felt a little all over the place at times, and I felt the ending wrapped up to quickly and easily.

I think this book can be easily read without knowing book one since it follows Chrysantha and her own story. The writing style is easy and you get into the story rather quick and provides all information you need to read this without knowing what happened in the other book. It is quite fast paced, which I love because it got me through the book fast and easy without a boring moment.
My star was Chrysantha, since she isn't the picture perfect MC or one with flaws that makes you roll your eyes because are those really flaws sometimes? She is one of a kind and I think reading this book to get to know her is reason enough.

Thank you to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review!

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“So I pretend to be docile. I pretend to be obedient. When men think they can control you, they don’t watch you as closely. When they think you're stupid, they’re not so careful about the things they’ll say in front of you.”

The Darkness Within Us follows Chrysantha, the older sister of the main character from The Shadows Between Us. It is set in the outskirts of the same political landscape, of manoeuvring and manipulating to gain power, wealth and the freedom that comes with those things.

There are references and cameos from the other book in this one, but it isn’t at all necessary to read in order to understand what’s going on here. The book gives whatever context is necessary to understand and enjoy the story.

Chrysantha is an interesting main character to follow. She is ambitious, manipulative to the point of not even always knowing what she herself wants, confrontational, and selfish when necessary to gain what she needs to come out on top. She’s awful, and I am so here for it. I support women’s wrongs, and this book really has the essence of “girlboss, gaslight, gatekeep” down pat.
But what really makes her so intriguing is that she isn’t all awful; she cares for her staff, she cares for her land, and she wants to do right by those under her care and control. I say, give the woman whatever she wants. She deserves it.
I also love that she is feminine, pretty, and she knows and uses it to her advantage shamelessly.

“I thought I knew the game we were playing, but it turns out to be far more deadly than I believed.”

I really enjoyed the back and forth between Chrysantha and the mysterious Eryx, who comes in to seemingly ruin all her plans. The mix of antagonism and begrudging respect between them makes for an intriguing dynamic, and the tension had me on the edge of my seat and kicking my feet when they were being sweet.

“If the gods didn’t want us killing men, then they shouldn’t have allowed them to hurt us so much.”

The writing is easy and quick to read, and the story was relatively fast paced. The characters are infuriating, engaging and bicker endlessly over petty things in an entertaining way.
The romance is fade-to-black, and there is some violence with a couple of brief but gorier descriptions.

A companion to The Shadows Within Us, Darkness is about the older sister of the new Queen, who turns out to be nothing like she was portrayed in the first book. Chrysantha is just as clever and cunning and morally grey as her sister, doing whatever it takes to secure her freedom in a World where women have none.

This book was fun and full of interesting magic and a few delicious twists. It felt a bit like it should have been marketed to an older audience, but I don't know if it was restricted by its predecessor? Still a wickedly good read though.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️( rounded up)

I went completely blind into this book, and completely blind of opinions too since the shadows between us was a dnf for me
And listen, i enjoyed this one so much more than the other book, but i still struggle with the author’s writing.
I have always given Chrysantha the benefit of the doubt and i found her more enjoyable than her sister hah who would have thought
I do think the story dragged in the beginning and all the problems and things were solved wayyy too fast in the end, if it would’ve been a little bit more balanced, I probably would’ve enjoyed it more

But it is definitely a nice read and if you loved the first book you’ll love this one too
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc 🫶🏻🫶🏻

A second book that I read with pleasure !

OK I must admit that it took me too long to read this book ... Not the right mood, a mood for suspense romance / urban fantasy and above all a book categorized as Young Adult when in reality it looks more like New Adult (the characters are young but don't behave like teenagers, more like young adults so don't expect YA !)

But I really liked the first book and above all I couldn't wait to discover Chrysantha, of whom we had had some glimpses in the previous book !

And after the first 20% which was less interesting, I devoured the book ! The universe deserved to be more developed (especially the powers and everything) and the plot could have been more twisted but I liked the evolution that Alessandra brought for women, I loved Chrysantha and her strength as well as her cruelty and thirst for revenge, I loved seeing her argue (sometimes violently x)) then fall in love with Eryx (who was strangely cute for his whole evil side =D) and I liked all the tension between them and around the choices she has to make !

In short, a romance with a touch of fantasy and more than morally questionable characters that I really enjoyed reading !

PS: to the publisher and Netgalley, thank you so much for the ARC =D

omg, i absolutely loved this book! I loved the shadow between us, I couldn’t put it down! So I was absolutely ecstatic to be accepted for an arc of this one which is the sequel.

This follows Chrysantha story who we met in the first book. It follows on from the first book so well, it truly reads as though you’ve a film in your head. Chrysantha was a character to say the least! I think we could all agree she wasn’t the most likely but the character development 👏🏻 incredible. She is a very fierce & fiery woman, ruthless to a T but is also so caring & kind and actually quite lovable.

I absolutely loved the enemies to lovers trope in this book, I think it was done so well! Eryx was similar to Kallias in some ways, but out of the two I think I prefer Eryx 🫣 they fmc and mmc have so much tension, the way they grate on each other causes so much perfect banter!

All in all, an incredible book written incredible well! What I love about this authors writing is she always ALWAYS grips you from the first line of the book. If I had had the time I would have binged this book in a day it was that good! The series as a whole gives off badass - monster - bridgeton vibes!

Thank you NetGalley, Pushkin Press & Tricia Levenseller for the ARC of this wonderful book!

“The Darkness Within Us” is a ya fantasy romance written by Tricia Levenseller, companion novel to “The Shadows Between Us.”

A strong, cunning, proud and independent girl. A mysterious, cocky, sly and rude guy. A splendid country estate. A heated dispute for the inheritance. A sizzling enemies to lovers. A hilarious forced proximity. A slow burn rather slooow. A captivating, effervescent, engaging prose. A fast, brisk pace accompanied by short chapters. A dark, beguiling and funny story. Intrigues, manipulations, deceptions, lies, secrets and power plays. A nebulous world building, reduced to the bare minimum so as not to get lost. A fantasy component that, except for a couple of characters with magical powers, is limited to the setting. These are just some of the elements that constitute “The Darkness Within Us,” a novel that completely won me over! While reading, I found myself laughing, smiling and swooning repeatedly, absorbed in the vortex of the narration! Seriously, I adored “The Shadows Between Us,” but I admit that I loved “The Darkness Within Us” even more!

Chrysantha and Eryx made me swoon so much! Chrysantha, protagonist with her only first person pov, is a strong, determined, intelligent, patient and independent girl. A skilled liar, an incredible actress and an excellent manipulator, she longs for a life of freedom, riches and security. Forced into an arranged marriage, thanks to her deceptions she married an old, slimy, ill, extremely rich and heirless duke and obtained the title of duchess. Yes, she had to endure his wickedness, but now that he is dead she has finally inherited everything and achieved her goals. Or at least she thought so, until Eryx, the duke's alleged grandson, enters the picture. A man as handsome as mysterious, cocky and rude, whom Chrysantha does not trust in the slightest. Eryx claims the title of duke, the estate and the entire inheritance for himself, pushing for Chrysantha to leave. Chrysantha, on her part, has no intention of leaving and giving up everything she has obtained at great cost. And so begins an intense battle of spite, biting banter, ironic remarks, lies, subterfuges and treacherous attacks, which soon becomes incandescent. I liked Chrysantha and Eryx so much! They are two morally gray characters, portrayed in a fantastic way. I loved the development of their relationship and found myself giggling and swooning in a powerful way! There are no detailed spicy scenes, but that didn't bother me, also because their sexual tension is really tasty!

Ah I almost forgot! Alessandra and Kallias, the protagonists of “The Shadows Between Us,” make their reappearance in this book, which I appreciated a lot!

All in all, “The Darkness Within Us” is a ya fantasy romance that I absolutely loved and can't help but recommend to lovers of the genre!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

wow, i didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as i did. i was hooked. the plot was very engaging (although nothing much happened). i love reading about a woman seeking her place in a male-dominated society and love seeing her succeed.

i really really loved Chrysantha's character. fierce yet kind. usually, writers show a fierce female character as rude or aloof but Chrysantha was a good example of how one can be fierce and brave yet kind and sweet 🥺 i was rooting for her throughout the book.

however, i didn’t like the romance. it kept popping into my head that they were grandmother-grandson which ruined the whole romance for me 😂 and i wanted her to stay single honestly. that would have been a better ending but since the book’s genre was fantasy romance, it couldn’t have ended without a happily ever after.

thanks to publishers and netgalley for the copy.

Wow oh wow this book was so much fun!! I love the dynamic and the tension between the MMC and FMC. They both have a lot of secrets and the way they grate on each other throughout creates perfect banter. The FMC truly made me cry which was unexpected, how she just wanted to be free and was sick of living up to unfair expectations - I just felt that in my soul to be quite honest. Literally couldnt have laughed or enjoyed this more.

I enjoyed reading more about this world and the sisters that could take over the world.

I've read The Shadows Between Us, so I was not expecting this amazing fiery FMC because of how the sister was portrayed previously. But Chrysantha is strong willed and a delight to read.

Eryx and Chrysantha's relationship made me smile with pure joy at multiple times throughout the book. I enjoyed reading about them getting to know each other, the scheming, and all the twists and turns along the way.

There are similarities with this and the first book in the series and even though you could read this as a standalone, I think it is better if you read book one first. As you will know the King and Queens story, therefore enjoy hearing about what they do afterwards, and also make the sisters relationship more endearing.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am now entering my Regency Era!

This book is an easy, fast paced read. Think Bridgerton, with a pinch of Cruel Prince vibes, a smattering of enemies to lovers, add two Morally Grey, downright villainous main characters and you've got a Regency Romantasy to kill for.

The book follows Chrysantha who after years of scheming and manipulating men by pretending to be a simpleton, nearly has her hearts desire within reach. Her arranged marriage to a Duke on his deathbed is coming close to its end, her only goal is to avoid his lecherous hands until she can inherit everything and finally be free. She'll never be a man's property again. Her female rage is raw and real and utterly unapologetic. She is cunning, ambitious and won't hesitate to kill to get what she wants. What's not to love about an introverted book loving murderess.

Until it all begins to unravel when a mysterious stranger arrives to claim everything that is hers including her fortune and freedom.
What follows is a string of schemes, secrets, sexual tension and attempted murder, and it's glorious!

The Darkness Within Us is a companion/spin off novel and is set in the same world as The Shadows Between Us. It's was advertised that you could read this without having read the first book. So I did. While I do agree that you can 100% read this and enjoy it, I feel like I should have read the previous book. There are characters, relationships and world building elements already established from that book that I lacked context of, having not read it, which left me in the dark. I've added The Shadows Between Us to my TBR to enjoy next.

Thank you Netgalley and Pushkin Press for a copy of the eARC. The Darkness Within Us is out July 2024.

A thrilling sequel to The Shadows Between Us, we follow the sister and her fight to keep the dukedom she murdered for, from the half-demon grandson and their subsequent love story. A brilliant YA fantasy romance standalone.

*Thank you to NetGalley + publisher for an ARC copy in exchange for a review*

This spinoff novel to the much loved The Shadows Between Us follows Alessandra's older sister, Chrysantha. Whislt the pair are definitely different with their hobbies and patience, Chrysantha is just as cunning and ambitious as her sister. The book has a similar iconic first page like the previous, and hooks you right away.

Like always, Levenseller's writing is comfortable to read. There's enough description for reader's to immerse themselves within the book without getting overwhelmed by the world building. That being said, I do feel like this book skimmed over things that could have had more build up.

I really felt for Chrysantha, at first I didn't like her due to her appearances in TSBTU, however hearing her side of the story and watching as she grows and fixes her mistakes is nice to see, and I ended up really relating to her with her introverted ways and bookish personality. Her kindness can gp unnoticed due to her need for control and power, but deep down she only wants to be free. She's very sex positive which I liked, and I adored her friendships with her staff at the manor, as well as her rekindled relationship with Alessandra.

The romance was sizzling as always, with a true enemies to lovers relationship with Eryx, a mysterious man who charges into the story and disrupts the peace. They had some amazing banter and bickering, and the way he's actually impressed when Chrysantha tries to unalive him? Classic. There's shadow powers in this one too, for those who loved Kallias' shadow daddy abilities, Chrysantha and Eryx's story kind of reminded me of Beauty and the Beast.

The story is fairly simple, even predicable at times, and I do have to say that the pacing was a little slow at times, however it's still enjoyable and fun, and we get to see more of Alessandra and Kallias being the power couple they are. The ending didn't feel rushed but got resolved quickly which I was happy about, and the book had a sweet HEA too.

Overall,
4/5 🌟

Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I never thought we would get a novel from Chrysantha, and I can’t say I was clamoring for one, but I am beyond happy that we got one. This book absolutely hooked me. Fantasy Romance and enemies to lovers is already an easy sell for me. Regency era is always fun but especially when there’s a new season of Bridgerton out. And I just happened to watch part 1 of Season 3 right before starting this book. And it gave me everything I needed to help hold me over until part 2 drops.

I absolutely loved Chrysantha. It’s so interesting to get inside the head of a character that was absolutely despised by our FMC in the first book of this Companion Series, her sister Alessandra. Chrysantha is cunning and witty and such a force to be reckoned with. She’s also for sure crazy but I love that for her. This was absolutely a case of “I support women’s rights, but more importantly I support women’s wrongs”.

I also appreciate the discussion around women’s sexuality. If a man has many lovers he’s just a man. If a woman has more than one lover she’s a whore. But Chrysantha is having none of that. She wants what she wants, when she wants, how she wants, and is absolutely sick of societal norms and, frankly, anyone else’s opinion. My only slight issue with the sexual content is that this book is marketed as YA and I feel as though at some point it teetered from upper YA to maybe being more NA, but those lines have become more and more blurred these days. And not having NA exist as a recognized genre within publishing has made it difficult for books to be properly shelved. Alas, as an adult who thoroughly enjoys both sexual content and sexual tension, this book hit every beat I wanted from it. On my scale it was about 1/2 a chili pepper to 1 chili pepper when it came to the actual spice, but it definitely fell heavily on the side of thick tension, which I loved.

Chrysantha is the definition of a strong independent woman. I loved how she took no shit and fought for what she wanted. Following along with her tricks, her whims, and yes, her attempted murders, was an absolute joy. We also got multiple moments with the couple from the first book, which was fun.

This book is technically a companion novel, so you don’t have to read the first book in the series, but I’m glad that I did. I think it adds a fair amount of context that would benefit you in your read of this novel. However, it is definitely not necessary and I know that many people were divided when it came to their enjoyment of The Shadows Between Us but I think it’s evident that the author writing only continues to improve. I read The Shadows Between Us a few years ago and gave it a 4 stars, but I think on a re-read it could possibly be more of a 3.5 star read. I don’t really do quarter stars anymore but this book, The Darkness Within Us, is definitely at least a 4.5 star read, if not a 4.75 star.

I absolutely recommend that people pick this book up, even if they didn’t particularly love the first one. This book was an absolute joy of a read and will be perfect to pick up when it releases July 9th, after all of Bridgerton season 3 is out and you’re desperate for something to satiate you.

I was hoping that "The Darkness Within Us" would be better than the first installment, "The Shadows Between Us". Honestly, I don't know if that's the case, but I still enjoyed this book a lot more than the first one.

"The Darkness Within Us" tells the story of Chrysantha Stathos, who is the sister of Alessandra, the heroine from the first book. Even though this novel is promoted as a companion book and not a sequel, I still think it’s better to read "The Shadows Between Us" before diving into this one. The worldbuilding is quite poor in this novel, and without knowing what you know from Alessandra's book, you are left in the dark about how this kingdom functions, who rules it, and how.

The storyline in the book is not particularly complicated, but it's still very engaging. Yet, there were moments when the characters behaved absurdly and made illogical decisions, all to push the plot forward. The weaker part of this book is definitely the main characters. The MFC, Chrysantha, is absolutely unaware that she is a bad person, and the feminist rage does not serve as an excuse. Too bad that the plot does not acknowledge that fact. The MMC, Eryx, is slightly more complex, but he is extremely rude at the beginning, and I am probably too old to appreciate an enemies-to-lovers dynamic built on such contempt and disrespect. It is not rewarding at all.

For me, the best thing about this book is that it is extremely fast-paced. You can literally run through it. It's an easy read, and I didn't have to push myself to finish it (which was the case with the first book, which I found extremely lackluster). If a book is not particularly good, it is important that it is at least not boring.

All in all, I believe this book won’t work for those who did not like the first installment. Yet, if you liked the first book, there is a good chance that you will enjoy this one as well.

there’s nothing I love more than villainous main characters who know what they want and are willing to do anything to get it. it was a complete delight to read about Chrysantha and her endless scheming. there couldn’t have been a better match for her than Eryx.

there is no shortage of great characters in this book, and the brief cameos of Alessandra and Kallias were very, very enjoyable (to be honest, the only thing I remember about the first book when I read it 4 years ago is that I really loved it). Nico was such an adorable addition to the story and I appreciated how him and the staff softened Chrysantha and showed another, gentler, side of her.

in terms of plot, I have to admit that I found it lacking. there’s not enough here to warrant a novel, other than provide another glimpse, although brief, into this world for the readers who loved the first book. the motivation is not strong enough, which was disappointing because the characters were fleshed out enough to carry a stronger plot. although the book is short for a fantasy, it could have been even shorter for the amount of events that take place. it’s also not a good look when the main driving force of the plot is revealed at approximately 65%.

all in all, it’s a decent story but it could have been a lot better.