The Shadows Between Us

"Because in you, I found my match. In you, I found my equal."

Alessandra is a second daughter of a poor aristocrat. She is seductive, wild, playgirl, matrealistic, and manipulative. But I am fascinated by her witty, sarcasm, ugly honesty, plus her creativity in sewing area. As a crafter my self, the mentioned about her spectacular design dress always amazed me. Her character is so wicked and she make line between good and evil as jumping rope.
This girl make Queen audition competition plot not boring anymore. Her brain never stops thinking of various tricks and intrigues to provocate her enemies. I like (anti)heroines who have strong and interesting backgrounds, but what makes me adore this book is that the author doesn't overglorify the MC. Readers can conclude their feeling about the characters by themselves, simple by reading it.

The plotline and conflicts isn't something new. The story take short timeline but you still can feel the tension growing and chemistry between both MC. The progress romance between Alessandra and Kallias is intrigued. Their banter are fun to follow. I'm quite amazed because all of this interesting story can be archieve only with standalone book. It is an amazing fast read and I finished in one sitting. The ending is okay, but I really enjoy this type of antihero romance.

Thank you Netgalley and Pushkin Press for provided me with this copy. I'm enjoying my reading time with this book and my opinions always be my own.

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

THIS. I was hooked from the first sentence👀💀💅

"My little hellion. Quite the force to be reckoned with, aren't you? Oh, say you'll marry me, Alessandra!"

Alessandra wants to be queen. In order to do that she made a plan:
🌑Seduce the Shadow King
🌑Marry him
🔪Kill him and take his kingdom
Simple💅

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

Alessandra was an impressive character and reading about all the plans, she made up to stay in power was entertaining.

"I hate him.
But I love him more."

Romance is not dead😌🖐️ True enemies to lovers>>>>

"I want a life with you, Alessandra, one without the shadows between us."

This book was easy, simple and entertaining. It's good to start reading in English if it's not ur first language. Try it if ure in a reading slump!
5/5⭐
🎶caught a vibe🎶

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

Thank you NetGalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

Alessandra is now one of my favourite female characters! I love how she isn't afraid to own her sexuality in a society where women are 'ruined' so easily. She very cold at the beginning of the story, but gradually she opens up and learns to let people in again. I adores the romance in this book and how organic it was - I'm so tired of reading YA when the leads fall madly in love based off of three conversations, it's so unrealistic and quite frankly irritating! I can't wait to read more books by this author

Loved this book. Fmc was amazing, ambitious, manipulative, bold.. loved how she empowered herself and consequently other woman too. Killias was one on my fave... beneath all that exterior he was kind, attentive.. The tension between them was off the charts and I loved the banter. Definitely deserves the 5 stars.

I hadn't heard anything about this book until speculation was going around on what the next Fairyloot book would be, and someone mentioned it could be The Shadows Between Us. I took a look at the synopsis, and felt it was a book for me, and was overjoyed when I won a copy.

In The Shadows Between Us, Alessandra is the daughter of a lord, and knows it's expected that she marries well, but her sister is the favourite, so she's sort of left to her own devices. She likes to enjoy herself, and after her first love dumped her - and she killed him in retaliation - she's never let herself get too close to someone, at least emotionally, but knows that power is also she wants. The best way to get that power? Well, it's to make the Shadow King fall in love with her, marry her, and then she kills him and rules in her own right.

No one can ever get close to the Shadow King. He has literal shadows all around him, and anyone who touches him is put to death. But when Alessandra turns up at court, and neigh on ignores the king, he's intrigued, and they make up a scheme to pretend to be courting, so that both can have a bit more power, as Kallias is still dependant on his courtiers, and one is out to kill him. The more they are together, the less Alessandra wants to kill Kallias, and she finds herself wanting his attention not just for power, but because she actually cares for him. And, if anyone is going to kill him, it will be her, and she will stop at nothing to help her friends, and especially to find out who the assassin is, and get rid of him, before they get in her way.

I did like Alessandra, but sometimes she was a bit too much. Everything always had to have a goal, and she wanted attention, which got a bit old. I did understand it, though, because she's always been forgotten at home, and her dad was a wimp really. She grew on me, though, as she started to develop friendship in the palace, and we got to know her more, and not just her ambition. The romance between herself and Kallias was so slow burning, and I wanted it more and more as it progressed, but anything else would've been rushed and unrealistic. The plot, after we get over the initial plot to kill Kallias, was well rounded, and kept me engaged until the last page. I haven't read any of Tricia's books before, but definitely think I'll give her pirate books a go!

This is a new cover to a Book that I have read before I physically have a copy of this book. I have read it so many times. I absolutely adore this book and I cannot wait for the next book in the series because I thought that it was very well paste. I love the couple I loved the way things were dealt with the romance was absolutely adorable and I would highly recommend. It’s a great AYA contemporary fantasy. Romance is very light on the fantasy but it has enough to not focus predominantly on the romance, which is what I love, and I read more books by this author before and I absolutely adore them. I would 100% recommend

The shadows between us is a fantasy/romance, the story that the author tells us has its own ending and nothing remains pending.
This premise is necessary since Tricia Levenseller has announced that she will soon publish a second volume, but it will be focused on other main protagonists (one will be Alessandra's sister, who we only hear mentioned here).
The female protagonist, Alessandra Stathos, is not the classic heroine who immediately takes a liking to her, she is a calculator and profiteer.
Someone will surely find her character hateful, I myself believed her to be so at the beginning, but as the chapters flowed I began to be more and more intrigued by her maneuvers and her genius, it will be that I have a soft spot for anti-heroes and anti-heroines like her who at some point have to come to terms with their feelings.
Alessandra is also the only narrator of the novel, perhaps it is thanks to the first person that I managed to like her, I understood her frustration and the need not to always be set aside or in the background.
Her goal, what gives rise to her story, is to get noticed by the Shadow King, seduce him, marry him and then get rid of him and take over the kingdom.
The King of Shadows, so called because of the condition that makes him immortal, is a male protagonist who immediately fascinated me.
No one can touch him (in the true sense of the word), and this condition leads him to a solitary private life without human contact.
I would have liked to read a few chapters with his point of view, especially to see him fought during the development of his bond with Alessandra.
In the novel there is no map of the kingdom in which the story is set, but also no accurate description of the worldbuilding.
The author has focused her narrative solely on the two main protagonists, on the evolution of their enemies-to-lovers relationship and on the dangers surrounding the king. The result is a very smooth and intriguing read.
Coming from a previous reading characterized by a decidedly long introductory part, I welcomed this choice of the author with real pleasure. However, if you are looking for a fantasy with an accurately described world and with fantastic creatures of various kinds, this is not the book for you.
If, on the other hand, you love impossible loves with fantasy elements and slow burn romantic stories like me, this is a highly recommended read!

We can pay a moment's attention to the beauty of this new graphic design?! Chef's Kiss!

Thanks to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for providing me with this ARC!

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!

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