User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
2.45/5 ⭐
Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺
I wanted to love this book. I didn’t love this book.
I wanted to like this book. I didn’t like this book.
What can I say now? It was bland.
I don’t want to hate on this, I don’t like to hate on things in general, but I must signal some not-so-pleasant aspects about it. I want to put into words what I felt after giving
The Shadows Between Us a shot.
The concept is really interesting. Like, that synopsis sold me the book. And the beginning was
very promising.
First of all, there is basically
no world-building. There are some vague terms thrown at us on various occasions, but apart from that I have no idea how this world is supposed to look like. I mean, if we talk about a mighty kingdom that extended its boundaries by conquering other kingdoms, at least give me a damn sketch if you can’t pull off a whole map.
And maybe I was willing to close an eye at the weak world if the characters were consistent. But, to my surprise, they were very interestingly contoured at the beginning but that was the peak. They just disappointed me by the end.
Alessandra is portraited as an antagonist instead of the classical good-hearted protagonist we’re so used to read about. She was supposed to be the anti-example of the all well-mannered heroines. She’s selfish, self-absorbed in the way that she could watch herself in the mirror for hours and still not get bored; she’s murderous and wicked-minded; she has a heart of ice and she’s a bit unstable when she gets a bit upset. But she’s also pretty sure of herself, which is a great thing because it adds to one’s self-care daily routine, I guess.
Her only desire is to marry the young Shadow King, kill him and rule over six kingdoms. She was supposed to be
wicked. And at the beginning that’s how she seemed to be. But then, I don’t know what happened, this book started to deflate instead of puffing its chest and show us who’s the boss.
I was promised a Slytherin kind of romance and I didn’t quite get it.
I was expecting
Kallias, the Shadow King, to be more intimidating than that. I mean, he supposedly conquered I don’t know how many kingdoms (“fair and square”, I might add) but he somehow does not exude that kind of energy. I cannot picture this almighty, domineering king when I think of Kallias. I just see a shy boy who loves spending time with his fluff of a dog (which, by the way, mild spoiler alert, is the best thing this book has to offer).
His exceptional powers don’t allow him to have normal human contact without getting hurt afterwards, so that led to extreme loneliness and an unspoken desire of affection. He honestly cannot be the ruthless ruler he wants to be. I cannot picture him like that in any way. This inner weakness of his stands in his way to greatness.
(now Adele’s Turning Tables chorus is blasting in my mind SO I WON’T LET YOU CLOSE ENOUGH TO HURT ME – picture that a bit, I’m getting you in the mood)Alessandra and Kallias do fall in love eventually, but it doesn’t feel quite real.
Nothing really seems real after a while. The plot is too bland to actually be exciting and the situation in which Alessandra and Kallias find themselves are quite bad. I mean, Alessandra wants to be this mastermind behind a kingdom’s council, but her ideas are
so bloody common.
And also, can we talk about how bad deeds are laughed at in this book and dismissed like annoying gnats instead of being dealt with? Because this is exactly what it happens.
But somehow I couldn’t help but notice the idea of women seen as sexual beings in a world that is still not flexible in that matter. There were little empowering, undercover feminist speeches scattered from place to place in the whole book. And in my opinion, this is a thing that deserves half a star from me. I saw the intention and I appreciate it.
“The poets can say whatever they damned liked. A woman’s worth is not decided by what’s between her legs but by what is in her mind.” 
This book has such a chaotic vibe to it I don’t really know how to explain it. And even though I was expecting better from it, I didn’t feel like hating it. It just left a bitter taste in its wake for me, that’s all. Not entirely pleasant.
But hey, at least I can say that Alessandra is a fashionista all the way and I truly like that about her. That’s a plus on my list too.
(Book-styled)
Rating: really liked it
EDIT:
This book maybe did not win the Goodreads Choice Awards but it's my winner the Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction category and that's enough for me.
EDIT:
Finding out that this book did not make it into the final round of the Goodreads Choice Awards.
EDIT:
IT WORKED! YES!YES!YES!
You cannot imagine how happy I'm when I go to see the second round of the Goodreads Choice Awards and The Shadows Between Us are nominated in the Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction.
The write-in worked!
EDIT: Wow, I have to say that I was quite surprised that I did not see this book nominated in Young Adult Fantasy for the Goodreads Choice Awards. So, let's see if there is some power in the write-in option.
ORIGINAL:
Was this book perfect?
No.Did this book deliver on everything I've expected from it?
No. Do I care?
No.Why? Because it was such a long time since I enjoyed "YA"/fantasy book so much as I did enjoy this one.
As I previously mentioned, I was sold when this book was labelled as "Slytherin".
If only he knew I have my sights set a bit higher than that.Yeah, I was hyped when I started this book, and the beginning was so good, I had problems to remember to breathe, and then I was close to hyperventilating. It was everything my Slytherin heart wanted.
"People are staring."
"That's the point, isn't it?"Alessandra was the kind of character I wanted. I'm so over the shocked girls who have no idea why people think that they are pretty or don't want to be in the situation 'cause they just want a nice simple life. Who are shocked by the evil people and don't get it why people are just so mean.
Finally, a character who is very self-aware, has a goal, is ambitious and does not care what it takes to get what they want. Love it, and I need more books like this. I also loved every single time Alessandra chewed up someone or schemed.
What I did not expect was to get more characters like that in the book.
See that all the men who accompanied us on our outing are hanged.The King is just as ambitious. And at that point, I practically want to propose to this book.
Plus the fact that Alessandra has an obsession with pretty dresses which she creates for herself, (Which made me realise how rare it is for female characters to have hobbies besides reading.) and that the friendships are a surprisingly fun and great addition to the story are not helping to me not being obsessed.
There were several side plots which kept the story moving, so, I never really felt like nothing was happening.
So, where did it go wrong? Because yeah, I love this book, but there are things which irked me, to say the least.
First, the main "villain" (if you do not count Alessandra as the villain of the story) was very obvious. Plus the reason or explanation behind their actions was pretty easy to guess as well. I'm not angry by it, just disappointed.
Second, Alessandra started great, but then I felt like a bit of her disappeared. The part which had a plan and was ready for everything. (view spoiler)
[Like, please, if you get poison to kill someone and then change your mind, don't just chuck it somewhere. (hide spoiler)] The dumb move is the season.
Third, I did not really feel like we got a good grasp on the background, on the setting, and sometimes things just felt a bit confusing. But yeah, I get it, it's standalone, and while I may have some grief with the lack of world setting, I love the author for keeping it a standalone.
Fourth, Kallias just sometimes felt a bit too mushy.
And now, fifth and last, the ending. What is it with endings? I hoped for a different ending. More original. (view spoiler)
[ It was again way too roses and pink. Everything was well and happy. And I just felt like something had to give. Something bad. Or just some huge power move. Just something which would leave me speechless the moment I would close the book. Only being able to say WOW. But this was a very forgettable ending. Average. (hide spoiler)] And while I had four more issues with this book. The ending is the reason why I took one star away.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Honestly? I'm still sad that I was declined for an ARC. 😥
Because
Slytherin romance is all I want (for Christmas?). I cannot wait to read this. Everyone should hope I won't be holding anything at the moment this gets published because I'll be dropping everything to get my hands on this.
Rating: really liked it
“They've never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart. And they never will.” Spoiler alert: they did, actually, and it didn't matter. Because nothing in this book makes any sense.
This was so predictable and very disappointing.
I’m not sure if I’m outgrowing YA or if I’m just picking up shitty YA books. Either way, I didn’t enjoy
The Shadows Between Us at all.
It felt extremely formulaic, severely underdeveloped, and wholly uninspiring. I was so bored.
The Shadows Between Us is advertised as a Slytherin-inspired YA fantasy romance. However, the Slytherin "representation" is an excuse to write an unlikable character with very little growth, the "fantasy" element was very clearly shunted in just so the book could break into the YA fantasy market, and the "romance" was the most
blegh thing I've read in a long time.
I'm not sure what everyone else is seeing in this book that I'm not, but I'm getting real tired of reading books that seem to put in very minimal effort in regards to being unique or engaging.
The author says that the main character is a Slytherin, and that irritates me. Why, you might ask?
Because the author pulled a JK Rowling and took every negative quality about Slytherins and made it their only personality trait. This MC was self-serving, self-obsessed, selfish, and manipulative. I’m totally here for anti-heroes and morally gray characters, but this MC brought nothing to the story that was likable or sympathetic to me. Did you know Slytherins are more nuanced beyond just being assholes? What a concept!
I guess the argument can be made that our main character is cunning and conniving, but honestly, I wasn't convinced. She just came across like a jerk who sometimes made suggestions that other characters found to be smart. But of course they would,
because the author says so. Doesn't mean I believe it.
The romance was bland and felt like a dynamic I’ve read a million times before.
Nothing about this was exciting or fun, despite the fact that the romance was the main premise. How you gonna flop on an enemies to lovers trope THAT badly? I was expecting some serious angst, forbidden love, sexual tension, etc.
None of that was brought to the table. Sure, the author
tried, but it didn't work at all.
I’m also irritated at how the sex positivity is only aimed towards women in this book. Women should have complete autonomy and respect (yes, of course)
but female characters are allowed to use, disrespect, or persuade their partners sexually and thats okay? Maybe I’m looking into this too much, but all the sex positivity commentary felt like it was taken right from a vague white feminist Twitter thread.
The plot was also a damn mess.
The author tried to weave so many different threads but it was ultimately an awkward execution. It felt like something would be brought up, ignored for fifty pages, and then easily solved once the author remembered she had to do something to tie it up. I'm not sure what the ultimate point of this book was, to be entirely honest.
Everything was solved so easily! In conclusion: this sucked for me.
The Shadows Between Us is an unoriginal YA fantasy that rips off every trope and plot point thats been successful in the past; the only sellable difference is that the MC is an asshat who knows shes pretty and uses it to her advantage. Groundbreaking.
Rating: really liked it
3/20/21 SHADOWS just went in for its 11th print run! Thank you so much everyone for your support of this little dark romance of mine. I promise more dark romances in the future, but first, be sure to check out my next book, releasing 5/4/21, BLADE OF SECRETS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
11/11/20 *CLOSED* Guys, SHADOWS is a Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist! If you enjoyed the book, I'd love for you to vote on it! Link here: https://www.goodreads.com/choiceaward... Thanks so much to everyone who has already gotten it this far! You guys are the best!
3/4/20 SHADOWS has been out for just over a week now, and I wanted to say thank you to everyone for your support! If you're interested, I'd love for you to add my next novel to your Goodreads TBR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
1/9/20 *CLOSED* The preorder incentive for this book is now live! If you'd like a free signed bookplate and character art prints for preordering the book, visit https://tricialevenseller.com/preorde...
Also, you can now read the first FIVE chapters here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tJS1...
8/8/19 I'm so excited that ARCs have started to circulate for this book! Just wanted to highlight again that I pitch this as my Slytherin romance. My characters have unapologetically questionable morals. Don't expect them to change. It's who they are. And this book is more romance heavy rather than action heavy, like the rest of my books. There's nothing more disappointing than having unfulfilled expectations where an anticipated read is concerned, so I hope this aids in helping readers decide if this is the kind of book for them! If you want to read about bad people getting away with doing bad things while still being likable and maybe falling in love, this might be the book for you! There is still some action and lots of political intrigue. Hope this helps!
5/16/19 At last we have a cover! This Slytherin romance is hitting shelves on February 25th. You can read the first chapter here: https://www.tor.com/2019/05/16/cover-...
3/7/19 I just finished edits on this new standalone fantasy romance! Cannot wait for you all to read it! We should have a cover soonish...
Rating: really liked it
a book is worth five stars if i am willing to sacrifice one of my favourite things - sleep. i started this when i got home from work and stayed up until 2am (even though i knew i had to get up early) because i just could not. put. this. down.
there are so many qualities and aspects to this which make this story so wonderful:
- a female MC who is unapologetically herself. even when her feelings and motives change, she is still true to herself.
- a female MC who is ruthless, as well as kind. usually its one or the other in YA, so its refreshing to see a character so complex.
- enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and its done really well in this.
- the writing has great pacing, easy to devour language, and such an immersive presence overall.
- i LOVE that this is a standalone. most YA fantasy stories come in the form of a series and sometimes (aka most of the time) i dont want to commit to multiple books (hence the many series i have yet to finish). i love an author who can take a fantasy world and create a well-developed and resolved standalone story with it.
overall, this is such a fun and engaging novel with a lot of great highlights. its definitely turned me on to TL as an author and i want to read more of her stories ASAP!
↠ 4.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
the lack of flavour in this book is truly so funny. 13 yr old me from wattpad could write a better villain x villain romance. also when he said he wanted the whole world to have his flag i could nawt stop laughing ?? mf tht is called colonization 🤨
Rating: really liked it
"Alessandra Stathos, that's positively despicable." He says the words like they're the highest compliment he can give me.
Alessandra is sick of her life. She has always been pushed to the side while her sister gets the spotlight. But she knows she can do better. She has spent her life learning how to manipulate people to get what she wants. And now she's about to take what she knows is hers. The crown. Alessandra is going to marry the Shadow King, Kallias, and then murder him.
Managing people can be tiresome, but there's still nothing more satisfying than watching people do exactly what I say.
Before I started this book, I was worried about two things:
1) that Alessandra would be not like other girls,
and
2) that Alessandra would fall in love immediately and forget all her plans to kill Kallias, or that she wouldn't be the merciless, manipulative genius the synopsis promised.
Well, neither of those points happened.
Thankfully, Alessandra doesn't become a Mary Sue heroine. If she did turn into one, one of my favorite scenes in the book would have been so different.
Towards the beginning of
The Shadows Between Us, she waltzes into the castle where Kallias is seeing potential brides and ignores him. Instead of walking up to him, she makes him walk up to her. If she were not like other girls, she would go to the castle being like
I don't need a prince, attract his attention for no real reason, and fall in love immediately. But Alessandra did all of this on purpose. It was all a scheme to attract Kallias's attention. She's not just some "intriguing" bumbling idiot. This is calculated.
I love Alessandra so much. She's smart and she's evil. What more do you need? One thing I love about her is how she has a passion for sewing and fashion, but that doesn't make her any less strong. Nobody makes a big deal out of it. It's just something she loves to do, and something she's really, really good at.
Her character is so consistent. It was truly a pleasure to be in her mind. She's calm, cool, and cultured. There were some little details that really brought her to life, mostly in the way she interacted with Kallias and the characters I call the Merry Thieves because they feel like characters from Chain of Gold--Petros, Rhouben, and Leandros. Speaking of them, I love the side characters. They all have distinct personalities, and it's so sweet how Alessandra slowly opens up to them.
And I look at my two friends. My first real friends. I thought women were always my competitors, people to be jealous of. How wrong I was.
I love Kallias. He and Alessandra are both villains, basically. They don't try to change each other, or make each other "good." They accept one another for how they are. The mutual pining killed me. The suspense is exquisite. The pacing is perfect in their relationship. I savored every moment of their interactions. They clearly respect each other greatly. Kallias lets Alessandra take care of her own business without interfering, and vice versa.
I do have a few minor problems with this book. The dialogue can be a bit stilted, but that's not a huge issue. Additionally, Kallias is a pretty soft villain. He's supposed to be a conqueror but we never see him do any conquering. The reason I didn't care was because this isn't his story. It's Alessandra's.
Also, there is no worldbuilding, but I actually think that did the book a favor. The place where everything happened—the castle—had a beautiful aesthetic and that was all that mattered to me. If there had been extensive worldbuilding, it would have held the book back.
The synopsis makes this book sound like a romance, but it's so much more than that. It's about twisted politics, betrayal, court intrigue, and manipulation, and I loved all of it.
4.5 stars
"I battle with my mind. Not weapons."
____
ALL. THE. STARS.
I adore this book. It's a complex game of manipulation and court intrigue. Alessandra is a compelling, purely evil main character. It was a delight to be in her head.
review to come...
Rating: really liked it
What is it about mutually horrible, morally questionable, murder prone people falling in love that is so utterly addicting? This book so extremely entertaining. It hooks you right from the first line and keeps you reading till the end.
The main character, Alessandra, is a vain and wicked girl with a villenous plan. She is a murderer, a schemer, and a liar. But you know what, so is the Shadow King and that’s what makes them great together!They are two murderous peas in a pod and it's beautiful!
I loved the dynamic between the characters. I loved how neither of them flinched away from the other’s darkest secrets, accepting each other for the messed up people they are. I only wish we could have gotten more interactions of them being their murder prone selves because I loved the mutual scheming.
Another thing I liked was the relationships with the background characters. Alessandra actually had friends, Hestia and Rhoda, and they actually talked about things that mattered to them. Too often we get books where the girls only talk about boys. The male characters were also nice, if a bit underdeveloped.
This brings me to the bad parts of this imperfect novel.
This book has no world-building. Everything happens and is explained only on a superficial level. The world of the novel is only ever vaguely mentioned. The Shadow King rules over 6 conquered kingdoms, one of which is currently rebelling. All mentions of those kingdoms and that rebellion could have been removed and it wouldn’t impact the plot whatsoever. The world outside the castle is never described and it honestly did not matter.
The Shadow King has the power of shadows. This is vaguely explained and just sort of shrugged off at one point. We never go in-depth into his powers or their reason for being. It could have made for really cool mythology, but alas.
Another thing is that there is electricity in this world but no other form of modern technology. Everyone has swords, but randomly there are guns? When does this take place? What fictional time period is this??? I couldn’t build a proper image of the world in my head, probably because as I said, THIS BOOK HAS NO WORLD BUILDING!!!! It could take place in a void for all that it cares to explain.
In the end, I really enjoyed this. I didn’t want it to end. I lowkey wanted it to have a sequel, but alas, it’s standalone. I will have to find my murderous couple fix from elsewhere.Overall, this book has many, many flaws. There were times when I couldn’t overlook or ignore some things that I had an issue with. That said, I still greatly enjoyed this book. If you like to see two morally questionable people falling in love and don’t mind some vague worldbuilding, this might be the book for you!
I now want to read more of this author’s books!
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
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Rating: really liked it
I liked this one a lot! I've read all of Tricia Levenseller's books now and I've come to learn that they are super quick reads, which I always love. I will admit, from the synopsis you kind of expect this to be a bit more high stakes and intense than it is, but it very quickly turns into a romance story but I really didn't mind that. I found it had a good amount of steaminess and tons of angst, and I loved the dynamic between the two characters. I think the book does have a bit of a weaker plot, but like I said, the romance got me. I personally enjoyed the main character although I know some people found her bland. Honestly I was looking for a quick and easy romantic fantasy and that's exactly what I got, so I can't say I'm disappointed at all.
Rating: really liked it
(
4.5 ★’s)
The poets can say whatever they damned like. A woman’s worth is not decided by what’s between her legs but by what is in her mind.
First and foremost, I would like to address the people who say “
this isn’t dark enough to be Slytherin” and if you’re one of them, I want to tell you—quite politely of course—to shut up. I’m not even sorry because that is the very point of this book:
being Slytherin does not mean being a pure-evil, mustache-twirling doll. Being Slytherin means being ambitious, selfish, arrogant, vengeful, remorseless, power-seeking, and demanding-of-life...yes to all that; but it does not mean being incapable of warmth, caring, and protectiveness towards your numbered friends; it does not mean being senselessly evil and unfamiliar with reason; and it certainly does not mean being unable of letting go of a path which no longer seems practical to walk.And that’s the first of the three whys to me declaring this book as my new fave. So thank you, Tricia, for showing so accurately and immaculately what it
actually is to be a Slytherin.
“I know what I’m doing. And I’m going to keep doing whatever I wish, because I am the master of myself.”
The second remarkable achievement of
The Shadows Between Us is its romance and friendships—more specifically in how it shouts to the the world that no,
a person does not have to change their personality, or cease to be the villain of a poor hero’s story, to be able to have healthy relationships; say, a Slytherin doesn’t have to become a Hufflepuff to love and care and be loved and cared for, only develope to better versions of themselves, with better understanding and acceptance without throwing their defining traits into the trash.
So thank you, Tricia, for weaving this truth within these pages with colours and designs bold enough to be unmistakable.
“I lose interest in everything sooner or later. Everything save you. Because in you, I found my match. In you, I found my equal.”
The third and last of Tricia Levenseller’s attempts which make this book stand out to me is, undoubtedly, her desire
to effectively set fire to the common trope of “antiheroes turning heroes” within YA fantasy. I simply cannot
not fall in love with books that refuse to make remorseless, selfish characters into remorseful, selfless people going out of their way to help the poor; that’s
not the only path for development within characters and please understand that because
I’m effing sick of it. This book is the story of two self-absorbed, power-hungry people (
who might as well be the villain of a lot of people’s lives) falling in love and growing in a different way, and that is why I love it.
So thank you, Tricia, for giving the big eff you to the more popular theme of changing morally grey characters to white flags of peace and generosity.
“I want the power to change things.”
I utterly loved this book; picking up my very first work by Tricia Levenseller, I was expecting a fun romance-oriented young adult fantasy lite with morally grey characters, and that’s precisely what I got...but even better managed than I’d dared hope. It did not try to be something more and
embraced its romantic YA fun and frivolities while adding elements of comfortably LGBT characters and diligently written feministic themes plus much appreciated sex positivism, all the more precious for its perfect banter and humourous writing, making me roll in laughter and cackle in delight on too many occasions.
The Shadows Between Us is a refreshing fun and funny gem, providing our usual light YA read with a breath of fresh air away from the perfect, honourable, goody-two-shoes who seem to have taken over literature for decades and centuries. No wonder it spoke to me on so many impossible levels, as I happen to be part of a triad of Houses (
Slytherfinclaw, each House at about 30%).
Make sure to check out my playlist at the end of this review—it simply slayed me and my reading experience!
Storyline It’s been a fun game. Learning their secrets. Seducing them. Getting them to shower me with gifts.
But to be honest?
I’m bored with it.
I have a new game in mind.
Alessandra Stathos, this cunning second daughter of a bankrupt noble who has had to be hidden from society, waiting for her elder sister to marry so she, too, might be sold to noble for her bride-price, is tired of being overlooked. Never fear, she always has a plan, and this time it has three simple steps to get her the power and attention she deserves:
⑴ Woo the king.
⑵ Marry him.
⑶ Kill him and rule his kingdom.
“To you, Alessandra. May your wit never be used against me.”
But not only is she not the sole person seeking to murder the king, the Shadow King is also not so easy to kill, the shadows that encompass him being a mystery to most of the six kingdoms. So stuck between charming the charming, uninterested king and keeping him alive to kill after he makes her a queen, she finds herself needing to remind herself of her path to the power she craves and delights in.
Storytelling Starting from strengths, the flowing dialogue, top notch banter, and easy and hilarious writing that carries the occasional silliness and lightness of the tale as an advantage rather than a failing, are all points I applaud the author on. Plus the smart solutions, plans, and politics laid out throughout the plot which were simply
delightful—
Tricia Levenseller is all about showing, and that’s what made the cleverness of the characters so tangible. Not to forget the elaborate way in which the the feminism was handled, fighting for women’s right to not be judged as based on what they do in their bedrooms as men aren’t.
However, the book does have its weakness, and that being the reveals and mystery—those are areas that need improvement in their manner of being tackled and I hope the author works more on said aspect to excel in future books.
Characters “Alessandra Stathos, that’s positively despicable.” He says the words like they’re the highest compliment he can give me. “You are an absolute gem, do you know that?”
✦
Alessandra: Disarmingly clever and conniving, shamelessly confrontational, unfaltering and no-nonsense, ruthlessly craving power, arrogantly ambitious, vengeful, selfish, independent, and thorough, she made me fall head over heels in love with her from the very first sentence of the book. My queen (because she indeed is one in every sense of the word) is always in control of situations as well as herself, and doesn’t take anyone’s shit so, as you might suspect, the usual moments in books when the MC would be guilt-ridden and reprimanded go quite differently, with her not backing down. Oh my rare treasure who, unlike almost every female protagonist,
is not ashamed and confused by her sexuality. I
love her.
“When I see something I want, I reach for it without hesitation.”
✦
Kallias: Gem number two—selfish, power-hungry conqueror; ruthless ruler and determined Shadow King...yes, but also refreshingly friendly, charming, intelligent, and accepting heartthrob and haunted soft-boy! I love it, okay? What’s most note worthy about him to me though is how he doesn’t turn into a benevolent, generous, and regretful king. He’s far from “evil,” and fights for rights that deserve to be cheered, he’s kind and not a terrifying, silent king, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he crushed his subjects for funds to conquer all lands and continues to want power for himself. I appreciate this, because it goes to say that a person isn’t all-good or all-bad.
✦ Other characters like daring
Rhoda and sweet
Hestia who’s simply afraid to be herself in fear of rejection and thus imitates successful individual in all aspects, as well as
Leandros who is...charming and tragic and whatnot, all make this an enjoyable, unputdownable read that I devoured in less than a day.
Relationships “I don’t think it’s necessarily about finding the perfect man but finding the perfect man for you. One person may rank a man far differently than another, even if they are both using your ranking system.”
✧
Romance: Giving us an angsty yet clean dynamic filled with yearning and abstinence, my two enchanting and addictive clever babies do what few couples in YA do and—despite actually using one another for their own gains—
communicate their feelings. They are understanding and accepting of each other, undeterred by what would usually break other YA couples dramatically, and actually cheer one another on in their darkest deeds. Their real and proper development and process of falling in love stands up and out of the page and is a bonus in Tricia Levenseller’s favour.
And in all honestly I found it rather refreshing to have a fake-friends-to-lovers arc rather than an enemies-to-lovers one. 
Credit: Melanie Bourgeois
I also really need to address the conclusion of the romance so I’ll be a good girl and put this in spoiler tags: (view spoiler)
[the route it took makes absolute sense! Alessandra didn’t plan to kill the Shadow King out of vengeance or whatnot, she wanted power and since queens don’t get to rule kingdoms when a king is around, the only logical solution was to kill him. But when he gave her the power to rule beside him, there just wasn’t any other reason for Alessandra to murder him—why would she, when she’s finally found someone who understands her and is just like her? God knows I need me someone like that. (hide spoiler)] “It was you who reminded me what it is to live.”
✧
Friendship: Suffice it to say that the female friendships in this book are a rare, heartwarming blessing. The development, the steady support they discovered within one another. My heart is soaring.
Worldbuilding See, here’s the thing; there’s not a lot of world building going on in this standalone, and I’m shocked to say that did not bother me in the least—me, who loves this aspect so much she’d read tens of infodump-ish paragraphs explaining a fascinating new world. So how could this miracle possibly happen??? I’ll tell you how.
Tricia Levenseller knew what she wanted to do—write a fun and addictive Slytherin romance—and did it with style. She didn’t make unsatisfactory attempts at world building or try to dip a finger into every pie and fail to dig deep enough in each (
I’m looking at you, Serpent & Dove)
and instead chose to focus on the her chosen elements and breathe wicked life into them.Tricia Levenseller doesn’t
need an expansive world to make her work remarkable without loose ends and unsatisfactory dives. What she gives you, she writes like a pro; what she doesn’t give you...well you don’t need it anyhow.
That’s what I call skilled writing.
But a little on what there
is in this area:
I’m assuming the author was inspired by the late 19th or early 20th century, as are rifles and piping and electricity in this fantasy world of 9 nine realms—though with less rigid royals. I think what I appreciated most was how, despite applying the usual YA approach to simplify politics, etc, there is still attention paid to things such as existence of proper reasons for the coming of a new fashion (
man I loved this). And oh did I relish seeing LGBT+ characters and relationships as the norm in a YA fantasy novel, not a theme to be explored but an accepted and light addition.
The magic (
same as the detail on the lands in general) is of course minimum again BUT it’s practically the core of their romance of abstinence, which is all this book is about anyways. I just want to appreciate that (1) while “shadow” powers are too common in YA fantasy and all tend to be nonsensical, I think this book made it what it was
supposed to be because its nature of shadows and the ability it brings makes
much more sense than, say, the Darkling’s shadows from
Shadow and Bone, (2) plus, the title thankfully fits!
It shows exactly what the book is about—a romance, with a fantasy element to have the dynamic depend on.✰
Did I enjoy this book? Immensely. I swallowed it up whole. TSBU is just what I needed at the moment—a fun romance that resonated with me and made laugh so hard and so often.
✰
Do I recommend it? Undoubtedly. Just remember what to expect going in—not a ground breaking vengeance story about a girl who seeks to rule the world, but an enjoyable fantasy lite ride that’s all about
da love between morally grey characters, and some clever, hilarious, and devious schemes.
Companions Book playlist: Spotify URL
Rating: really liked it
4.5 StarsAlthough I’m too much of a
HUFFLEPUFF to be like Alessandra or to even have the guts to do half the things she did in this book,
The Shadows Between Us wooed me in all its
SLYTHERIN glory.
Tired of being constantly overlooked, Alessandra is determined to prove just how cunning and villainous she can be. The plan is simple:
1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.
What could possibly go wrong? Nothing. Except for one scenario she’s not at all prepared to face.
If that alone is not enough to sway you into reading this book, I don’t know what will! Ah, well, I guess my review will have to do the job. But if you’re still not convinced, I’ll leave it up to fate to match you up with this book.
Selling Points: The ever so badass queen, Alessandra “I may be trying to win the heart of a king, but…I’m still being myself.”
Even though I was side eyeing her the whole time, I was also fascinated by her. There’s something about someone being unapologetically themself that—though you don’t always approve of their ways—you can’t help but admire them. She’s such a breath of fresh air.
My sweet king, Kallias “You are beautiful,” he continues. “But not so beautiful as to tempt me.”
He is the male equivalent of Alessandra. He’s made of shadows and his power is really cool! Albeit sometimes also very limiting. He’s just the perfect dark broody love interest and he’s fifteen out of fifteen! (You’ll get this reference once you read the book.)
The slow burn enemies to lovers “I think that when you care enough for someone, you reach a point where it’s far more painful not to have him at all than to have him and risk losing him. You realize the risk is worth it. Because happiness, however short-lived, is always worth it.”
It was both excruciatingly torturous and delicious to read, and I took great pleasure in it. This book doesn’t hold a candle to TFOTA series but it’s special in its own way. The dynamic between Kallias and Alessandra reminded me of Cardan and Jude.
At first, I wasn’t sure about them because I thought Alessandra bonded better with one of the male side characters. But as I got more and more of her and Kallias together, I shipped them all the way. I loved their back and forth banter, Kallias when he was being honest about his feelings, and ugh that little grovel at the end!
Wonderful side characters “Aren’t we all drawn to friends in the beginning by trifling things? True bonds develop afterward, when character is revealed.”
Initially, I thought with how arrogant and awful Alessandra sometimes was, she would find no genuine friendship. But the female friendship in this book is actually pretty
RAD. I loved her friendliness with the other three male supporting characters as well. She’s the kind of person who would go out of her ways to help you when you needed it even though she’s got an ulterior motive for doing it.
Impeccable writing “Don’t be afraid of who you are. Say what you wish. Be who you wish. Don’t try to be someone else.”
This book opened with such a shocking confession from Alessandra that I was hooked from the very first page. The flow was seamless that I didn’t want to put it down. In terms of pacing, I thought it was draggy in some places. But I fell deeper for this book as I read on.
Alas, this book is perfect except for one thing... 
How could you end me with only ONE single sentence on the very last page?
I COULD REALLY DO WITH SOME EPILOGUE!! That’s not so nice of you. I’m sulky now because I want more
SandrAllias! (Ignore my lame attempt at creating a ship name.) Also,
some might argue that this book is predictable, lacks world building, and that the romance ruins the whole Alessandra’s “feminism and female villainy” narrative.
While I agree with these assessment on some level and considering that this is only a standalone, I think this book is extremely
BRILLIANT and immensely
DELIGHTFUL to read.
My only advice would be that you better get to this book before the hype gets to you and pollutes your brain with too high of an expectation. So keep your hopes in check, go grab yourself a copy, and read the book!
Rating: really liked it
Step 1: Woo the king.
Step 2: Marry the king.
Step 3: Kill the king and take his kingdom.
How very Evil Queen of you. I'm always down for that!
Rating: really liked it
Just released my Worst 2020 Books Video - now that you know this one made the list, click the link to find the rest!
The Written Review 
Alessandra has a plan - convince the Shadow King to
marry her. Then kill him. Then inherit the kingdom.It's quite a brilliant and flawless plan.
The only problem? She's starting to
like him alive more than she wants to see him dead.
So. Essentially this book didn't work for me.
The
beginning is CRAZY intense - like 5/5 stars for me.
I loved the idea that she was just going to woo-and-kill the king and I couldn't wait to see what happens after she achieved her plan.
But then she starts drawing things out.
First she needs to do this, then that, then there's suspicion that needs to be diverted...then more problems...and what was originally very easy and straightforward gets
dragged on and on and on. Very frustrating.
Eventually I realized that the author was going for the falling-in-love opposed to falling-in-the-grave angle which was alright...but
it was disappointing. It pulled this book away from a fresh, exciting concept into something more mundane and ordinary YA.
Plus...well... maybe it's just me but I would've loved to see an evil YA heroine...and I was disappointed when she was shuffled to a more ordinary pathway.
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Rating: really liked it
If I could give this book more than
5 stars, I would. Brimming with betrayal, romance and conspiracy, my love for this book is more than what I can put into comprehensible words.
Rating: really liked it
beyond the sex positivity & surface level female empowerment this was just... meh. i mean don't get me wrong i appreciated the aforementioned feminism but this story was just. odd.
i get that it was trying to be a standalone fantasy but it seemed like there was so much here that wasn't explored. i mean the man is called the Shadow King and yet we never get more than a passing understanding of what that means. and the plot was... um. lacking. i dunno i felt uneasy the whole time while reading this (except when they consummated their relationship, that was nice). i was just constantly waiting for the "more" to show up and it never did.
anyway, more thoughts to come in video form.
