Caitlin Davies

Tricia Levenseller

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

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:
1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

The Shadows Between Us

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

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:
1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen―all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

Sophia

When we reach the palace, Kallias walks me to my room. He promises to make arrangements for his safety as soon as he leaves me.

"See that you do," I say. "I have no intention of losing my best friend."

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

The way Kalias admits his love AAA noo its soo cuteee 

And the biggest plotwist  like WHATT was not expecting it at all . Loved this book omds

Hana Asghar

Leen

Julian

Once, there was another boy who made me feel this way. One who made me feel full and seen and loved. Now the bugs of the earth have feasted on his flesh.

The poets can say whatever they damned like. A woman’s worth is not decided by what’s between her legs but by what’s in her mind. 

Chloe Heisserer

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

Eslie

Hannah Williams

Tricia Levenseller, author of Daughter of the Pirate King, is back with an epic YA tale of ambition and love in The Shadows Between Us... “They’ve never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart. And they never will.” Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power: 1) Woo the Shadow King. 2) Marry him. 3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself. No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it. But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen? “Tricia Levenseller’s latest, The Shadows Between Us, is a decadent and wickedly addictive fantasy, full of schemes and court intrigue, and delightful descriptions of food, which I am always a fan of.” —Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series

Parv

Emma Nilson

Annabelle Louise Hilhorst 

i forgot to say why i gave it 2,5 stars,,,, it was lame. lame and flat and just not what it had the potential to be

Chloé

D'abord, courtiser le Roi des Ombres. Puis l'épouser.
Enfin, le tuer et récuprer son royaume...
Personne ne connait l'étendue des pouvoirs du Roi des Ombres, fraîchement couronné. Certains disentqu'il peut contrôler les ombres qui errent autour de lui et les manipuler à sa guise. D'autres que les ténèbres lui murmurent les secrets de ses ennemis.
Peu importe, Alessandra sait ce qu'elle veut, et rien ne pourra l'emp.cher de mener son plan à la réussite.
Mais la jeune fille n'est pas la seule personne qui cherche à conquérir le trône. Et alors que les attaques envers le Roi se multiplient, elle se retrouve à devoir mettre toute son énergie à le défendre, le temps qu'il puisse faire d'elle sa reine. Car après tout, quoi de mieux pour un roi des ombres qu'une reine perfide et rusée ?

La reine des ombres

Sarah

Bon c’était archi facile comme récit, nul et sans intérêt, mais en audio book ça passe bien et ça m’a divertit durant le travail

+1 étoiles pour le sujet de l’émancipation sex*elle, parfois des essais de propos féministes même si c’était quelques fois mal fait et maladroit

Selin Igten

I am at a loss for words.. It’s 5 am right now and I actually don’t know what to say. Review coming later maybe

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

When you have a villain x villain romance that starts off with a sentence like that, things can only get better, right? Right???

Obviously, judging from the star rating I have given this book, wrong. I picked this up only because I had previously read Tricia Levenseller’s Daughter of the Pirate King, and the chemistry between the main characters in that book was *banging*. I thought, “Well, take that and apply it to two main characters who are rather unlikable and legit villains, and we got a whole show.”
Reader, we did not have a whole show. We did not even have half a show. 

Now it was refreshing to see a main female character that is not a damsel in distress, not by a long shot. What’s more, she is not even the underdog, not the oppressed, she is just ambitious and over the top because she can be. No excuses.
The premise was also promising. So I was pretty let down when the book started off with a bang, and then unfortunately went swiftly downhill after that.

It is not even a specific thing about this book. It is just that everything felt so… flat. There was no depth to the characters, to the plot, to the world. It was just underwhelming as a whole, and the chemistry that I was expecting just wasn’t very strong.

Overall, not bad, but nothing to get me excited about either.
--------------------
2.5/5

Amaziing. Alessandra was so nicely written. Great plot but it took a while to get there And the REAL plot twist did not appear until like the last 40 pages.  Still i really enjoyed it And would read it again (probably will)

rudolf

I couldn't sleep so just on a whim decided to start reading it and all of a sudden i've been reading for 3 hours and finished the book. 

I love a good fantasy, honestly, and since I haven't read one in a while, it's definatly elevated my read even more, and the fact it was so fast paced and also quite brief in pages, I felt even more inclined to just binge it. Reading it all in one sitting is the best thing you can do in these situations. Alessandra, the main character, is your literal definition of girlboss. She kills, she maims, she's an assassin. This book has alot of her action, and how she would work with the kings council and I love a good slightly political fantasy book. Kallais gives off the biggest rhys vibes ever. I love kallais this guy is lowkey such a mood and I just love it. He's actually so funny and their banter between eachother is amazing. The paceing of this book is great; it's perfect for a reading slump you're struggling to get out of because it doesn't require alot of memorising any magic systems or anything, so it's perfect. I loved it so much and it's amazing and I think you should read it. 

surtified™

I couldn't sleep so just on a whim decided to start reading it and all of a sudden i've been reading for 3 hours and finished the book. 

I love a good fantasy, honestly, and since I haven't read one in a while, it's definatly elevated my read even more, and the fact it was so fast paced and also quite brief in pages, I felt even more inclined to just binge it. Reading it all in one sitting is the best thing you can do in these situations. Alessandra, the main character, is your literal definition of girlboss. She kills, she maims, she's an assassin. This book has alot of her action, and how she would work with the kings council and I love a good slightly political fantasy book. Kallais gives off the biggest rhys vibes ever. I love kallais this guy is lowkey such a mood and I just love it. He's actually so funny and their banter between eachother is amazing. The paceing of this book is great; it's perfect for a reading slump you're struggling to get out of because it doesn't require alot of memorising any magic systems or anything, so it's perfect. I loved it so much and it's amazing and I think you should read it. 

Nina Verhaaff 

I didn’t really like the book. For me personally, it was such a cliché. I predicted what was going to happen in the ending, I predicted it at the beginning of the book. The fake dating aspect I didn’t really love would that that it wasn’t part of it. I understand that is how the story is formed.
There was only one “romantic” scene that wasn’t even that juicy or good. The main character is also so ignorant and so full of herself all the time and she only wants attention from everyone.
All those rules the kingdom has set up for the king is very vague and not very well explained. 
The only positive thing I wanna say is the outfits. 
I buddy read this book with a friend of mine and it was fun reading it together. 
Sorry but it wasn’t for me

Raven K

I will never stop thinking about this book...that ending tho dude 😭!

becky oh

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

I was just in love with this book by reading the first page.

This book was absolutely FANTASTIC, and even though I'm meant to do a buddy read, I couldn't help myself but keep reading the next page, thinking myself that I would stop at the next chapter but when the chapter I was reading has ended...I just kept telling myself the next chapter will stop me, but books have this special power of luring you in to its own world and never let you get away. It's kind of a spell you can't help. And I was completely under that wicked spell.

“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.”

Alessandra had three steps before having the world at her command.
1. Woo the Shadow King
2. Get married to him
3. Kill him in a blink of an eye and get that power
It's so easy, right? 
But sometimes, you have to find the unexpected in front of you. 

As Alessandra drew closer to the Shadow King, she finds that her plans are shattering slowly, as her heart changes to something different. COMPLETELY different and you know...love is one of them.
Instead of letting him kill himself, she saves him in every way. Even SHE doesn't know WHY she is acting so strange, not following her plan but following her heart...that sounds magnificent in some fairy tale story but the shadows between them may not want them together...

This story literally led me into a different world, where the Shadow King and Alessandra grew closer and closer to each other, even though they are not meant to, they can't help it.

In this book, I also learned about love. That sounds ridiculous but it's true. Alessandra and the Shadow King's love was just so . . . lovely. I knew you would do anything for the ones you loved, but what the Shadow King lost to be with Alessandra, I definitely knew he was like, IN love with her. Such a sweet story, if it actually happened in real life, that would be so good...

I don't know why but I just knew the ending by reading it. The blurb of the book just gives everything away and I know readers wants to find out more but deep in our minds...we already know some of the endings.

That's why this book was a tiny bit predictable. I couldn't gasp at some points where somebody might die because it ended too quickly. It was too short. I would've wanted some MORE dramatic entrances and endings.

But still....I loved it. Every second of it, even the ''Meant-to-be-dramatic'' parts and of course, the back and forth conversations between Alessandra and the Shadow King.
I'm still in love with this book...

Nena Wyers 

Nessa Luna

I was very intrigued by this book, as it was explained to be a Slytherin romance and while I enjoyed Alessandra and her ambition, I quickly found myself quite bored with the overall story. I loved Alessandra's interest in fashion and her actually creating stuff herself. The last couple of chapters were exciting but over way too soon, in my opinion, but yeah it wasn't overall a bad book. 

Think it might have been better, had it been a bit longer. I'm happy it was a standalone because I am in the middle of way too many series, but I would have loved it if it had been a longer standalone.

I thought that this book was good when I read it 

Lexy 

Colleen

3.5 Stars
 
*A devious and delicious romance whose heroine is a bit iffy in the likability category*


I’ve enjoyed all of Levenseller’s previous books, and my interest was immediately piqued by the premise of The Shadows Between Us. The story is about a young woman hell-bent on marrying the king – just so she can kill him and take over his thrown. The author billed it as "A Slytherin romance" and it certainly lived up to that label. The characters were morally grey (at best), driven, and self-serving. And although there are some mystery and intrigue elements to the plot, The Shadows Between Us is primarily a Romance in which a young woman sets an ambitious plan to get the king to fall in love with her, marry him, then kill him and take over his throne.


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

Levenseller writes in present tense, which is jarring at times, but I do still like her writing overall. I just hope from the bottom of my heart that all of these present tense novels are a trend and not something making a permanent takeover. Anyway, Levenseller is one of the only YA authors I enjoy. And while I did not love The Shadows Between Us, I did enjoy it for the most part. 

Female villains can be delightful, but they are certainly tricky to write. The main character, Alessandra, had a lot of delightful Bad Girl attributes. She was intelligent, bold, conniving, and took no shit from anyone. On the other hand, she was also vain, impetuous, condescending, and frankly an all-around bitch. I know that word means different things to people, and that strong, independent women often get labeled as bitches, so let me rephrase. Alessandra was basically a psycho Mean Girl in a Fantasy setting. She was an egotistical bully. And I’m not against having a truly villainous female lead. But her desire to sadistically demean other characters and her need to brag about her own plans significantly counteracted the effectiveness of her own plans. If she had stayed on her planned course, she totally would have ended up being the sort of villain who monologues their evil plans to the hero… both revealing how to stop her and giving the hero time to escape and thwart her plans. 

Alessandra was also prissy and materialistic. There was way, way too much talk about clothing in this book. I don’t think there was a single chapter that didn’t go on about clothing. It was frivolous and a bit tedious at times. Whether it’s in writing or in person, there are only so many wardrobe descriptions that I can handle before I start heaving long-suffering sighs.

So those are the things I did not enjoy about The Shadows Between Us. But despite those things, I have to say that I did enjoy the book overall. It totally had that guilty pleasure vibe of being a romance with a conniving twist. And in the end, I found it pretty delightful – once Alessandra toned down her cattiness a bit. It was a nice change of pace to read a frilly, silly romantic story with a slight twist. I was also surprised that there ended up being some positive and satisfying female friendships in the story. That was completely unexpected given Alessandra’s Mean Girl attitude at the beginning.

I’m putting this under the New Adult label because there is a lot of content regarding sex. There isn’t any explicit erotic content, but there is a lot of implied action. It’s mostly fade to black sex scenes and scenes taking place in bed post-coitus, that sort of thing. But there is also a ton of conversations about casual sex. And why is female independence so inexorably linked to sexual liberation? I mean, I get it. I do. Most of history featured huge double standards about sexuality for men versus women. But on the other hand, can’t people focus on something other than intercourse to show a woman being strong and independent? My main discomfort here was the eighteen-year-old main character spending a lot of time talking about her prolific sex life starting at age fifteen. I felt like the whole cast of characters needed a serious Safe Sex talk.

The Shadows Between Us is really a Fantasy-lite story. The only Fantasy element is the King’s shadow powers. There is no other magic in the story, so don’t expect a High Fantasy story. This really is a Romance with slight Fantasy and Mystery elements. But like I mentioned, it was still a fun and entertaining read. I had fun watching Alessandra decide which she truly wants more – love or power?


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

irmak 

So good!! 

It is an enemies to lovers book and i love that kind of books. I loved our main character, she was perfect. 

It was so fast paced, you can read it quickly. 

If you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for?!

This book was alright. I wouldn't say it was bad, but also wouldn't say that it was particularly good.

The beginning made a strong first impression and immediately intrigued me.

It was good to have a cunning protagonist like Alessandra who actually followed her goals for the most part and came up with clever plans.

I also liked that she didn't reject her femininity and rather embraced it to empower her.

The plot was very fast-paced, although it could be a bit too hurried at times which led to a lack of more interactions and deeper characterisations of characters. Overall, the characters were drawn out fine though with aspects making them distinct from one another, but also similar in other aspects. The writing style was plain, but direct which helped with the fast pace.

The magic in the book was also unique and was interesting to read more about.

However, there were often too many very detailed descriptions of the characters' features as well as Alessandra's outfits which felt like an info-dump and took me out of the story. It was just an interrupting block that felt like it was squeezed into that tiny space.

Additionally, Alessandra could occasionally come off as quite one-dimensional and kept repeating points.

The plot twist at the end was alright, but I have to admit that it disappointed me as it was too rushed and sudden. Further, parts of it were very predictable.

Overall, the book entertained me, but didn't impress me.

Thank you to the publisher on netgalley for the copy.

Sophia Wolf

This book was alright. I wouldn't say it was bad, but also wouldn't say that it was particularly good.

The beginning made a strong first impression and immediately intrigued me.
It was good to have a cunning protagonist like Alessandra who actually followed her goals for the most part and came up with clever plans.
I also liked that she didn't reject her femininity and rather embraced it to empower her.

The plot was very fast-paced, although it could be a bit too hurried at times which led to a lack of more interactions and deeper characterisations of characters. Overall, the characters were drawn out fine though with aspects making them distinct from one another, but also similar in other aspects. The writing style was plain, but direct which helped with the fast pace.

The magic in the book was also unique and was interesting to read more about.

However, there were often too many very detailed descriptions of the characters' features as well as Alessandra's outfits which felt like an info-dump and took me out of the story. It was just an interrupting block that felt like it was squeezed into that tiny space.

Additionally, Alessandra could occasionally come off as quite one-dimensional and kept repeating points.

The plot twist at the end was alright, but I have to admit that it disappointed me as it was too rushed and sudden. Further, parts of it were very predictable.

Overall, the book entertained me, but didn't impress me.

Thank you to the publisher on netgalley for the copy.

There are a lot of controversial reviews, but personally I enjoyed it.

Skye Lewis 

This was fine. I liked Alessandra in general, but there's a lot to dislike. The Lord who's the main councillor is obviously a Bad Guy. Kallias doesn't have anything distinctly attractive about him, so it's unclear why Alessandra loves him in the end. Some of her "sleep with whomever, you're still a good person" is pretty hamfisted / not plot-relevant, as is the LGBT representation. Certain pieces are loose ends (what happens to the sister / why don't we meet her? how did she steal poison in the first place, how could she possibly forget that a servant would find it, why is that being made in the castle? why does he wait a week to see her at the end?), and Kallias loving Alessandra is just unexplained -- the reveal at the end that he always loved her is so disappointing. What, ANY woman would've worked who 1) didn't immediately introduce herself and 2) didn't wear green?? Kallias is sooo painfully 2D. Loved the premise but execution was EARLY YA for sure.

Marika

Kate Perrin

Two stars for this book is me being generous. The plot of the book is mildly interesting but it basically gets thrown away as soon as the MC gains feelings for the love interest. I feel like I would've DNF'ed this book if it wouldn't have been recommended by a friend. She really liked this book but it just wasn't my cup of tea. If you like a fantasy book aesthetic with more romance than plot then go for it (because there is plenty of tension and romantic build-up throughout this) but if you are actually interested in the plot then I don't recommend this. I also feel like the resolution was rushed and there wasn't a solid conclusion.

Millie Roberts

YES YES YES this was everything i mean alessandra is now one of my fav female protagonists

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

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power: 
1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

“Tricia Levenseller’s latest, The Shadows Between Us, is a decadent and wickedly addictive fantasy, full of schemes and court intrigue, and delightful descriptions of food, which I am always a fan of.” —Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series

The Shadow Between Us

The writing style wasn't my favorite but the story was amazing.

The Shadows Between Us

Reviews

Highlights