The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Book Review

Title: The Shadows Between Us

Author: Tricia Levenseller

Genre: YA/Dark/Fantasy/Romance

Rating: ****

Review: I have read almost everything Tricia Levenseller has written with the exception of Daughter of the Siren Queen and Blade of Secrets (which is due to be published in 2021) so I was very excited to get into The Shadows Between Us. We are introduced to Alessandra and we see from the very beginning that this girl is ruthless and is willing to do anything as we can see when she stabs a boy called Hektor because he doesn’t love her the same way she loves him. We learn that Alessandra has taken many lovers which is against the law as ladies can’t have lovers until after they are married but she is smart and careful as she picks men that she can blackmail so they don’t say anything about their affairs. After her latest relationship ends after she rejects his proposal her father is trying to secure a match for her, now her older sister is getting married and Alessandra has her eyes set on the Shadow King. Her father is wary at first but agrees to take her to palace where she successfully captures the attention of the King and holds it as he gives her an invitiation to join him at court which she accepts. However, Alessandra doesn’t just want to marry him, she wants to marry him, then kill him and take his kingdom for her own but this is going to be a difficult job since the Shadow King is rumoured to have powers which can be seen in the shadows that constantly linger around him. The King is young and handsome but he is also intrigued with Alessandra as he sets her challenges without telling her, like setting his dog on her to see how she will react which is very differently to every other woman he has tried it on and I can’t wait to see what happens between the pair. However, everything might not go as easily as she planned as members of the King’s council approach her as they have heard some rumours about her which she tries to put down as it would blow everything if it were discovered that she had already taken several lovers and immediately tries to form some female friendship with Hestia and Rhoda which seems to work in her favour.

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As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Alessandra’s plan is paying off in one aspect but problems are arising faster than she can deal with them. We see her getting closer to the King and eventually he explains that the reason he is getting close to her is because he needs a friend, someone that he can trust to appear like he is courting them without a desire to become Queen to get the council off his back, yet he is unaware that becoming Queen is Alessandra’s goal. However, he does make the mistake of telling her that she wasn’t beautiful enough to tempt him which is a challenge to her to seduce him completely which she begins doing immediately. The Shadow King does reward her with telling her his real name which is Kallias Maheras. However, at court where she is making an impressions he has three major problems to deal with, the first is Orrin who is smitten with Alessandra but she can easily keep him at bay, the second is Myron her most recent lover who refuses to let her go and when his father dies she doesn’t have anything to hold over him anymore so he begins to blackmail her into getting him into important functions or he will tell everyone of her sordid history and she immediately begins plotting of a way to deal with Myron once and for all. The last problem she has is that Hektor’s father has begun an investigation into his son’s disappearance after three years and Alessandra knows something has changed but she doesn’t have time to dwell on it now since she needs to focus her attentions on the King and getting to spend more time with him. It seems the Kingdom isn’t quite happy as there is a Robin Hood like bandit on the loose, Kallias is trying to find his parent’s murderer without being murdered himself despite the attempts on his life and they are both trying to maintain a proper courtship between the pair of them which means it only takes one wrong move on Alessandra’s part and everything could come crashing down around her.

As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Alessandra is putting her beautiful mind to work but it doesn’t seem to be helping in the Kallias department. While she does what Myron asks for the time being, she has been working with Rhouben to help free him of his engagement to a woman he hates as well as dealing with one of her own would-be suitors in the meantime. She also borrows money from Rhouben in order to buy Myron’s debt so she has some blackmail material on him and give him until lunchtime to leave the palace. She also dealt with her father in a similar fashion who wants her to return from the palace and marry Orrin but Alessandra isn’t having it even when he threatens to disinherit her, she stands her ground. However, her sister seems to be undoing all her hard work when the constable questions her about Alessandra’s relationship with Hektor and she told the constable that they were sleeping together which could destroy her courtship with Kallias if it becomes public knowledge but there’s nothing, she can do about that right now. Alessandra tries to make the courtship work but suggesting things to Kallias about the kingdom, showing an interest in his work and attempting to make herself seem like a woman who wants all of his time which she does. However, the council are buying their courtship as the King doesn’t accompany her anywhere outside the palace, he doesn’t do things with her apart from eating the occasional meal together and sending her gifts. When she confronts Kallias about this he tells her he doesn’t have the time to do all those things with her as he is expanding his empire and trying to keep the nations he has conquered under control while dealing with problems within their own kingdom like the bandit. This means that if the council refuse to believe in the courtship, they can arrange for other women to meet the King, which means they won’t have any use for Alessandra and she will be forced to return home and marry someone of her father’s choosing like Orrin which she couldn’t possibly stand and the stakes seem to be ever rising around her. In addition to all this, Alessandra also seems to have a connection with Leandros as she switches back and forth between using him for information of Kallias and wondering what it would be like to be with someone like him as he is just to her taste.

As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Alessandra is becoming annoyed with the lack of time Kallias is spending with her and begins looking elsewhere for fun even if it is just in her imagination. With her issues with Myron out of the way and the situation with Orrin firmly in hand the only thing hovering over her now is Hektor but there is nothing she can do about that until she is called upon. After being invited out by Leandros to a night of drinking and boxing where she wins several bets and even takes part in a fight although she loses, she realises this is the most fun she has had in months and when they return to the palace Leandros does offer himself to her and she almost accepts his invitation for a kiss but stops at the last moment as she realises, she wants Kallias. When entering her rooms and finding Kallias there she is shocked but they are open and honest with each other about what they want and desire. The next day Kallias takes her out for a picnic where they also end up skinny dipping in a near by lake when the bandit appears stealing the remains of their picnic for the poor and he openly defies the King. As the guards where distracted by Alessandra’s nakedness, Kallias kills one of the men and orders the rest to be hanged when they return to the palace. When Alessandra confirms she isn’t scared of him we can see their relationship slowly beginning to change into something more. However, during this time Alessandra has learnt more about Kallias’ shadow ability apparently the royals with the ability can live very long lives as long as they stay in their shadow form and the reason, they can’t be touched skin to skin is because when they do they become mortal if that person is around meaning they can be killed. This is exactly what happened to his parents as his father could be killed as long as his mother was around. Kallias has trusted Alessandra with this information which she might use against him at some point but I doubt it.

As we cross into the second half of the novel, we can see Alessandra and Kallias becoming more trusting to one another as Kallias thinks that the assassination attempts are coming from his own council and that they might the same person who killed his parents. However, we get to see the first assassination attempt on Kallias but luckily Alessandra is there with him. Despite being shot, Alessandra puts herself between the assassin and Kallias allowing him time to move into his shadow form where he can heal and thanks to Alessandra putting her dagger in the man’s thigh, Kallias is able to finish him off. Alessandra is in shock afterwards but we see some real development in their relationship here and I am hoping something happens between them soon because the anticipation is killing me. With Orrin’s return she needs to help Rhouben out of his situation but Orrin won’t even speak to her so she enlists Kallias’ help in getting in and out of the his room but while she is there getting his seal, she also uncovers that Orrin is the masked bandit stealing from the rich to give to the poor which is obvious now that I think about it but he wasn’t really present enough to make an impression but Alessandra is going to use it to her advantage. Alessandra does just that as she appeals to Orrin’s need to help those, he deems weaker to get him to go to Rhouben’s fiancé’s room where they are “discovered” kissing and the engagement is called off. In the aftermath of this she tells Kallias he is the bandit and he is thrown in prison for the rest of his life along with many of the common folk who knew about the bandit. However, Alessandra receives a letter from a anonymous person letting her know they know who is trying to kill the King and to meet them in a gentlemen’s club in two nights. Both Alessandra and Kallias go in disguise but things don’t go to plan as while he is there someone touches him meaning he will be mortal in their presence and they have no idea who it is. While they are pondering this the council overrule Kallias meaning he has to do a public parade where he could be killed and Alessandra’s ball is much sooner but no less public. In amongst all of this Leandros proposes to Alessandra which she turns down only to be proposed to be Kallias offering to share all the power he has with her as his equal meaning she wouldn’t have to kill him any longer and even though this relationship would never be physical the way Alessandra would like it to be she accepts because her feelings for Kallias go beyond that of physical sensation no matter how much she wants it.

As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, we see all the pieces of the puzzle starting to come together and it all begins with the ball. At the ball Alessandra knows that the assassin is hiding and waiting for their chance but she doesn’t care in light of her new relationship with Kallias. However, people have learned that the King has pardoned her for murder and people are wary but the second that Kallias proposes that doesn’t matter anymore. However, this is the moment that the assassin chooses to strike and it is only Alessandra’s quick thinking when she recognises someone that shouldn’t be there that keeps Kallias alive. In the aftermath, the supposed assassin is thrown in the dungeons and Kallias along with Alessandra are free to lead a normal and happy life, well as much as they can with him being the Shadow King. However, this isn’t what happens as nothing goes according to plan when Alessandra’s original intentions come back to bite her squarely on the ass.

As we cross into the final section of the novel, there are less than 70 pages left and I honestly have no idea how this is going to end, however, if it is anything like Warrior of the Wild then I am in for a roller coaster of emotions before this novel reaches its climax. Having watched this novel build to its climax I find that I don’t really want to discuss the events of the last portion of the novel because it is everything the book builds too over 300+ pages. All I can say about it was it left me absolutely breathless and I seriously wasn’t expecting that ending especially Alessandra’s actions but I am happy for the characters we have come to adore. I honestly love Levenseller’s writing as I read this whole book in a single sitting and didn’t finish until nearly three in the morning. However, this book isn’t without its flaws as there is no world building whatsoever in this novel but as the plot is character driven, I didn’t mind this so much but it would have been nice to experience more of the world. Despite this I loved the female empowerment, female friendship and owning your sexuality really comes through as Alessandra is a woman who doesn’t define herself but the constraints of her society and even points out to others that station, power, money it shouldn’t determine who you love and that if you want to be sexually empowered then that is your choice and damn what anyone else thinks. Kallias was also amazing and I am almost sure I fell in love with him too. Overall, The Shadows Between Us was another amazing book from Levenseller and I hope she writes more like this in the future.

Buy it here:

Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com

Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com