The Shadows Between Us: Tricia Levenseller

We meet again!

I’ve got to say, I feel like I have just been cruising through my most recent reads, which is a nice feeling because I dragged through books for a while there. I think the one that I just finished is a standalone? But it was something like I enjoyed a lot and sometimes a standalone is just what the doctor ordered. Here we go :)

Brief synopsis: Alessandra is a young woman that knows what she wants – in and out of the bedroom – and she isn’t about to let the societal standards of the day and age hold her back. In the kingdom she lives in, it’s a rule that a girl cannot be promised for marriage until the older sister is. When this finally happens for Alessandra’s sister, she convinces her father to let her go to the castle and try and win the heart of the Shadow King.

The Shadow King has an ability that has been passed throughout his family for generations, a gift of shadows. This gift reminds me a lot of The Darkling in the Grishaverse.

Alessandra is no stranger to wooing men and quickly garners the attention of the king. However, she discovers that they have similar goals in certain ways. The king confides that he is not actually looking for a woman to love and asks if she will strike a bargain with him to pretend that they are courting to make him look better. In turn, Alessandra would garner all of the attention she’s ever desired next to Kallias, the Shadow King.

However, he doesn’t know that wedding Kallias is not Alessandra’s only goal. She also wants to murder him and take his place on the throne. He also has no idea that his death would not be the only one that Alessandra had ever murdered.

Her time in the castle gives Alessandra unexpected friendships, hardships and causes her to grow closer to Kallias than she had anticipated, especially after an argument causes him to take her on a picnic where they reveal much of themselves to each other, literally and figuratively, while also catching sight of the Robin Hood-like bandit that’s been plaguing the kingdom.

The closer that Alessandra grows to Kallias, the more she doubts that she’ll ever be able to follow through with the last step of her plan.

When things are finally looking like they’re going as they should (she’s gotten rid of people in her way, Kallias wants to wed her, and she’s FINE that it’s not for love, okay? And she dropped her rotten family) the Shadow King discovers the poison that Alessandra had stored intended for him and throws her out of the castle.

However, on her shameful journey away from everything that she’s ever wanted and more, something finally connects in Alessandra’s brain and she realizes that the king is in more danger that he could have imagined. Can she save him before it’s too late and either find a way to get him to forgive her, or find a way to live without him forever?

My rating: 8/10. I had read a previous review that said that the book had no real descriptions of the kingdom and it took away from the story, but I actually disagree. Too much description of a land in a standalone tends to take away from the actual storyline, in my opinion.

Favorite Quote(s): “Oh, he is a delightful mystery that I can’t wait to solve.”

“You stand out like a spark in a dark room all on your own. For someone like me? I have to try to stand out.”

A book I read with similar vibes:

I know I referenced the Grishaverse before, but the more you learn about the Shadow King’s power, the more individual it becomes. Other than that, it felt like a deliciously unique read to me.

Check out my Goodreads (Traci Bishop) to see what I’m currently reading and to see a good chunk of the books I have already read. My Instagram can be found on the home page and I will share whenever a new post is up as well!

Until next time <3