THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US by Tricia Levenseller

Rating: 4.5 / 5

I received this beautiful special edition of THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US by Tricia Levenseller in a Fairy Loot box. I heard great things about this one so I was excited to get a copy to read.

THE SHADOWS BETWEEN US begins with a somewhat unlikely heroine. Alessandra is not the typical proper lady her father wants her to be. With her older sister finally making a suitable match, Alessandra can act on plans of her own. The Shadow King is known for rebuffing the advances of those who seek to marry him, but he hasn’t met anyone like Alessandra. She is intent on wooing him, marrying him and then killing him off so that she can assume his role as ruler of the kingdom.

The Shadow King is intrigued by her lack of advances, but Alessandra may be facing more than she expected as well. He has a mysterious power in the form shadows that hover around him and no one really understands what his magic is. It turns out that Alessandra isn’t the only one out to kill the king, leaving her to protect him long enough to carry out her plan to kill him. At the same time some dark secrets from her own past come out to put all her plans at risk.

It isn’t often you begin with a heroine taking men to her bed for amusement while plotting to wed and kill. Alessandra is a dark and multilayered character and I adored her! She may have evil intents, but her primary purpose is in making her own way in a world where women aren’t given that much agency. She has a lot of pride in herself and I could totally support her vision of taking the throne someday if perhaps not her plan to get there.

The Shadow King had a lot of mystery swirling around him with his shadows which added a lot of enjoyment to the book. While he is up against a lot as the newly crowned ruler (not to mention having multiple people apparently out for his blood), but he doesn’t take things too seriously. I liked that the pair really built a solid friendship, taking each other and their flaws to heart.

This was a fun and quick read and a fantastic standalone if you’re looking for something good without picking up a new series!