ALC Book Review: The Darkness Within Us (The Shadows Between Us #2) by Tricia Levenseller

July 4, 2024May 7, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Tricia Levenseller
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: July 9th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Chrysantha Stathos has won.

By hiding her intelligence and ambition behind the mask of a beautiful air-headed girl, she has gathered important secrets, earned her father’s constant care, and become a wealthy duchess—all by age nineteen. Now, she is only one elderly, dying duke away from having all the freedom, money, and safety she’s ever wanted.

Or so she thought.

Turns out her little sister somehow snatched the true victory away from her: Alessandra is wedding the Shadow King, the most powerful man in the world. Meanwhile, after the death of Chrysantha’s no-good, lecherous husband, a man claiming to be the duke’s estranged grandson turns up to inherit everything that should be hers.

Chrysantha is enraged. There is no way that she’s going to let some man take everything from her. Never mind that he’s extremely handsome and secretive and alluring with mysterious powers… No, Chrysantha wants Eryx Demos dead, and in the end, a Stathos girl always gets what she wants.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

THE RAGE.

The overwhelming feminist rage of this book about overwhelmed me. NOW. I totally understood and was behind much of it, I just think it became a bit much at some points where I was hoping to see growth and acknowledgement of the other things around her. And I didn’t love the way the book started off with Chrysantha. Rubbed me the wrong way.

ALSO NOTE: This is NOT YA. THIS IS NA. Definitely written for older audiences. I love NA, so that doesn’t bother me, but I’m pretty sure the marketing has been for YA and I wouldn’t feel comfortable handing this to a young teen.

ANYWHO. The characters did grow on me a lot. This is a TRUE enemies to lovers and really got my attention with the vitriol and sass between Chrysantha and Eryx. The slow burn brought them together and the beast that’s prowling makes a show for itself too. I was intrigued by much of this and I liked the general plot. I also loved that Chrysantha was able to reconnect with her sister. I loved seeing her and the king again too.

There’s some good themes and I did see the character growth eventually. I’m still a big fan of Levenseller’s books.

Overall audience notes:

NA Fantasy Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: closed door, innuendo throughout
Violence: moderate-high
Content Warnings: sexual assault (unwanted touching)

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Book Review: The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

June 19, 2020February 28, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Tricia Levenseller
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release Date: February 25th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

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?

ANOTHER FAVORITE.

Mmmmm. One of those finish in a day books here. I am smitten by Levenseller’s writing and I will continue to read every book she publishes because DANG. I loved this character driven writing with broken and flawed humans.

This is a romance. While her previous books were more one plot line with a sub-plot romance, The Shadows Between Us is alllll romance. AND I AM ALLLLL HERE FOR IT.

Our unlikable heroine Alessandra really got down with her bad side. While at first I wasn’t so sure about her, I loved her character by the end. She somehow stuck to her ideals, but became more open and trusting at the same time. It was a great combination. Alessandra learned how to have a friendship, a relationship, and how to take down some bad guys trying to ruin all the fun.

Kallias. Oooooo yes. I love him too. He is the sultry YA hero that we all love. A bit distant, strong, amiable, and honestly just trying to do right by his kingdom. I got so excited every time Kallias and Alessandra had some page time together because the sparks were flying. I really felt the chemistry between them and thought the development was good for the length of the book. There were plenty of quiet moments, swoon moments, ooo la la moments that all mashed together to give me a quick darker romance that I adored.

Yes, it’s only 336 pages and that is it’s only downfall. While to me, it didn’t phase me much (I still gave it 5 stars), I can see the dilemma. A lot of the sub-plot lines weren’t as long as I thought they would be. Things kept getting wrapped up in neat bows without some angsty drag out. If the book would have been longer and given more depth to all of these characters and stories I think it would have only made it better.

I did love the side characters. I loved Alessandra’s friends. They would make me smile and I appreciated the way they approached difficult subjects and accepted and loved each other for their differences. Girl power goes a long way for me in a book, so this was a nice touch.

What I can’t believe is how I didn’t figure out the final twist. I gathered most of the intel as the story went on. Yet, all of a sudden Alessandra’s storming the palace to save the King and I’m like oh it’s them, OH WAIT, IT’S THEM! Beautiful blindside. Great conclusion. Smitten with fluffy endings. Love it all.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy romance
Language: very little light
Romance: kisses; multiple discussions of sleeping partners and nights together; one little detailed fade to black scene
Violence: pit fights, physical, swords, thieving, poison, guns

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up!: February 2020

February 28, 2020February 27, 2020 GoodeyReads2 Comments

FEBRUARY.

What a month. I read so much romance. Not even sorry. I love reading romance. It’s so good.

I also re-read FOUR books. This is a whole new world for me. I maybe re-read one book in a month and I got sucked in by some of my favorites and it was fantastic.

It was a solid mix of 3 stars and higher. Got through some big books, and really enjoyed February as a whole. I’m excited for March where I’ll be reading some BIG books!

I linked the reviews that have been posted. The other reviews will be out in May/June!

Eleanor & Grey by Brittainy C. Cherry – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
A Temporary Marriage (The Fake Love Series #1) by Summer Dowell – (☆☆☆☆)
[Re-read] A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J. Maas – (☆☆☆☆☆)
Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon – (☆☆☆☆)
[Re-read] The Winner’s Crime (The Winner’s Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski – (☆☆☆☆☆)
A Heart so Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers #2) by Brigid Kemmerer – (☆☆☆)
[ARC] Wild at Heart (Wild #2) by K.A. Tucker – (☆☆☆☆☆)
[Re-read] The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski – (☆☆☆☆☆)
P.S. I Like You by Kasie West – (☆☆☆☆☆)
[ARC] Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon – (☆☆☆☆☆)
The Fallen Kingdom (The Falconer #3) by Elizabeth May – (☆☆☆)
[Re-read] The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen) – (☆☆☆☆☆)
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi – (☆☆☆)
All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1) by Adalyn Grace – (☆☆☆☆)
The Fine Art of Falling in Love by Ashley Shepherd – (☆☆☆☆)
Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard – (☆☆☆☆)
[Graphic Novel] Wires and Nerves (Wires and Nerves #1) by Marissa Meyer – (☆☆☆☆)
The Dragons of Nova (Loom Saga #2) by Elise Kova – (☆☆☆ 1/2)
[Graphic Novel] Gone Rogue (Wires and Nerves #2) by Marissa Meyer – (☆☆☆☆☆)
Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West – (☆☆☆☆)
The Defiant (The Valiant #2) by Lesley Livingston – (☆☆☆☆)
The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller – (☆☆☆☆☆)
The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen – (☆☆☆☆☆)
[ARC] Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett – undecided, will finish this on the 29th

Favorites this month: ACOWAR, Outlander, The Winner’s Crime and Kiss, Wild at Heart, The Bridge Kingdom and The Traitor Queen

Least favorites: A Heart so Fierce and Broken, The Fallen Kingdom and Emergency Contact

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Top Ten Tuesday: The Romance Books I’m Reading for February!

February 11, 2020March 21, 2020 GoodeyReads11 Comments

Happy Top Ten Tuesday!

I have really found myself in such a mood for romance books this February. And honestly, I’m not even that big of a Valentine’s day person or anything. It must be something in the air!

Anyways, I put together a list of books I’ve already read and those I plan to, all involving lots of romance. Plenty of books I beg of you to get on your TBR.

Already read:

Eleanor & Grey by Brittainy C. Cherry

Review to come in May!

This was a pretty good second chance romance. Only a little steam. Had some issues with the speed and the amount of drama added in, but I still enjoyed it.

A Temporary Marriage: Fake Love Series by Summer Dowell

Review to come in May!

This was the perfect fluffy, halmark-esque quick (less than 200 pages) book to read in between some heavier books. I thought the story was cute and definitely had a happy ending.

A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOTAR #3) by Sarah J. Maas

Review

One of the THREE re-reads I have planned out for this month. I love these books y’all. Definitely a great romance to read again this time of year.

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon

Review to come in May!

Recently finished this last week and Y’ALL. I have been officially sucked into this romance. Jamie and Claire forever. My heart aches for this story and I am desperate to know what happens next.

The Winner’s Crime (The Winner’s Curse #2) by Marie Rutkoski

Review to come in May! (I didn’t write reviews when I read this the first time)

My second re-read. I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH. It was time for a re-read. The audio book is amazing by the way if you’re curios. A great enemies to lovers romance.

Wild at Heart (Wild #2) by K.A. Tucker

Review scheduled for February 19th!

Ohhhhhh I loved this. It was so wonderful. That subtle five stars that sneak up on you by the end. I love reading books about couples that are already together!

To Be Read:

The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen

Review

This might be under the “to be read” section only because I haven’t read it *yet*…this year. This will be my THIRD time reading it in preparation for book two! I NEED TO WRITE IN CAPS AGAIN, THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. YOU SHOULD READ IT.