Title: The Shadows Between Us

Author: Tricia Levenseller

Pub. Date: February 25, 2020

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:

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?

This will be a spoiler free review.

I read this book in one sitting.

I couldn’t put it down.

I’m really annoyed I waited so long to read it, because omfg it was so good. I loved it. Every single moment of it. I didn’t see the twist at the end coming, and I kept just wanting the freaking romantic tension to snap.

This book was enjoyable from the first to the last page. I enjoyed the world and the characters, but I really, really wish that Tricia Levenseller would write longer books. It’s legit my complaint every single time I read her books. Daughter of the Pirate King and Daughter of the Siren Queen are two of my favorites – I absolutely love that duology.  I wasn’t that big of a fan of Warrior of the Wild because I felt like the pacing was off, the world was rushed, as was the plot. Whereas, with the duology, there was more time to explore and expand the world, the characters, their relationships with one another.

This stems solely from the wanting and needing of more. I want more time in the world, with the characters, to watch them grow and evolve, fall in love with one another. I just want more.

Now, I loved that this was a standalone, that it was a fairly quick read, but I wish we’d gotten a more expanded world view. I wish we could have seen Alessandra and Kallias’s relationship. It was kind of enemies to lovers, which is always super enjoyable – I say kind of because…well, you’ll just have to read to find out. I really enjoyed Alessandra’s sharp tongue and insane capabilities. She didn’t put up with shit and called people on it. Their whole dynamic is just really enjoyable.

I keep wanting to come back to my needing and wanting of more, when it comes to Tricia Levensseller books. While I loved this book, I’m a little bummed at the loss of what we could have potentially had when it came to Alessandra and Kallias’ relationship. Hell, maybe I’m just overly used to longer, epic fantasy books, where there are hundreds of pages and multiple books, where I can spend time with the characters. Tricia Levenseller’s characters always leave me wanting to spend as much time as possible with them, and the books are never long enough.

I’ll stop complaining now but let me know if you feel the same way or have similar thoughts.

If you’re a fan of fast paced fantasy books, with an enemies to lover element, a murder plot, court intrigue and snark, romance and scandalous skinny dipping – yes, you read that right – then you’re probably going to want to check this book out. If you’ve been a fan of her other books, then this latest release will not disappoint. You’ll undoubtedly end up falling in love with Alessandra and Kallias.