The Darkness Within Us 3.5⭐️ 2🌶️

Second Book
NA Fantasy Romance
Closed door romance
Morally grey FMC
🏳️‍🌈 normative society
Forced proximity
Slow burn



This book was terribly predictable, just like the first… but I still enjoyed myself while reading it. I rolled my eyes so hard so many times.

The writing structure was strictly YA. With minimal emotional maturity and introspective moments. So much detail was paid to clothing and food descriptions and not enough to the characters development.

But for all these annoyances…. I still had fun reading it.

I don’t know, I don’t make the rules.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan children’s publishing group| Feiwel & Friends for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved the slow burning romance this book has along with the enemies to lovers theme. The bickering between them always had me smiling or giggling. The spice level is low as this is a YA but it was still amazing. At first it was taking me a minute to get into it but once I stuck and things started to progress in the story I fell in love! I couldn't put it down once I hit that point!

I loved the dialogue, the description of their surroundings, i love the dark secrets they each hold and eventually share. They are made for each other and you can see that through their bickering and actions. Loved getting to watch their love story unfold. Loved also watching my grumpy pants turn into a little softy for the Duchess!

This book is wonderful and such a light and easy read. I really hope for a book two or maybe a book on her sisters love story with the King! That would be so cool!

4.5/5 stars!

I did not read the previous book, BUT this was still a standalone that I could read and follow the story. There was small references to the other books it seemed but it wasn't anything that wasn't explained so I could understand.

I loved the world, the characters, and the story. The first chapter starts off strong and pulls you in with a major event/hook! It sucked me right into the series! I'll be looking into the first book and other books by this author.

The characters were built well and I felt like I could connect to each of them and wanting to support them!
I'll be recommending this book and posting a full review on my page once it nears the publishing date.

The Darkness Within Us is an exciting and engaging follow up to The Shadows Between Us.

Chrysantha has always played by the rules, unlike her sister Alessandra. She kept her head down, acted like a quiet and obedient wife, and didn't let anyone see how clever she really was. Now she is the widow of a wealthy duke, in charge of the whole estate, with no one to control her. Freedom is all Chrysantha ever wanted. When a mysterious young man shows up one day claiming to be the long lost grandson of her former husband, and insisting he is the rightful heir of her new fortune, Chrysantha is furious. As a woman in a man's world, Eryx will always have the upper hand, no matter how poor his manners or how well Chrysantha might play the game. But Eryx is hiding something, and Chrysantha is determined to figure him out and win back control of her estate, even if that means seducing him and eventually taking his life.

I actually really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read for me, and I completed it in one sitting. It is engaging and fast moving, and the plot kept me interested. I found it much more entertaining than The Shadows Between Us. Chrystantha is more likeable to me than Alessandra. She is clever and smart, even though she had to present herself as small and simple to the world. Once she is free of the duke, her real personality comes through - she is clever, and smart, and witty, and caring. The book is full of female rage and burn the patriarchy vibes. The romance between Chrysantha and Eryx is sweet, a perfect enemies-to-lovers story with plenty of banter and "touch her and die" vibes. I did get a little annoyed at the "well, I'll just kill him" plot, as this felt a bit too similar to The Shadows Between Us, and one I didn't love in that book either. But as a companion novel to The Shadows Between Us, this book is really great. You do not need to read The Shadows Between Us in order to read The Darkness Within Us, but doing so will provide a lot of background and fill in the details of this story.

Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable read. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Shadows Between Us is one of my all too me favourite books, and ever since this book was announced, I’ve been so excited to read it!

This book had so much going for it and I loved every second of reading it.

Chrysantha is jealous of her sister’s success, and wants it for herself. Once her husband dies, she thinks she’ll have money and freedom so she never has to deal with the issues of men in her life again. Until the estranged grandson of her late husband shows up.

The Darkness Within Us captivates as the next Stathos sister unveils years of secret whit and ambition when the new duke turns up to claim everything she so rightfully earned.
Now she has to find a way to claim back her inheritance while forced to live with Eryx and all his secrets too.

Chyrsantha is a Stathos and she always gets what she wants.

Incredible! I devoured this book in 2 days! I love seeing a whole different side to Chrysantha than the impression we got of her in The Shadows Between Us. This is her story and what a story it is! A true enemies to lovers that will make the reader soon fall in love with a monster.

“The Darkness Within Us” is an addictive romantic fantasy. I was immediately enraptured with this story; I didn’t want to put it down. The first book in this series was good, but I enjoyed this one much more! I loved seeing Chrysantha’s hidden character revealed, and understanding her motivations. I found the plot to be surprising, full of twists and monsters. The world-building is light and easy to understand. Overall, I really recommend this story!

For those who love:
🎀 Romantasy
🎀 Morally Gray Characters
🎀 Enemies-to-Lovers
🎀 High Society
🎀 Bridgerton
🎀 Forced Proximity
🎀 Upper YA
🎀 Slow Burn

I am very thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I loved this book!! The first book was good but this book was fantastic. Chrysantha is a strong, witty, force to be reckoned with. There were moments that I laughed at loud at her quick retorts, and moments where I groaned out loud because she took so long to admit her feelings.

Representation: 4 (Queernormative world, MC is described as a woman of color but racism doesn't seem like a thing)
Emotion: 4
Characters: 5
Plot: 4
Pacing: 3
Romance: 5

Overall: 4

Levelseller does an excellent job of making me root for murderers.

It's been several years since I read the first book, but this sequel had a lot of the same vibes and feelings that left lasting impressions on me from the first book. I was grinning and giggling at the characters hate-to-love antics. It's been a long time since I read a book in (almost) one sitting.

The pacing at the end was a bit rushed. I would have liked more tension for the climax and more time to linger in the resolution.

Tricia Levenseller is so talented and I forget just how much I enjoy her books. So rarely do enemies to lovers feel real to me. Often the attraction is obvious from the start and the arguments feel forced. In this book Chrysantha and Eryx clash from the start. Their arguments are angry and frequent. The plot moves at a good pace and the character growth is there. I appreciated the side plot about Chrysantha and her sister. It was a great way to balance the other things happening in the story. I also appreciated the feminist elements that were incorporated in a natural way. The setting was great, I loved that we got to know so many people at the manor. The romance is not spicy, but there is kissing and some light sexual content. Older teens and new adult readers would like enjoy it. I love love loved this book and definitely need to go reread the first one.
Thank you so much netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Definitely a great edition to the series and will be continuing. Although it did leave a bit to be desired with the speed of the story.

Chrysantha was an amazing lead character. She is a total opposite of Alessandra but there are similarities still, the biggest about both of them wanting freedom first. The duchess is tending to her old husband hoping he will die and she will inherit everything. For a bit, her life was perfect after the duke dies with no heirs and only the duchess to inherit everything. But an impostor claims to be the heir to the duke and takes everything away from her.
Chrysantha is positive she can find his secrets and disown him to take back everything she is due. Seeing her schemes and cleverness was the most fun in this book. Once we get Eryx’s backstory the scenery changes and they both have an undeniable chemistry.
I will totally buy this one.

okay i ate this up!!
this book is for the romantasy girlies!! i had SO much fun while reading this one! it is definitely a slowwww burn on the romance aspect but the plot carries. it’s intriguing and unique but still filled with the tropes i love and funny banter.
the chemistry between the two main characters is crazy?!??
i love that this book feels new but also like a lot of the other romantasy-enemies to lovers books i’ve fallen in love with! (if i like it i’ll just get it in another color)
the first half i was like oh this is fun i’m intrigued and then the second half my heart was pumping! i was giggling and gasping and having so much fun!
the MMC in this is everything!! eryx is a grumpy man with secrets and he falls HARD! he’s so down bad for her it’s not even funny. his love declarations?! so good?! i’m in love!
more thoughts:
-i love that these true are TRUE enemies !! not just like ahahah i hate u but i really don’t. nah she wants this man DEAD at first
-i love the little book club between chrysantha and her staff. so precious. i love when they talk about the enemies to lovers trope WITHIN the book!! iconic!
-when he talks about her when he thinks she can’t hear>>>
-some men barge into her room and hit her and touch her and he kills every. single. one. of. them. for laying hands on her ✋🏽
-“you would have had everything you wanted.” “not everything”🤭🤭
-the letter. i’m sorry??
-“i love you. i fought loving you, but it was as inevitable as the sun rising every day. for you are my equal in nearly every way and my superior in all the rest” goodbye???
the ending was really rushed in my opinion, but i’m still rating it five stars for the vibes 🤠
as for spice.. this is technically a YA read but i definitely feel like it fits more into the new adult category.
there is no on page spice scenes, but there is a LOT of talk about sex & taking mistresses & quite a bit of sexual tension. the first chapter had a SA scene and while it wasn’t graphic, it was shocking to see in a YA book.
also, this book is technically the second in the series but it definitely could be read as a stand alone! i read the shadows between us (the first book) and i remember loving it but i can’t remember like anything about the story so i was basically reading this as a stand alone hahaha
alright that’s all. loved it🤠🤠

I adore the Stathos sisters so much,. I love how similar, yet different they are. Chrysantha and Eryx's story did not disappoint. The overall format/style of this book matched the first, instead of at court we are in the countryside. Chrysantha is not who she appears in book 1; she is so. much. more. My favorite surprise in this story: the tiptoe into monster romance that it offers! I was NOT aware of that tidbit ahead of time. I LOVED IT. I really enjoyed this series - although I'm not super sure this is a series. Books 1 and 2 are companions; both are complete stories that can be read as standalones or in sequence. I will say, if you're going to read both, read them in order. Book 2 would spoil a lot of details in book 1.

Levenseller's books are all great, quick reads with a lot of depth in her characters. I personally enjoy eyeball reading and listening to her audiobooks. For this series, Caitlin Davies did a beautiful job on the narrations. I loved both audiobooks in this series (both were narrated by her). I highly recommend both reading modes but would sway to the audiobook if I had to chose 1.

In this book, you can expect a legit enemies to lovers (dare I say monster) romance with dashes of aristocracy intrigue, social/feminist defiance, and more than one mystery will need to be solved.

Thank you NetGalley, Tricia Levenseller, and Macmillan Children's Pub for the eARC.

This book definitely felt like a continuation of “The Shadows Between Us” and it was fun to revisit that world. It definitely took some turns I wasn’t expecting, but the main character was very similar to her sister.

Some convenient problem-solving and big actions without consequences. And more innuendo than I prefer in a YA, but everything else screams YA. Overall, I enjoy Levenseller’s writing style!

Tricia Levenseller is the queen of strong, badass women characters. Chrysantha is so witty and clever, and just wants a life of freedom. The writing of this book is everything you loved about The Shadows Between Us – fast-paced and exciting with a hint of plotting and mystery. Definitely a little bit spicier than the first, this book is essentially closed door, but there are some weighty topics – like violence and prostitution – so this may be more advanced YA than other YA romantasy books. I was so excited to receive this ARC – Thank you Tricia + team! – and I think anyone who loved Alessandra’s story will love this one as well.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
4.5/5 stars

This novel was a quick read for me. Just like The Shadows Between Us, it starts with conflict and keeps adding to it. I personally liked Alessandra more than Chrysantha, but she is also strong, independent, and morally gray. The sisters remind me of Emilia and Vittoria from Kingdom Of the Wicked. Eryx is a great MMC; I would swoon over him any day. I wish the world building tied together more nicely, and the main conflict toward the end was resolved a bit too easily for me.

3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Fewiel & Friends, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for this advanced copy. You can pick up The Darkness Within Us on July 9, 2024.

I had such high hopes for this book since I absolutely LOVED the first one. I expected the world, writing, and characters to pop as much as they did in The Shadows Between Us. Unfortunately, this companion/sequel novel fell flat for me.

Chrysantha as a character felt one-dimensional and repetitive. I felt like I was being bludgeoned over the head with the reminder of how she gave up her "true" personality for years to get what she wanted, and the repetitiveness made me sympathize less with her struggles. Eryx felt similarly one-sided and just kind of... boring to me? The monster was the most interesting aspect, but we don't get a hint of ANY fantasy elements whatsoever until almost halfway through the book.

It almost read more like a historical romance than a fantasy book until the very end when Kallias returns and we see more of Eryx's beastly side. And nothing's wrong with that, but I definitely entered the book with different expectations. The romance felt very contrived as well, and it was just more difficult to get behind Chrysantha and Eryx as a couple.

I will say this -- if you always thought the Beast in the animated Disney movie was more hot than the human prince at the end, this is the book for you. The story still has scheming and murder and inheritance conflicts, but I think they just weren't executed well enough for my taste.

I will admit that I was not a fan of The Shadows Between Us, so I was unsure of what to expect from The Darkness Within Us. I absolutely loved it! Lady Chrysantha finally has the life she’s always wanted. She played dumb for years so people would underestimate her. She married an old sickly Duke without heirs so that she could inherit his estate and his wealth and finally be independent, without a man making decisions for her. The Duke dies and she’s ready to live her dream until handsome soldier Eryx Demos arrives at her estate. He claims to be the late Duke’s grandson and that the estate and the money belong to him. Eryx also has a secret which Chrysantha is desperate to figure out. She spends most of the book plotting how to get rid of him, but the pair can’t deny their fascination with each other. It’s the enemies/rivals to lovers trope done very well and I really enjoyed it. I also liked the dynamic between Chrysantha and her sister Alessandra, who marries the Shadow King Kallias from The Shadows Between Us. The relationship between the two was developed in this book and it added a lot to the story.