The Darkness Within Us by Tricia Levenseller is the new spin-off of her 2020 hit, The Shadows Between Us. That being said, I can attest that you can start with this one and still fully understand and enjoy it. Though it would spoil the first book for you.

“My husband is taking too long to die.”

Chrysantha Stathos has hustled and schemed her whole life to achieve freedom in a world dominated by men. Now, married to a dying duke, it’s all finally within reach. That is until Eryx Demos turns up claiming to be her husband’s grandson and heir to her dukedom. His mysterious charm won’t sway her when it comes to prying his claws out of what’s hers, even when she starts to suspect he might have literal claws.


This book is perfect for your laziest reading days. There isn’t much exposition, but the world-building isn’t complex enough for it to be confusing. The magic system in particular isn’t really explained. I can’t speak to what was established in the first book, but having gone into this one blind I initially thought this was a fantasy in the sense of vibes and then was pleasantly surprised by the magical twist. While I believe it’s marketed as YA, this story does contain some more mature themes as far as sexual autonomy. That being said, none of it is explicit on the page and any spiciness is ‘closed door.’


We’re thrown straight into who Chrysantha is and what her stakes are. The story is entirely in her POV, which is a soft, warm center wrapped in a snarky romp of a candy coating. I believe it to be a challenge to write a character who readers will find endearing and root for when she’s actively planning murders for the majority of the book, and I rooted for Chrysantha and every ounce of savageness found in her internal monologue. I also really enjoyed seeing her growing relationship with her sister, Alessandra the FMC from The Shadows Between Us. It was a lovely acknowledgment of how we can coexist in hardship and yet be totally unaware of the allies we have. They’re allowed to see that though they survived their father’s house in different ways, it doesn’t need to come between them.

“Before, I wasn’t a violent person. Before, I’d been patience personified. Now, I’m free. Now, I can be whatever I want.”

This book is the lightest kind of palette cleanser, providing something fun and easy to absolutely inhale. I don’t want to say it’s kind of cozy given the amount of murder plots, but… I wouldn’t not say that. You’re given thoughtful, unique characters who have enough stakes to keep things moving without ever getting particularly suspenseful and just enough romance to make it truly interesting. I’d recommend The Darkness Within Us to anyone looking for something quietly delightful to read in the sunshine. Especially to those who enjoyed The Shadows Between Us, because we love a cameo.

I loved The Shadows Between Us so much and was so delighted to be approved for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had originally loved the first one that came out in this world, and when this one came out, detailing the life of her older sister, I had to read it! This follows the other, older, sister and her romantic story line and the spice is spicing.

For me this was a shorter standalone at about 336 pages, and I was able to read it in one sitting as both the length and the writing style lended to an enjoyable and easy read, and the romance and plot were also intriguing enough to keep me continuously reading! Some books you gobble up immediately, and this was one of them for me!

I loved Chrysantha’s story; she is a strong, determined and patient young woman with a plan in hand. Her newfound freedom and then her encounter with Eryx and dynamic with her sister is all a very interesting part of the novel. I really enjoyed the dynamic between her and Eryx and his bodyguards. I also reveled in her freedom and how she made life pleasurable and meaningful after his passing. Overall, her journey and her change of life and change of dynamics in her relationships (without giving too much away) was a win for me and I really enjoyed her.

When it comes to worldbuilding in this one, I think it does help to read the first novel that came out in this world - though it’s not needed to understand the story. This second novel is also after the first novel in terms of timeline and would give major spoilers to the first one! All to say, there isn’t *much* more worldbuilding here but some expansion on the politic-ing and court intrigues and relations, etc.

The writing was great as always, flowed well and easy to understand. Like I said, I read this in one sitting! I enjoy the romantasy books writen by Tricia Levenseller and will continue to pick them up when I see them!

Overall, really enjoyed this one, it was definitely a good vibes book and would recommend to anyone who enjoys romantasy.

"The Darkness Within Us" by Tricia Levenseller was just as much fun as "The Shadows Between Us." They both have fantastic opening lines. This one starts with, "My husband is taking too long to die."

While it can be read as a standalone, the sister storyline is stronger with the context of the first book. Chrysantha experiences significant growth in this story, and I loved it. I didn’t realize how much I wanted her story until I started reading. I loved the themes of feminine rage and her quest for independence.

This is very much an enemies-to-lovers story. Eryx is dark and mysterious, and it's unclear whether we should trust him. He arrives with two minions whose motivations also remain unclear for a while.

I read this both in print and as an audiobook, and I loved it both ways, flying right through the book. Tricia Levenseller is an auto-read author for me.

I never thought we needed a sequel to Shadow Between Us, but I am happy we got one. I enjoyed Darkness Within Us more than Shadow, a rarity for duologies. Overall, I enjoyed Crys' character and was delighted she was more than the naive little thing we saw in Shadow.

Admittedly, romantasy is not my sub-genre of choice. So, take this with a grain of salt - but I did not connect to the male lead as a character. I found the banter fun but never cared if Chrys and Eryz became a couple. Despite this, I absolutely devoured the political intrigue. I found the court drama fantastic and I wish we would have gotten more in this area.

Audio Notes: Caitlin Davies did a great job narrating this. I enjoyed her voice and have already sought other works she has narrated.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Darkness Within Us by Tricia Levenseller is an enthralling and immersive novel that masterfully blends dark fantasy with intense emotional depth. Levenseller’s vivid world-building and complex characters create a gripping narrative full of intrigue and suspense. This book's compelling plot and richly developed themes make it a standout read that will captivate fans of the genre.

I am grateful to Macmillan and NetGalley for giving me an e-arc to read and review!

This book ended up not being my cup of tea but it was still interesting!

The Darkness Within Us is a spinoff of The Shadows Between Us. The focus is on Chrysantha, Alessandra’s sister. Chrysantha is just like her sister — self-centered, sneaky, conniving, and a murderer (which explains the great title of the book). They only care about self-gratification and climbing the social ladder. To be honest, it felt a bit copy and paste from the first book initially.

Although these books are classified as Young Adult, I found them to lean more towards New Adult since there’s quite a bit of off the page sex (or discussions about it). However, the writing feels YA.

Ultimately, I just had a hard time getting into this book, which is why it took a while to review. If you loved the first one, you’ll probably like this (since it’s a bit copy and paste). Maybe this will change for me in the future but right now it’s just not for me.

This books was great! The storyline and characters were great. When it came out and it had the sprayed edges I had to make sure to have it as a kindle trophy

Amazing! The enemies to lovers did not disappoint. I was so happy to be reading this! I need more books like this in my life. I loved the world, I loved seeing her turn into herself and find healing and forgiveness in her sister. I just loved it all so much

I have been waiting for The Darkness Within Us for years, and it was so worth it!!! Such a fun read. I think anything Tricia writes sets the reader up for a good time, but I truly love this world and these characters so much!!!

An interesting look at the differences between sisters. I was excited to dive back into this world and hopefully revisit some of my favorite characters from the first book. I liked Chrysanthemum and found her and Eryx to be an interesting couple. Unfortunately, it just didn't live up to the first book. Good, just not great.

While typically I love anything Tricia writes, this book fell a little short for me. I had a hard time getting through it and was just not invested in the story or characters at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

DNF at 16%. I couldn't stand the main character and I am refusing to finish books that I don't enjoy.

Chrysantha may be like her sister, Alessandra, but Chrysantha is sneakier about it. She always knew that it’s better to be seen as airheaded than strong and ambitious. That’s why she married the elderly duke, who is about to die any day now. She wants her freedom, and what better way to get it from an elderly duke? 

However. Chrysantha doesn’t get all of her wishes when the duke nephew unexpectedly shows up and expects his inheritance. Chrysantha isn’t going to let anyone claim the freedom that she fought for. She will do anything to secure it again.

I have to be honest here. I didn’t really like Chrysantha from the previous book, so I had low expectations. Thankfully, I did because I enjoyed the read so much more than expected. 

What I didn’t like as much was Chrysantha. Sorry, but she wasn’t it. I understand that Chrysantha had to be a certain way so she could get her way. But I won’t forgive Chrysantha for the way she treated Alessandra. I just won’t.

Final thoughts:
Besides my rant regarding Chrysantha, you should still read it if you enjoy reading about morally gray female characters getting their way in the fantasy genre.

The Darkness Within Us is the second story in the Shadow Between Us series and focus on Alessandra's sister Chrysantha. I wasn't so sure about this story as how much she was horrible in her letters to Alessandra in the first book but in true Levenseller fashion, all is not what it seems. Chrysantha just wants her freedom and she thought she had it by marrying a man quadruple her age, eww. When he dies she would be free to do as she pleases and not hide behind a facade she held for seven years. Just when she thought she was free and imposter shows up claiming to be the dukes grandson and to take it all away from her. I ended up enjoying this story more than I thought I would but I felt like it ended to early and I wanted to see a bit more of the two together. 3.5 stars.

I just did not enjoy the characters in this book personally. I struggled quite a bit to finish mainly because of that. The story itself was good I just found myself bored or irritated much of the time throughout.

Genuinely one of the best books I have read this year!

Let me just say that this book had me kicking my feet and giggling throughout the whole thing. The two love interests in this book really just live to rile each other up and truly just make the other's lives as miserable as possible for a lot of this book. It's a true enemy to lovers with forced proximity! The romance and bantering were truly amazing in this book and just the sassiness of their interactions was so much fun!

I really loved this main character and just how much of a girly girl she is, all while also being manipulative and a genius who is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. She is a strong female character who can also be feminine and make her whole bedroom pink if she wants. I loved this twist on a strong female character and found it so relatable and empowering.

There were also so many endearing relationships between characters in this book such as friendships and sisterly bonds, and it showed how having these can be life-changing but also difficult. Truly I loved almost every side character in this book, and they had the cutest little arcs ever.

Overall this was such an amazing and addicting read, and easily a five-star read. If I had to list five books as my favorite books of the year then this book would be on that list!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian Childrens Publishing Group for allowing me the chance to read and review this book <3

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

When I saw that Tricia Levenseller was writing a sequel for The Shadows Between Us I was STOKED. And this one had all the spirit of the first!

Thoughts:
- As always you gotta love the badass women Tricia writes
- Writing style was a bit stiff at times but easy to fly through
- I loved the way enemies to lovers was done with Chrysantha and —- even though it was a pretty slow burn
- Certain…magical elements were a bit strange to me but you just have to not think too much about it

Overall I enjoyed this quick fantasy read! And thank you so much to Feiwell and Friends for sending me this beautiful copy as well as a signed author slip and art! I can’t get enough of it😍

This was an enjoyable quick read featuring morally gray characters in an enemies to lovers situation. I enjoyed the plot, but the characters felt a little one dimensional and the ending felt rushed.

3.5 ⭐️

Was gonna be a 4 star until the ending. It was so rushed and made no sense with the character’s reactions to what actually happened and felt out of place with their personalities. The first 80-85% of it I really enjoyed tho! It felt more natural than the first book and was fast paced and entertaining!

I am enamored by how atmospheric both of the books in this series are. There is an absolutely perfect level of tension, mystery, romance, and dark undertones. This book was exactly what I needed the next installment of this series to be.

Chrysantha has convinced the world that she is daft, despite being anything but, and she has finally gotten everything she ever wanted. Her terrible husband it gone, and she is a duchess with an estate where she can escape from the rest of the world. Her perfect world is turned upside down when a man appears claiming to be her husband’s heir and threatening to take away the life she worked so hard to create.

I could not put this book down, I just needed to know what happened next. This was fast paced without sacrificing the story. I loved all of the characters, their relationships, and how every character and relationship developed and grew.

I will read absolutely anything Tricia Levenseller writes; she is an absolute auto buy author for me at this point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. I leave this review voluntarily.