4.75⭐️ (maybe 5?????)
.5🌶️

This series is great for people wanting to dip their toes into the fantasy genre.

Chrysantha has won she will become a wealthy duchess once her husband dies, but this comes crashing own on her when Eryx shows up and claims the fortune is his.

This was a very fast paced read, I was listening to the audio and did not want to put it down!

*note this is the second in a series but can be read as a standalone.

This was an arc gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars rounded up

Tricia Levenseller is one of my favorite YA authors and every book by her has never disappointed me! As someone who read The Shadows Between Us a long time ago, I was excited but also nervous for this book.

At first, I had mixed feelings about Chrysantha, FMC, because even though I understand some of her thought processes, there were times when her ruthlessness was a bit much. But by the end, I really liked her! The enemies to lovers trope was STRONG in this book. The author sent me on a roller-coaster with this enemies to lovers trope! I adored the MMC from the very beginning. He was interesting from the start and I just wanted to know more and more about him!

I just loved it and the audiobook was top tier. Highly recommend that too! Now I need to go buy the beautiful edition with sprayed edges of this book.

This one was entertaining but there wasn’t anything in it for me that set it apart for others in the romantasy genre. I actually liked the main character more than Feyre and some other fantasy leading ladies but even that couldn’t carry it for me. Also, I was a bit annoyed by the “this is a man’s world and I am not about it” with no actual action toward that belief. She basically waited for her sister to cancel some laws and let a man fix her finances for her. Pretty “eh” for me. The narrator for the audio book did great and I was pleased to hear her range since I had JUST finished another by the same person and the characters were very different. 5 rating for the narrator, 3 for the story.

This was a miss for me sadly. I just felt like nothing really happened until at least 60% of the way through, so for most of the book it felt very boring. Most of this book was focused more on domestic scenes, like the descriptions of clothes, or the decoration of the manor.
The dialogue also felt really stilted and young to me, even though I think this is supposed to be NA, but that could definitely be a personal thing.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for the audio ARC!

**𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝑼𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂 𝑳𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓

Release Date: July 9, 2024

4⭐️2🌶

This book is one of the few occasions where the second book is better than the first. The main characters are more morally grey than morally black like the first book. However, they're only in it for themselves. They kill others more for self protection and for protecting others. This is sort of like a beauty and the beast retelling, but if Beauty already owns the house and the Beast inherits the house and they fight over who has the rights to the properties.


I found this book rather entertaining. The FMC is very strong and doesn't want any male to tell her how to live her life, and I admire that. The MMC is dark and twisted and has delt with his magical powers since he was young.

Thank you to @NetGalley for letting me listen to the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book was interesting, fast paced and dark. I loved the banter between the lead characters. The female lead was unique and I loved her. The male lead was a little annoying in my opinion with his back and forth with his feelings, but overall a good book!

Control much, yeah control over my own life. That’s all Chrysantha ever wanted was her freedom. Free to be her true self. No bending to the wills of men. No one to answer to, no expectations but that of her own choosing. She has finally gotten what is rightfully hers what she deserved what she had fought for all this time. Only for it to last but a moment.
When the fake Duke A man who claims to be the grandson of her late husband enters the picture. He turns her picturesque life upside down.

The tea:
This enemies to lovers slow burn is one that will have you on the edge of your seat. It took a turn that I never saw coming. The adventure and meticulous planning my girl Chrysantha took on was monumental but she stayed the course to the end. She proved that love is stronger than the desire of the mind. The way I needed more interaction between she and her sister because the banter was too good. Entertaining, fun, a bit grey morally speaking this was a good read.

3.75 Stars

I was captivated by Chrysantha's character. Despite her initial appearance of naivety, her hidden cunning and independence made her a compelling protagonist. The witty and fun banter between the two main characters was entertaining, and the expansion of the shadow's history was a welcome addition. Surprisingly, I found this book even more enjoyable than the first novel!

***Thank you to NetGalley, Tricia Levenseller, and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

This book was a lot of fun!

I really loved The Shadows Between Us and I feel like this is such a good addition to that world. I hated Crysantha in The Shadows Between Us and honesty this book didn't make me love her, but the beauty of this book is that I loved the humor and the story so much that I was able to ignore how much I disliked both of these main characters.

I also listened to an ALC of this book and I loved the narration. I highly recommend the audiobook. This was a fast and easy read that I devoured in a single sitting.

Hi Book Besties!💕🌻
I am so excited to share my review of The Darkness Within Us by Tricia Levenseller. This was the audiobook version.
I very much enjoyed this book! The narrator excellently captured Chrysantha’s personality! I loved getting to know her and for the most part hating her lol. Tricia did a wonderful job capturing Chrysantha’s disdain for others and the unpleasant circumstances that shaped her! She for me was that character you try so hard to like but love to hate lol. Eryx! Oh I liked him from the very beginning, once again Tricia did an amazing job showing his past circumstance through his personality! I can’t wait to read/listen to more of her work!!
Blurb:
Chrysantha Stathos has won.
By hiding her intelligence and ambition behind the mask of a beautiful air-headed girl, she has become a wealthy duchess. And, once her elderly husband dies, she will have all the freedom, money, and safety she’s ever wanted.
Or so she thought.
A man claiming to be the estranged grandson of Chrysantha’s lecherous late husband has turned up to steal her inheritance. To make matters worse, her little sister is going to be queen and is rubbing it in her face.
Chrysantha decides that the only thing to do is upstage Alessandra at her own wedding. And as for this grandson, he has to go. Never mind that he’s extremely handsome and secretive with mysterious powers . . . No, Chrysantha wants Eryx Demos dead, and in the end, a Stathos girl always gets what she wants.

#TheDarknessWithinUs #NetGalley #kindle #bookreviews #bookstagramer #readersofIG

I think I'm a little too old for this genre and this writing style, given that the fmc is 19 and the mmc is 18. I just think the decisions and dialogue the characters partake in are a little juvenile.

I really liked book one, but in the few years between that one being released and this one being released, I have changed substantially as a reader.

Chrysantha Stathos has played everyone for a fool. She has hidden how truly manipulative she is behind a mask in order to secure what she has always wanted. All she wants is freedom, but to obtain this she has meticulously picked a elderly dying man to marry in hopes that she does not have long to wait until his impending death.
Finally upon her husband's passing she is outraged to find that a man has appeared declaring to be his estranged grandson and is claiming her inheritance. Even though Eryx Demos is devastatingly handsome he is harboring secrets that she must uncover in order to abolish him from her life. Chrysantha will do whatever it takes even if she has to murder….again.
Overall rating 4/5
Picking up where the first book in the series left off but not from Alessandra’s POV was an addition to the series I didn't know I craved. Seeing both of the sisters' characters develop in their own respective books and to discover that they both have deep desires to become more than what they were born for is truly magical. The beginning was a struggle for me due to Chrysantha's querulous manner. However, I can see that this would be her character in real life. If you love forced proximity and the love beyond all obstacles and fears this is a must read.

*Thank you to Tricia Levenseller, Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners, and Netgalley for the audio copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

4.5 ⭐️ Chrysantha is literally just a girl. A girl who just wants to take a lover and spend money and not be controlled by a man. So she helps her aged husband to an early grave and proceeds with her master plan to do just that. But when a stranger shows up claiming to be the actual heir to her estate, she finds herself torn between outwitting him or poisoning him 🤷🏼‍♀️ common problems. The stranger is not what he seems though…

This book was incredibly feral and chaotic. I loved it! Chrysantha is such a fun character, and the narrator does a great job showing her haughty personality. I laughed out loud several times, the pacing is fantastic and I was never bored.

This is a fast paced, funny and feral fantasy romance that I couldn’t put down 🩷 I highly suggest reading The Shadows Between Us first (which is also fantastic!)

Tricia Levenseller is a favorite author of mine and knows how to craft a wonderful story and develop characters! I really enjoyed Chrysantha's story and the romance elements. I will admit to not really enjoying the narration of the audiobook though. I may be spoiled by having listened to some really good audiobooks recently since this voice didn't draw me in. I think the story is great, but would recommend the print or eBook version over the audio personally - especially since the print copy is so pretty!

After absolutely loving The Shadows Between Us and reading it in one sitting, I was absolutely ecstatic to see there would be a follow-up novel following Alessandra’s sister Chrysantha Stathos. The audiobook narrator did a phenomenal job of portraying Chrysantha’s haughty tone, making her dislikable character appear relatable and justified in her actions to better her lifestyle. The book picks up exactly where The Shadows Between Us ended, with the prior couple preparing for their wedding and Chrysantha married to the very old (and very wealthy) Duke. It was interesting to hear from Chrysantha’s perspective of her sister and what it was like for her growing up with their father. The further elaboration on the backstory made clear Chrysantha’s actions and made it easier to empathize with her situation. After following in Alessandra’s footsteps, Chrysantha takes action and becomes the rightful Dowager Duchess, with one tiny road bump that she needs to skillfully eliminate: Eryx Demos, the duke’s estranged grandson. The witty banter, the reconnection of the Stathos sisters, and the magical charm of the Shadow King and one other intriguing beast will have readers eagerly awaiting the triumph of Chrysantha Stathos in a world that was once ruled by the word of men.

I listened to the audiobook of this a YA fantasy romance written by Tricia Levenseller. I did not realize when I requested the book that is was the second in the series, and the first book is “The Shadows Between Us.” I have not read the first book and would like to go back and read it but it did not detract from my enjoying this novel.

The story is told from two POV a strong, cunning, proud and independent girl and a mysterious, cocky, sly and rude guy. It was a great enemies to lovers trope, and there was a lot of great forced proximity that added humor for the reader. The story was engaging and followed a fairly brisk pace of short chapters. This beguiling and funny story was full of intrigues, manipulations, deceptions, lies, secrets and power plays. A nebulous world building, reduced to the bare minimum so as not to get lost. A fantasy component that, except for a couple of characters with magical powers, is limited to the setting. While reading, I found myself laughing, and smiling repeatedly, absorbed in the vortex of the narration! Seriously, I adored the story and the main characters. I liked Chrysantha and Eryx so much! They are two morally gray characters, portrayed in a fantastic way. I definitely will add this to our library and recommend to students this fall.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for the audiobook arc to review.

3.5 Stars
I liked this book better than Alessandra's book and I'm glad I read her book recently as this one follows the events that happened in that one (though I guess it can be read as a standalone but it would make more sense to read in order). I really didn't think I'd like Chrysantha based on Alessandra's perspective of her in the first book but I actually ended up liking Chrysantha more and loved seeing her character growth. I was not expecting Eryx's backstory but I enjoyed the bit of mystery it provided to this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

I really enjoyed the first story in this duet, and I was stoked that Chrysantha was getting her own story! I knew there had to be more to her, because I just really disliked her in the first book. It was so great to see her emotional depth and development in The Darkness Within Us.

The romance was steamy and weird. It ticked all the boxes. Eryx gives major “touch her and die” vibes, and it’s everythingggg.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook early!

This book truly had potential and it was not awful. I loved Shadows Between Us. I think if I didn’t read that book I might have liked this one more? It felt very similar in a way (there was even a point where a character points out the sisters are the same with a “there’s two of them” sort of quote. If you want more the same then it is good.

I enjoyed the beginning and the buildup but I did not find the ending to be satisfying. It felt rushed and anticlimactic to me. It definitely was predictable, as well, which takes away from the enjoyment.

The narrator was definitely good, I had no problems with her and being able to listen to the book. I think I simply expected a bit more to the book at the end.

The Darkness Within Us was very much enemies to loves with forced proximity. The narrator, Caitlin Davies, did a fantastic job portraying Chrysantha and her personality. The book was appropriately paced. I enjoyed the storyline, and the characters were likable.