Let me just say, Tricia levenseller never fails to hit the mark. I eat her words up like its crack cocaine, and I'd probably read her shopping list if she'd only publicizes it.

As if Alessandra wasn't badass enough, I think I might like Crysantha even more. I really dont want to spoil anything before its released in july, so I'm not going to say anything more. But praise the heavens, and I thank the writing gods that this masterpiece was able to fall into my hands a month early.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audiobooks for the ARC of The Darkness Within Us!

4.5 Stars!
This was, much in the same way it’s predecessor was, a REALLY fun time. I always thought hat The Shadows Between Us read like watching an episode of reality TV, where every single person is bad but you just love to watch the mess unfold. And boy does this book have mess!
I do think I enjoyed the first book a bit more, but this one is up there in terms of entertainment. I cackled a few times at how sassy the FMC was. Tricia, you’ve done it again!

I really loved this book. The Shadows Between Us is one of my favorite Levenseller books, and I was so happy to return to this world. The characters were fun, the story engaging, and the narrator did a great job.

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I never hated you— well, maybe a little. Mostly I hated how easily you got under my skin.”

“The Darkness Within Us” is by far my favorite book by Tricia Levenseller. It is interconnected to “The Shadows Between Us”. The story is YA and face paced.

This book follows Chrysantha, sister to Alessandra, FMC from the first installment. Chrysantha is manipulative, calculating, strategic, fearless and will do what it takes to get her way. Strong FMC, per her usual.

🩷 YA
🖤 Fantasy
🩷 Romance
🖤 Mythical Creature
🩷 Dark
🖤 Murder
🩷 Morally Grey

I highly recommend this read. Especially if you’ve read the first book and enjoyed it. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen and review this book. The narrator did an awesome job and would highly recommend the audiobook.

⚠️ Please be sure to check the trigger warnings before reading.

This was not the sequel that I had hoped for. The book was fine but did not live up to the first book.

I honestly don’t think this author is for me. I was really excited to read this book because I know that some many people loved the other one set in the same world but I did not enjoy it.
I didn’t like the FMC and didn’t care much for the mmc and tbh I skimmed the last 30% of the story. I tried as well the previous book but I lost my interest after a few chapters. I didn’t dnf it but I won’t continue it.
I just didn’t think there was much plot whatsoever, the reason why the FMC had to get closer to the mmc felt forced and sadly I did not cared for the romance at all.

I will purchase this series for my public library, and I have recommended it to several patrons. I would say that it is best to read both books. I will be rereading the first one once I receive The Darkness within us at the library.

Possible Triggers:
Death | Murder | Sexual Assault

Summary:
Companion novel to “The Shadows Between Us”; focuses on the sister of the main character from that book.

Audiobook Narration:
What a lovely narration for the book. Her tone and cadence really brought life to the characters' dialogue.

Final Thoughts:
This was not a book for me. I really enjoyed the first book in this series and this one fell flat for me. I think mainly because I really disliked the trope that the main character used in order to make things go her way. I am absolutely not a fan of a woman dumbing herself down to be thought of as unintelligent. I understand that it is a thing, and that women are frequently treated as unintelligent but it rubs me the wrong way to lean into it with wild abandon. I did enjoy getting to learn more about the odd magics that are in this world, especially pertaining to the Shadow Lord. I loved that we got some insight into how Alessandra is doing and what she is doing with her time now (can’t go into details as spoilers, but it’s fantastic). I think my favorite parts of this book involved the characters from the previous book.

“The Darkness Within Us,” by Tricia Levenseller

Chrysantha finally has everything she wanted by pretending to be dumb while waiting for her old husband to die. Now that he has died, she has access to money and her home and can now live the way she wants until an estranged grandson pops up to contest the will. She will try everything to get him out so she can live her dream life again.

I loved this book so much. I loved the first one of the series and this book was just as good. The romance was so perfect, and the bickering was hilarious. It has a lot of mystery and ended up a little different than I was guessing during the book. After picturing the sister in book 1 a certain way it was so cool to get in her POV now and finding out it wasn’t like what we were told because they are looking through different eyes. I listened to the audiobook version and the narration was really good and paced well, it was the perfect voice for the main character. Absolutely perfect, 5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

Dare I say I loved Chrysanthas story so much more than Alessandra’s? In fact, this book made me dislike Alessandra much more than I expected. This was such a fast paced read and I was sucked in and invested from the get go. SO GOOD. The narration added so much to the tone of the book.

I felt so many emotions listening to this story. Right from the beginning I felt my jaw dropping at the things Chrysantha was dealing with. I loved seeing her character progress throughout the book. I was rooting for her the entire time.

Now Eryx.. I was conflicted with him. He had me scratching my head but wanting more information. His storyline was fascinating and so well written. To be honest, I’d read/ listen to another book about them both. That’s how much I enjoyed this story.

An amazing follow up to The Shadow Between Us.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners for the ALC.

Tricia Levenseller did not disappoint! I've been waiting so long for the sequel and I love that we got a chance to get to know Alessandra’s sister. I had always wondered what became of her, what made her tick. I love how smart and patient she is. Well patient until she had a taste of freedom. I'd fight like hell too if it was taken from me.
I loved the characters, the plot, and the high intensity of the scenes. It was everything I wanted out of a Tricia Levenseller novel.
Thank you so much for the opportunity! I hope this review helps. Happy Reading and Blessed Be.
Lily Ashtree

I read this without reading the first book, which was fine but I definitely think I would have connected with it more if I had read that one first! That being said, I liked the main character - this book was a fun, fast-paced YA read. I liked the narrator a lot too.

I didn’t even realize this book was connected to the shadows between us until I was a good ways in! I had wanted to listen to this book mostly because I had been seeing it float around and figured it was worth a shot and I was not expecting what I got! I will point out The Shadows Between Us was one of the books that got me into reading in the first place, so I may be biased but that could have just as easily gone against this book. You follow the sister of the main character of the first book and within the first bit you start to see how much they have in common. They both know how to get what they want they just use different strategies to do it.
This book is fantastic! I really did adore it and I loved the main character and how she strategized to gain her own freedom and game the system. I loved how irritated she got when a wrench got thrown into her plans! The relationship between her and the love interest was fantastic. It had such a great twist at the end. If you like enemies to lovers where even in the middle of the relationship they still are debating on how they should kill their love interest and whether they should, you really should pick this one up.

Oh my this book was so good. I loved Levenseller’s book “The Shadows Between Us” when it released in 2021. This one is a companion novel to the first one.

It was such a fun, quick YA fantasy read. It will release in July.

Lady Chrysantha has finally become a widow after her much older, Duke husband dies. She finally got what she has always desired, to live a life free and doing whatever she wants. That is until Eryx appears at her door claiming to be the late Dukes grandson ready to take his rightful place as the new Duke. Now she must find a way to get rid of him before he messes up all her plans.

The narration was very well done.

I owe this book a review.

What I liked: It is very pretty in paper form!
What I disliked: The story, the characters, the characters' purpose.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgallery for the advanced audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was an awesome book. If you’re into fantasy check this one out. The audio version is outstanding. I really loved the narration of this. The world building and plot, along with the characters was all a five star for me.

This author never disappoints! I loved this book! I enjoyed the strong female main character! I don’t like the cover of the book though, I wish it matched the story. 5 stars from me!

This was just as good as the first one I couldn’t put it down! This book follows the love story of the sister. I was not expecting to like her our care about her story but this just sucked me in and I ending up loving this story. The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job. They brought so many voices to the characters. I really enjoy them telling me this story.

This is a fun read if you want something short and entertaining. It has hate-to-love romance and a strong FMC, what more do you really need? The main character, Chrysantha, gives me Nesta Archeron vibes. She takes no crap and is entirely unapologetic.

The book starts off pretty dramatic and it draws you in from the get-go. Chrysantha is a young woman with one ambition, freedom. Married at 19 to a wealthy, old duke, she finds herself counting down the days until his death. After he dies, she will inherit everything and gain the freedom she has yearned for. However, when her husband inevitably dies, things don't go according to plan. Eryx Demos, her husband's estranged grandson, comes into the picture and is there to collect what is rightfully hers. Chrysantha does not take this lightly. She's on a mission to expose Eryx as a fraud and regain the life she is owed. But when she starts digging, she begins to find dirt that could bury Eryx alive.

This romance is a true hate-to-love scenario. And it was fun to see how things developed over time. I do wish there was more of the "love" aspect, by the time they realized their feelings and acted upon them, the book was over. It was a slight buzzkill, but their story is still a good one that I enjoyed very much.

As for Eryx, I wish we got more. The stuff we did get didn't make me empathize with him or gain an interest. He feels a bit cookie-cutter. It would've been nice for him to be a more layered morally grey character. It might have helped to have some chapters from his POV. I did find his form and "skills" to be unique and interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC. These are my thoughts after listening to the audiobook in full.

So you've finished [book:The Shadows Between Us|35702241], and you've heard there's a companion book with the story of one of the characters. Who would you guess as the subject of their own book?

Hestia? Nope.
Rhoda? Nah.
Rhouben? No.

How about Chrystantha?

<record scratch>

Yeah, I'm pretty sure nobody set down The Shadows Between Us, turned to the person next to them, and said - "you know who I'd like to know more about? The sister who features only as the writer of passive aggressive letters and is repeatedly cited as the most dull person anyone at court has met."

But somehow, it works. Granted, the story takes a LONG time to get going. The entire first half of the audio book should probably be avoided while driving to avoid causing the listener to nod off. But once it FINALLY finds its rhythm, it will suck you in. There is absolutely nothing unpredictable in what happens if you've ever read any kind of fantasy romance, and many plot elements don't hold up too well to close scrutiny - but Tricia Levenseller has that knack for writing characters in whom everyone can find a glimpse of themselves or someone they know. As usual, she leans into the unlikability and lets the characters be amoral, selfish, petty, and sometimes downright evil, which is a blessing in itself in this era of morality plays disguised as novels. This particular cast of characters takes a bit longer to reveal their personalities and motives than most of the author's other character sets - but just put it on double speed for the first 50% and you'll be past the stock character portion of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.