The Shadows Between Us

by Tricia Levenseller

[RoXXie]

The Shadows Between Us ♦ Tricia Levenseller | Review

It was incredibly fun reading The Shadows Between Us. The book captured my attention from the very first page and retained it throughout the entire work of fantasy.
I often wonder what it is about the infatuation between two morally dubious, murderous individuals that I am utterly addicted to, that I hardly could stop reading to do some chores. 😊


The Shadows Between Us ♦ Tricia Levenseller

Opinion

Alessandra, the primary character, is a vain and evil young woman with a vile scheme. She is a liar, a murderer, and a schemer. Not really the kind of character you expect to be the heroin. However, the Shadow King is one as well, which is why they work so well together.
I adored the character interaction. I liked how neither Alessandra nor The Shadow King steered away from the other’s deepest and darkest secrets. They simply accepted each other for the shattered persons they are inside.
I cherished seeing them scheme against one another and wished that more of their homicidal mischief would have taken place. I cracked up a lot while reading the novel and kept wondering whether one of them was really getting harmed.
Furthermore, I really liked the two main characters from the start because they were authentic. But the secondary characters also gave the book interesting starting points, some of which were also quite important for the entire plot. For example, Alessandra’s friendship with Rhoda and Hestia, which was portrayed very convincingly. Finally, in a young adult novel, there were true female friendships without bitching, gossip and betrayal.

The lack of world building made it difficult for me to create an accurate imagination of the locations. It’s not clear if this is our world, with made-up places; or a completely different world. The whole description of the castle and various trivialities put me in a time of the European Middle Ages. In the end, though, none of these points mattered to the story.
The Shadow King has power over the shadows, as his name suggests. The origin of this power is mentioned vaguely in between, but it doesn’t seem to have any deeper meaning. Of course, the shadows are for his protection, otherwise they seem more of a burden. Here I would have hoped for something more of a mythical secret. But who cares, you can’t have everything.

Despite some inconsistencies, I really enjoyed the book and would have loved to read more. But eventually the end came.

Conclusion

★★★★★

The Shadows Between Us has an engaging cast of primary and supporting characters that create an entertaining homicidal conspiracy party that occasionally made me giggle.
In any case, I will get the second volume, but also keep an eye out for other books by the author.



This review was first published at The Art of Reading .