The ending itself could have been better. The Shadows Between Us was a bit predictable, but there is a twist near the end that I didn’t see coming. But since Alessandra isn’t your typical protagonist either, they are very well suited. He wants to conquer more of the surrounding kingdoms.

We see him kill a guard for failing to keep watch. Kallius is an equally interesting character. This sort of character is often the antagonist, so I loved seeing a story told through the eyes of a different kind of character. From that perspective she’s quite an unusual protagonist really. She’s ambitious and scheming and she stands out from other young adult protagonists for that reason. She bends the rules of what women can do in this world, and uses her power to change things for the other women of the court too. Alessandra also designs and makes her own dresses and the descriptions are divine. Her eyes are set on the throne, and she’s willing to kill the king to get it. She’s not afraid to be herself and she fights for what she wants. Right from the start, we get a sense of her personality. But I ended up loving it! It also makes a nice change to read a standalone fantasy, as this genre is so often long series.Īlessandra is such a determined character. It’s described as a Slytherin romance, and I’m very much a Hufflepuff, so that selling point didn’t speak to me personally. I wasn’t sure this book would be for me, but it came in February’s Fairyloot box in the most gorgeous edition, so of course I had to give it a go.

The Shadows Between Us is a standalone fantasy novel and my first introduction to Tricia Levenseller’s writing.

The shadows between us book 2