This book follows the story of Alessandra older sister Chrysantha. It seems both girls are quite the scheming villains. Pitted against each other since the beginning, the competition and jealousy continues. How far is it going to go.

Settling for dream of becoming a widow. It is short lived. An heir has come out of the woodwork. The drama is excellent.

The shift from contention to affection starts almost abruptly. The abrasive behavior falters and reciprocity takes place.

I’m struggling with liking Chrysantha. She’s smart, conniving and manipulative. I appreciate her perspective and her want of freedom. Real freedom. She’s also manipulative and I don’t like that. Even when she befriends her staff it’s a manipulation not a real desire for friendship with these people. Her dalliances with the male prostitutes came across as hypocritical.

The wedding was great. I loved the black wedding dress, the reunion with Alessandra was well executed. It was nice to see the

The ending was dramatic and endearing for all. I love it!

I received an ebook arc of this book through NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.

I gave this book 5 stars. I loved the first book, The Shadows Between Us, when I read it years ago, and I loved this one just as much!

This book is about Queen Alessandra’s simple minded sister Chrysantha. She has been married off to an old, dying duke and will inherit his whole dukedom and all his belongings and money upon his death. Her true wish is to be free of men telling her what to do, and living a quiet life in the country. She achieves that for a short period, then a man named Eryx shows up claiming to be the late dukes grandson.

Eryx and Chrysantha immediately hate eachother and want to be rid of eachother. They both claim the rights to the property and money, but it can only go to one.

Chrysantha starts to realize she is more and more like her sister, while also revealing her true self to others, instead of pretending to act simple minded. She also starts to find Eryx has some odd qualities that she is determined to figure out. As well as if he is the true grandson of the duke.

I loved the relationship between Eryx and Chrysantha! My favorite parts of both of these books are these sisters. They both go for what they want, and are not afraid to get their hands dirty. They know that by being born women, they are limited in ways they have to learn to get around.

King Kallias and Queen Alessandra make appearances in this book and the relationship between the sisters is so great! They go from barely knowing eachother and being jealous of eachother so finally truly I’m and being honest. And I love the way both of their men get them and listen to them and basically let them rule.

Also Kallias has finally found a worthy opponent.

Every detail in this book is great, definitely worth the read!!

I was so excited to dive into The Darkness Within Us, especially after how much I enjoyed the first book in the duology. Unfortunately, I felt like this book suffered from second book syndrome.

The Darkness Within Us offers a lot - enemies-to-lovers, loveable estate staffers, a mystery into the legitimacy of the Duke, and a feisty heroine. But with that…I struggled with the genre throughout the book. While there are fantasy elements, the Duke and his estate, the clothing, the staff… so many things kept giving historical romance vibes.

While it was a generally enjoyable read, there’s nothing specific that I’d say stood out.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. The review expresses my own opinions.

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.

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 DARKNESS WITHIN US is one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I absolutely loved The Darkness Between Us and I reread it every year. This book is one that is no different. I read this book in a day and everything about it is pure perfection. This met my expectations and then some.

I love how this author crafts a story, while also creating characters that contain depth, and moving the plot along. This is what makes her books so enjoyable and ones that I inhale. The story was great, focusing on Chrysantha, who was an antagonist in the previous book, and her journey to freedom. In the first book, she is devious and mean, and in this book she is too, but now we have background and context for her actions. It is a testament to the author that a character I disliked so much previously is one that I was rooting for throughout this book. She is the perfect morally grey character who fights for her wants and needs and does so with a ferociousness and manipulativeness that makes her a fighter and a badass.

Overall, I really loved this book. If you love morally grey characters, badass female main characters, a fantasy world, and enemies to lovers, this is the book for you. And trust me, this is worth the read.

Thank you to Fierce Reads and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I got this book as an arc from NetGalley.

This book was a good escape from reality. I feel that the author did a good job of world building and making me like the characters. I love a bit of shadows anytime I see it. I wish I had read the first book before this one however now that I know how they write, I’m excited to go back and read it.

Tricia Levenseller excels at writing anti-heroes! You don't want to love Chrysantha, especially after "The Shadows Between Us" but you can't help it. She's prickly, vain, and cut throat. But all she's been trying to do is to make a life for herself as a woman in a society that treats women as property rather than people. And she thinks she's done so, after the old, decrepit, and childless Duke she married dies and she's left the estate and his fortune. Until his mysterious grandson appears who wants nothing to do with Chrysantha and wants her out of the estate and his life. She wants her money and her freedom back and she will do anything to get it, including getting rid of her new nemesis (even if he intrigues her).

How cute is this cover? I didn't know this was a sequel so I did read some of this and figured it out. It was well written though. thank you netgalley/.

Oh my GOD. If I hadn’t had work I would have easily devoured this book in two days. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to have early access to this book. (I can’t wait to get the physical copy I ordered back in December) 💗💗

Since I go in blind to every book I read. This one was not what I expected at all, it was 10x better than I could have predicted. I was entertained from the beginning all the way through the end. I could not decide how I liked the FMC, at first it made me dislike her and I also felt for her. A true morally gray female. However, seeing her growth and her resistance to not stand down was incredible. I started to cheer her on.

The schemes and secrets between the FMC and love interest were top notch. Always keeping me on my toes. I seriously laughed so hard reading the banter between them. I even cried when the FMC cried while reading a certain letter. I felt that pain deeply.

I am a huge sucker for YA books and overall this one did not disappoint.

Thank you NetGalley and Tricia Levenseller for the opportunity to read it.

Chrysantha likes to hide her intelligence and ambition behind the mask of a beautiful air-headed girl and has now become a wealthy duchess. A man claiming to be the estranged grandson of Chrysantha’s lecherous late husband has turned up to steal her inheritance. This book made me laugh multiple times. The personality that Chrysantha and Eryx has are amazing. I’m so glad that our main characters from The Shadows Between Us also made appearances! I loved everything about this companion novel.

Wow! Thank you netgalley for the arc!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, because I have loved every other Tricia book!! I swear she has drugs in her books because of how quickly I devour them! And this was no exception.

This follows Chrysantha in the companion novel to The Shadows Between Us. She has finally gotten all the power she has ever wanted when a new duke enters the picture named Eryx. She will have to fight her feelings for Eryx while trying to get all her land back!

Chrysantha is headstrong and knows exactly what she wants out of life. She has fought nail and tooth to get to where she is and she will not accept defeat! She learns to love and care about her staff members, Eryx, and her sister Alessandra! She learns to trust and to be better. And to fall in love completely.

Eryx is a beast in human clothing and has to learn to let people in and fight for what he loves. He is willing to die to protect the people he cares about and is willing to change to help them.

Them together create a story of villainy, lust, love, and family! I love this book and I can’t wait for all of you to read it!

5/5 ⭐️❤️

A stellar fantasy standalone perfect for fans of shadow daddies, Bridgerton, and monster romances. Nobody writes love interests like Levenseller, from charming personalities to lively banter, Eryx delivered as the love interest for Chrysantha. Chrysantha is reminiscent of her sister Alessandra (applause to the Alessandra and Kallias cameos) in many ways. Her female rage is just as strong as her sister and she plots to get what she wants. Chrysantha is clever, funny, and a strong morally gray main character. I adored her girly tendencies too, from repainting the manor in pinks to holding a romance book club. So relatable! The story was compelling and engaging even though it was a slow-burn enemies to lovers romance, the plot was engaging and I was never bored. No complaints!

Big shoutout to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the awesome opportunity to dive into this book! Thanks for letting me join the adventure early!

No one can ever make me hate a tricia lavenseller book. Because she writes top tier YA fantasy, and her romance? FREAKN IMPECCABLE.

I was COMPLETELY shocked when I heard there was going to be another story in this universe and KNEW I just had to have my hands on this.

Boi did it SERVE. The story? The plot? The romance? PLEASE GIVE ME MORE I WAS OBSESSED WITH EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER

Chrysantha is married to the awful old Pholios. He passes and she thinks that she has finally gotten everything that she ever wanted - freedom, the quite of the contrary, friends and to be her own boss. Until, Eryx Demos appears claiming to be the late Dukes grandson and claiming the property and title while freezing all of the money as well. Chrysantha and Eryx go into battle over who is the rightful owner of the land. At the same time Chrysantha's sister Alessandra is marrying the Shadow King. Its a fun story with two wildly fun characters.
Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for allowing me to read!

Chrysantha has spent the last seven years pretending to be something she is not. She learned early what she must become in order to gain the one thing she wants the most: freedom. So she’ll play the roll of the fool. To men’s eyes she will be nothing but a decoration. One no one would take seriously. And she’ll plan. She orchestrates so that she may marry an old man who is close to death. And with his death she will become the duchess. She will have a home, money, peace, and freedom to be who she truly is. And she is almost there when her so called husband finally dies. But her happiness and freedom is short lived when a man appears claiming to be the former duke’s estranged grandson. She will find proof of the truth. And this time, she cannot play her old role. She will go as herself. Not that it will matter because that version of herself is just as cunning and strong. But Eryx Demos has more secrets than she could have imagined. I loved Chrysantha and Eryx’s enemies to lovers vibe. A slowburn that is so worth the wait. I wondered how i would feel about Chrysantha. From what we have known of her from her sister, Alessandra in book one, it’s hard to say you would like her. But things always look different depending on the point of view. And I think these sisters have more in common than not. Definitely loved this story like I always do with Tricia Levenseller’s books! And I loved being back in this world. It was an interesting one for sure and I was glad to return for a new story. Filled with romance, magic, and endless scheming, you don’t want to miss this one.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Chrysantha has hidden her intellect her entire life to manipulate through a man’s world. Anticipating, becoming a young widow, when her elderly duke husband dies, she is ready to live life on her terms. On the brink of freedom, her sister Alessandra announces her engagement to the king, and the duke’s estranged grandson, Eryx arrives unannounced. Will Chrysantha find a way to navigate to her new life?

Review: I adored the Darkness Between Us, and The Darkness Within Us carried forward all the same vibes and elements. Chrysantha’s character growth and development in a changing world was so nice to see. I appreciate the commentary on patriarchy in fun young adult romantasy setting. Eryx was to die for, and I thoroughly enjoyed his growth as well!

Thanks for NetGalley for supplying the arc to support this review.

A SOLID 3.5 STARS AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IF YOU’VE READ THE FIRST BOOK! (I finished it in a day!)

I was a HUGE fan of ‘The Shadows Between Us’ and couldn’t wait for this book! Just like the prequel, I love having a strong-willed FMC. Without spoilers, I love how Tricia Levenseller took Chrysantha’s character to the next level. Though they’re different in many ways, it’s clear to see how she and Alessandra are sisters. The banters between the FMC and MMC were also entertaining.

I will never get enough Tricia Levenseller’s writing, she has an amazing way of world-building and storytelling. As a fan of 'The Shadows Between Us', I loved that Alessandra and Kallias made cameos. I would absolutely love for Alessandra's and Chrysantha's stories to continue.

I wish the series wasn't YA, as I feel like we could've gotten more out of both this book and its predecessor if it was categorized as "Adult Romantasy". Still, a wonderful book that I highly recommend!!

It was good!! I really enjoyed Chrysantha and she was so much less annoying than Alessandra. I liked her female rage and the way she plotted to get what she wanted.

The romance was good, I liked their chemistry, but it wasn't necessarily amazing. Eryx was annoying at first but became a sweetheart.

I have gripes with the worldbuilding and overall plot/stakes.. The whole last part was heightened due to miscommunication and pettiness. But overall, this was a solid and enjoyable read.