The Darkness Between Us - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I read this one as an ARC and I am so glad I signed up for it. When finishing TSBU, I thought about where the story would lead us and I loved that we got Crysantha’s story. She played her father’s games and married a bed ridden Duke. When he finally dies, she inherited all the money and earned the freedom she worked so hard for but when an unknown man named Eryx shows up claiming to be the rightful heir to the estate, she will do anything she can to get him out & when his secrets start to unravel she decides to use that to her advantage!

It’s no secret that I love a good enemies to lovers romance so TDWU was ✨PERFECTION✨. Both books had wonderful world & character building. The banter between all of the characters were 👨🏽‍🍳💋

Thank you @netgalley, @tricialevenseller & @macmillanusa for the advanced reader copy of The Darkness Within Us! #duologyreview #bookreviewer #netgalley #theshadowsbetweenus #shadowdaddy #friendstolovers #enemiestolovers #romance #fantasy #romantasy

Deliciously witty & unputdownable enemies to lovers sequel to The Shadows between Us! After her bedridden duke passes Chrysantha finally has everything she’s ever dreamed of… freedom from patriarchy. Until the night the duke’s heir mysteriously appears and she knows, without a doubt, he is an imposter, the duke had no heirs, she chose him for just that reason. Chrysantha is conniving and snarky and will stop at nothing to get back what’s hers.

I’ve already preordered the special edition to sit beside The Shadows between Us on my trophy shelf.

ARC review
“When you hate someone so fiercely, they have to be worthy of that hatred…You have to be on equal grounds to hate someone so much. And that level of hate inherently comes with a level of respect. You’re recognizing that they’re an actual threat. That they compare to you.”

Chrysantha’s husband has finally died, leaving her a dowager duchess with the freedom to be her own entity. Life is perfect. Until a young man shows up claiming to be the grandson of her late husband the duke, and the sole heir to Chrysantha’s entire fortune, property, and freedom. Chrysantha must now attempt to prove that this young man, Eryx, is not who he claims, by whatever means necessary. But Eryx is not all he appears, and the two find themselves discovering more and more about each other, and themselves.

The Darkness Within Us was THE definition of enemies to lovers. The main characters could not stand the sight of each other while forced to share a home. The banter was to die for, both Chrysantha and Eryx are witty and bold and unafraid to share their thoughts.
The sibling angst of Alessandra and Chrysantha tentatively trying to rebuild their relationship was so sweet, and I loved the glimpses of Alessandra and Kallias relationship and life from The Shadows Between Us.
This was an easy, utterly delightful read! Tricia Levenseller knows what the people want and never misses.

I had a blast trying to piece together the clues and figure out everyone’s secrets. It was fun to watch the relationship between Chrysantha and Eryx evolve throughout the course of this book.

Thank you NetGalley, MacMillan, and Feiwel & Friends for the arc!

The Darkness Within Us 3.5⭐️ 2🌶️

Second Book
NA Fantasy Romance
Closed door romance
Morally grey FMC
🏳️‍🌈 normative society
Forced proximity
Slow burn



This book was terribly predictable, just like the first… but I still enjoyed myself while reading it. I rolled my eyes so hard so many times.

The writing structure was strictly YA. With minimal emotional maturity and introspective moments. So much detail was paid to clothing and food descriptions and not enough to the characters development.

But for all these annoyances…. I still had fun reading it.

I don’t know, I don’t make the rules.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan children’s publishing group| Feiwel & Friends for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved the slow burning romance this book has along with the enemies to lovers theme. The bickering between them always had me smiling or giggling. The spice level is low as this is a YA but it was still amazing. At first it was taking me a minute to get into it but once I stuck and things started to progress in the story I fell in love! I couldn't put it down once I hit that point!

I loved the dialogue, the description of their surroundings, i love the dark secrets they each hold and eventually share. They are made for each other and you can see that through their bickering and actions. Loved getting to watch their love story unfold. Loved also watching my grumpy pants turn into a little softy for the Duchess!

This book is wonderful and such a light and easy read. I really hope for a book two or maybe a book on her sisters love story with the King! That would be so cool!

4.5/5 stars!

I did not read the previous book, BUT this was still a standalone that I could read and follow the story. There was small references to the other books it seemed but it wasn't anything that wasn't explained so I could understand.

I loved the world, the characters, and the story. The first chapter starts off strong and pulls you in with a major event/hook! It sucked me right into the series! I'll be looking into the first book and other books by this author.

The characters were built well and I felt like I could connect to each of them and wanting to support them!
I'll be recommending this book and posting a full review on my page once it nears the publishing date.

The Darkness Within Us is an exciting and engaging follow up to The Shadows Between Us.

Chrysantha has always played by the rules, unlike her sister Alessandra. She kept her head down, acted like a quiet and obedient wife, and didn't let anyone see how clever she really was. Now she is the widow of a wealthy duke, in charge of the whole estate, with no one to control her. Freedom is all Chrysantha ever wanted. When a mysterious young man shows up one day claiming to be the long lost grandson of her former husband, and insisting he is the rightful heir of her new fortune, Chrysantha is furious. As a woman in a man's world, Eryx will always have the upper hand, no matter how poor his manners or how well Chrysantha might play the game. But Eryx is hiding something, and Chrysantha is determined to figure him out and win back control of her estate, even if that means seducing him and eventually taking his life.

I actually really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read for me, and I completed it in one sitting. It is engaging and fast moving, and the plot kept me interested. I found it much more entertaining than The Shadows Between Us. Chrystantha is more likeable to me than Alessandra. She is clever and smart, even though she had to present herself as small and simple to the world. Once she is free of the duke, her real personality comes through - she is clever, and smart, and witty, and caring. The book is full of female rage and burn the patriarchy vibes. The romance between Chrysantha and Eryx is sweet, a perfect enemies-to-lovers story with plenty of banter and "touch her and die" vibes. I did get a little annoyed at the "well, I'll just kill him" plot, as this felt a bit too similar to The Shadows Between Us, and one I didn't love in that book either. But as a companion novel to The Shadows Between Us, this book is really great. You do not need to read The Shadows Between Us in order to read The Darkness Within Us, but doing so will provide a lot of background and fill in the details of this story.

Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable read. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Shadows Between Us is one of my all too me favourite books, and ever since this book was announced, I’ve been so excited to read it!

This book had so much going for it and I loved every second of reading it.

Chrysantha is jealous of her sister’s success, and wants it for herself. Once her husband dies, she thinks she’ll have money and freedom so she never has to deal with the issues of men in her life again. Until the estranged grandson of her late husband shows up.

The Darkness Within Us captivates as the next Stathos sister unveils years of secret whit and ambition when the new duke turns up to claim everything she so rightfully earned.
Now she has to find a way to claim back her inheritance while forced to live with Eryx and all his secrets too.

Chyrsantha is a Stathos and she always gets what she wants.

Incredible! I devoured this book in 2 days! I love seeing a whole different side to Chrysantha than the impression we got of her in The Shadows Between Us. This is her story and what a story it is! A true enemies to lovers that will make the reader soon fall in love with a monster.

“The Darkness Within Us” is an addictive romantic fantasy. I was immediately enraptured with this story; I didn’t want to put it down. The first book in this series was good, but I enjoyed this one much more! I loved seeing Chrysantha’s hidden character revealed, and understanding her motivations. I found the plot to be surprising, full of twists and monsters. The world-building is light and easy to understand. Overall, I really recommend this story!

For those who love:
🎀 Romantasy
🎀 Morally Gray Characters
🎀 Enemies-to-Lovers
🎀 High Society
🎀 Bridgerton
🎀 Forced Proximity
🎀 Upper YA
🎀 Slow Burn

I am very thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I loved this book!! The first book was good but this book was fantastic. Chrysantha is a strong, witty, force to be reckoned with. There were moments that I laughed at loud at her quick retorts, and moments where I groaned out loud because she took so long to admit her feelings.

Representation: 4 (Queernormative world, MC is described as a woman of color but racism doesn't seem like a thing)
Emotion: 4
Characters: 5
Plot: 4
Pacing: 3
Romance: 5

Overall: 4

Levelseller does an excellent job of making me root for murderers.

It's been several years since I read the first book, but this sequel had a lot of the same vibes and feelings that left lasting impressions on me from the first book. I was grinning and giggling at the characters hate-to-love antics. It's been a long time since I read a book in (almost) one sitting.

The pacing at the end was a bit rushed. I would have liked more tension for the climax and more time to linger in the resolution.

Tricia Levenseller is so talented and I forget just how much I enjoy her books. So rarely do enemies to lovers feel real to me. Often the attraction is obvious from the start and the arguments feel forced. In this book Chrysantha and Eryx clash from the start. Their arguments are angry and frequent. The plot moves at a good pace and the character growth is there. I appreciated the side plot about Chrysantha and her sister. It was a great way to balance the other things happening in the story. I also appreciated the feminist elements that were incorporated in a natural way. The setting was great, I loved that we got to know so many people at the manor. The romance is not spicy, but there is kissing and some light sexual content. Older teens and new adult readers would like enjoy it. I love love loved this book and definitely need to go reread the first one.
Thank you so much netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Definitely a great edition to the series and will be continuing. Although it did leave a bit to be desired with the speed of the story.

Chrysantha was an amazing lead character. She is a total opposite of Alessandra but there are similarities still, the biggest about both of them wanting freedom first. The duchess is tending to her old husband hoping he will die and she will inherit everything. For a bit, her life was perfect after the duke dies with no heirs and only the duchess to inherit everything. But an impostor claims to be the heir to the duke and takes everything away from her.
Chrysantha is positive she can find his secrets and disown him to take back everything she is due. Seeing her schemes and cleverness was the most fun in this book. Once we get Eryx’s backstory the scenery changes and they both have an undeniable chemistry.
I will totally buy this one.

okay i ate this up!!
this book is for the romantasy girlies!! i had SO much fun while reading this one! it is definitely a slowwww burn on the romance aspect but the plot carries. it’s intriguing and unique but still filled with the tropes i love and funny banter.
the chemistry between the two main characters is crazy?!??
i love that this book feels new but also like a lot of the other romantasy-enemies to lovers books i’ve fallen in love with! (if i like it i’ll just get it in another color)
the first half i was like oh this is fun i’m intrigued and then the second half my heart was pumping! i was giggling and gasping and having so much fun!
the MMC in this is everything!! eryx is a grumpy man with secrets and he falls HARD! he’s so down bad for her it’s not even funny. his love declarations?! so good?! i’m in love!
more thoughts:
-i love that these true are TRUE enemies !! not just like ahahah i hate u but i really don’t. nah she wants this man DEAD at first
-i love the little book club between chrysantha and her staff. so precious. i love when they talk about the enemies to lovers trope WITHIN the book!! iconic!
-when he talks about her when he thinks she can’t hear>>>
-some men barge into her room and hit her and touch her and he kills every. single. one. of. them. for laying hands on her ✋🏽
-“you would have had everything you wanted.” “not everything”🤭🤭
-the letter. i’m sorry??
-“i love you. i fought loving you, but it was as inevitable as the sun rising every day. for you are my equal in nearly every way and my superior in all the rest” goodbye???
the ending was really rushed in my opinion, but i’m still rating it five stars for the vibes 🤠
as for spice.. this is technically a YA read but i definitely feel like it fits more into the new adult category.
there is no on page spice scenes, but there is a LOT of talk about sex & taking mistresses & quite a bit of sexual tension. the first chapter had a SA scene and while it wasn’t graphic, it was shocking to see in a YA book.
also, this book is technically the second in the series but it definitely could be read as a stand alone! i read the shadows between us (the first book) and i remember loving it but i can’t remember like anything about the story so i was basically reading this as a stand alone hahaha
alright that’s all. loved it🤠🤠

I adore the Stathos sisters so much,. I love how similar, yet different they are. Chrysantha and Eryx's story did not disappoint. The overall format/style of this book matched the first, instead of at court we are in the countryside. Chrysantha is not who she appears in book 1; she is so. much. more. My favorite surprise in this story: the tiptoe into monster romance that it offers! I was NOT aware of that tidbit ahead of time. I LOVED IT. I really enjoyed this series - although I'm not super sure this is a series. Books 1 and 2 are companions; both are complete stories that can be read as standalones or in sequence. I will say, if you're going to read both, read them in order. Book 2 would spoil a lot of details in book 1.

Levenseller's books are all great, quick reads with a lot of depth in her characters. I personally enjoy eyeball reading and listening to her audiobooks. For this series, Caitlin Davies did a beautiful job on the narrations. I loved both audiobooks in this series (both were narrated by her). I highly recommend both reading modes but would sway to the audiobook if I had to chose 1.

In this book, you can expect a legit enemies to lovers (dare I say monster) romance with dashes of aristocracy intrigue, social/feminist defiance, and more than one mystery will need to be solved.

Thank you NetGalley, Tricia Levenseller, and Macmillan Children's Pub for the eARC.

This book definitely felt like a continuation of “The Shadows Between Us” and it was fun to revisit that world. It definitely took some turns I wasn’t expecting, but the main character was very similar to her sister.

Some convenient problem-solving and big actions without consequences. And more innuendo than I prefer in a YA, but everything else screams YA. Overall, I enjoy Levenseller’s writing style!