Thank you NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of The Darkness Within Us by Tricia Levenseller. It is a spin off/ sequel to The Shadows Between Us, with the main female character being from Alessandra’s sisters pov.
I’ll give a more detailed review when the book has been released and I can give away some spoilers. I did read the book all in one night. I did get annoyed at first with the feuding between Chystantha and Alessandra, it just got so petty. Chystantha complained a lot and acted like a child almost the time, but once the MMC got involved it became quite entertaining and I giggled a lot. I do which the couple of spicy-ish scenes we did have were more detailed but because of how it’s done, I’d title this as more of YA. I’ll give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

I absolutely loved this continuation from "The Shadows Between Us". It was perfection, and such a fun read for me and one that I was sad to end. The character development of Chrysantha was flawless.

The Darkness Within Us starts with Chrysantha, the young wife of an old, sickly duke. She is just biding her time until the Duke's inevitable death so that she can become the sole mistress of the house. When a man claiming to be the Duke's long lost heir appears, all of her plans are upended.

Chrysantha is everything a typical heroine is not. She is burning with anger and she's constantly scheming. Her selfishness is probably her most defining quality and she cares for very few people. But all of those things make her such a compelling character and I had so much fun watching her story unfold. I loved the enemies to lovers, will they won't they tension between her and Eryx and also the relationship between Chrysantha and her sister.

I have not read the companion novel to The Darkness Within Us, but after reading this book I'm excited to pick it up! I think knowing more about Chrysantha beforehand will probably make it an even more enjoyable reading experience.

Basically, my memory of The Shadows Between Us was something along the lines of "it was more fun than it had any right to be" so when I saw this companion novel that didn't require me to remember the first book at all, I was like SIGN ME UP. And I'm glad I did! It's definitely more in line with a regency romance, but also there are monsters. IMO, monsters can make a great addition to regency romances, and the author pulled it off here. The characters are interesting, mostly in their flaws, but I really could empathize with the main character (minus the murder-y impulses, although I might have murdered Gross Duke too tbh) and her frustration with her lot in life as a woman. That through-line aside, though, we're basically in it for the romance, and it worked for me (minus one plot-line thing at the end, but it was a pretty typical romance trope/plot-point that I find annoying so that's just a preference thing on my end). Anyway, if you liked The Shadows Between Us, you'll probably like this one too. Romantasy readers, look no farther for your next fun read: 4 stars. I really liked it.

Thanks to Feiwel & Friends and Netgalley for the eARC which I received in exchange for an unbiased review. The Darkness Within Us is out on 09 July.

The Darkness Within Us, written by Tricia Levenseller, is a captivating fantasy novel brimming with tension, treachery, and irresistibly addictive romance.

At first I thought I would be disappointed by a standard story line. I almost didn’t push on through the introduction. I am so glad I did. I read for hours as I tried to solve the secrets along with the Duchess. I love the characters and want more please.

I loved this book....perhaps even more then its companion book, The Shadows Between Us.

The Darkness Within US follows Alessandra's sister, Chrysantha. I definitely got a slight Beauty and the Beast vibe with this one with Chrysantha's love of books and the beast. Except Chrysantha knows she's beautiful and uses it to her advantage to get what she wants.

I was a little unsure how I would feel about this book at first. I loved The Shadows Between Us, but reading from Alessandra's POV I didn't care too much for her sister. But I loved Chrysantha. She's feisty, vengeful, petty at times, smart, generous and isn't afraid to go after what she wants.

I loved Eryx and the mystery around him. I loved the plot and connection and banter between the two main characters. It is a closed door romance (YA romance), but all the tension and build up is there. It's fun and fast paced. I devoured this one, I highly recommend!

Read if you like:
Beauty and the Beast
Shadow Daddies
Enemies to Lovers
Slow Burn Romance
Forced Proximity
Morally Gray Characters

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for giving me this free eArc in exchange for my honest review.

This book was just as fun as the first book, The Shadows Between Us. I adore this writing style and the storyline so much. It’s fast paced and just fun to read.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC.
Following the first book, The Shadows Between Us, this book concentrates on the older sister, Chrysantha who married a man much older than her based on laws of the land that do not give women much choice. However, now that her younger sister Alessandra is queen, there are new edicts of the land that give women many more rights. Meanwhile, her late husband's estranged grandson is laying claim to the life Chrysantha has built for herself. He threatens to take away her freedoms by his claim, but there is so much more to him than meets the eye.
I absolutely enjoyed this romantasy for exposing laws and held beliefs that are still present in our society today that do not give women complete autonomy and freedoms that men have. Like the last book, both sisters are fierce and willing to stand up for themselves. While it took Chrysantha more time to stand up for herself, once she gets a taste of freedom, she is more willing to fight to keep it. This is a love story, a fantasy, and women's rights novel.

Thank you to Macmillan for providing me with a copy of this book!

The Darkness Within Us is the companion novel to The Shadows Between Us. While you don't have to read Shadows to fully enjoy Darkness, I highly recommend it. Both books are fast-paced and highly addicting, with female protagonists you're rooting for from the very first page to the very last one.

I loved Chrysantha. She was an absolute boss who knew exactly what she wanted. While pretending to be a slow, simple girl, she manipulated her father into marrying her off to an older man with no heirs. After he dies, Chrysantha is set for life. Or so she thinks, until the late duke's grandson appears and inherits everything.

But Chrysantha doesn't give up. She is a fighter who will do whatever it takes to keep what is rightfully hers, even if it that means pretending to fall for Eryx so she can learn all his secrets and betray him in the end. But Chrysantha doesn't realize the extent of Eryx's secrets, or that it's not so easy to separate her pretend and real feelings for Eryx.

Chrysantha and Eryx had great chemistry from their first scene together. I loved their witty banter, and, later on, the sparks that flew between them had me swooning. I could not wait for them to finally get together, and when they did? Wow. My only complaint about this book was that it ended too soon. I would have loved an epilogue, but I know that's because I was loathe to part with these wonderful characters.

Another hit from Tricia Levenseller!

This one was a bit slower than book one, but the witty comebacks between the two MCs MADE this novel. It was fun to see what they would do next to get at each other haha
Love that they truly start as enemies to lovers, it was a sloooooow burn 😂
Also, gave me a bit of Beauty and the Beast vibes what with Chrysantha being into books, the beast, the slow burn, someone coming for the beast, etc. Of course, Chrysantha was VERY different than Belle. She was vengeful and petty and yet smart and generous. Love how she fights for her staff's welfare! And happy to join in her investigation of Eryx. Felt like a mystery 🤭
Also.....LOVE the few snippets we get of Alessandra and Kallias 😍
The sisters have some exchanges and it's nice to see how their relationship develops.
For those interested, it's closed door love scenes. Some kisses and fade out haha
Only downside for me was the demon thing. Wish there'd been another answer than that. Demons aren't my thing 😅 Otherwise, solid companion novel. Reads like a mystery Regency romance almost, actually 😂

It was just cute fun! I love the tension and plot building. I think this is generally a good book that can be enjoyed by a lot of age groups. I loved the shadows between us so I knew this one would be just as good

Chrysantha is married to an old dying duke. Just waiting for the day of her freedom Chrysantha decides to take matters into her own hands. Once she is free and now is the inheritor of her husband's estate she can do whatever she wants. From redecorating to changing her wardrobe she is finally free to be happy. That is until she has a surprise encounter with Eryx. Claiming to be the nephew of the deceased duke, Eryx is to be the inheritor of the duke's estate and wealth. This is a new problem for Chrysantha. Unwilling to give up everything that should be rightfully hers Chrysantha must get rid of Eryx.
Tricia Levenseller is great at writing enemies to lovers novels. A little more dark fantasy than what I expected but it was feisty and I did enjoy that part. Chrysantha is basically having very bad day. Her sister is getting married to the Shadow King which she is jealous of. It seems like Chrysantha is just a jealous person who can never get her way. This story has like House of Dragon vibes. Her character reminds me of Alicent. She is always struggling to fight for what she wants and things just get in the way. At first her character is unlikeable but I totally understand why. I enjoyed The Shadows Between Us but I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I felt like the vibe in this one was so different and it did not feel like a sequel.

Tricia Levenseller is an auto-buy author for me and she's done it again. Truly she manages to balance important and sometimes heavy topics with humor, grace, and some nice romance. I so enjoyed returned to this world and learning more about a character I initially disliked in the first one. I have to say, I was skeptical, but I really ended up enjoying this.

I was initially not looking forward to reading a book about Crysantha. She had me fooled in the Shadows Between Us, but the more I read, the more I NEEDED to read. This book was so captivating. I loved the characters, the depths of Crysantha that we had never seen. The plot kept me turning pages, and I loved the slow reveals. It was really such a satisfying read and I loved it as much, if not more than the first book. Tricia never disappoints!

This is an interconnected fantasy novel with The Shadows Between Us, however you could technically read these books separately.

This is my fifth Tricia Levenseller book, and I must say her writing is improving with each book, and I am loving her style.

WOW!! I was so hesitant on reading from Chrysanthas POV, because prior to this we only had a view of her from her sisters POV, and she was not painted in the best light. However imagine my surprise when I found myself loving her even more than Alessandra! Both sisters are a bit unhinged (killing off those who they perceive has done them wrong and without any feeling of remorse), witty, funny, and snarky. Chrysantha is everything I love in a MC, she's unapologetically herself, she is set in her ways, she's not wishy-washy, and she's not afraid to go after what she wants.

Okay, I thought I loved Kallias (I mean-hello shadow daddy) but Eryx took my obsession to a whole new level. Thank you Tricia Levenseller for giving me another book boyfriend to obsess over. I love Chrysanthas and Eryxs true hatred for each other and how that manifests. There bickering and banter were top notch. The tension and chemistry was such a nice slow burn that I was speed reading through the book to find out when they would finally have *that* moment.

I loved all the side characters in this one! They all felt so real, and added a lot of depth to our MCs.

My one complaint is the pacing at the very end. I felt the last 10% of the book felt a bit rushed and then all of a sudden the book ended. I thought we were going to get at least one more chapter or an epilogue to kind of seal the deal of their relationship and see it past where we left the couple.
My only other complaint is that I am sad to leave this world, and I wish the book was a million times longer so I could keep reading.

Im giving this book 4.5 stars, but for the review I am rounding up to 5 stars.

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.