After reading Daughter of the Pirate King and Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller, I was sold on her writing style and the characters that she creates. I haven’t read her other standalone fantasy: Warrior of the Wild (but I intend to read it very soon!) because there was something about The Shadows Between Us that really captured my attention.

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:

1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

I loved this book. I just wish that it was slightly longer (we’ll come to that in a bit), and that there was a sequel. I need more of these characters, more of this world… UGH, I’m in love.

The main character –  Alessandra – is one that we definitely need more of in YA fantasy. Usually, it’s badass who will – uNDeR nO CircUmSTAncEs – do ‘girly’ things. However, Alessandra is not only a badass, but she admits when she’s scared, or when she’s done wrong aannnnnddddd… SHE MAKES HER OWN CLOTHES! I loved reading about her designing and creating her own dresses/trousers/tops, and I thought it made such an amazing difference to what one usually reads in YA fantasy.

ALSO

She is NOT afraid to be herself – which I love. She’s so outspoken and just says what she feels. As someone who is pretty much an open book, I loved how she wasn’t scared of talking about her *ahem* sexual activities and she sleeps with multiple men BECAUSE WOMEN CAN DO THIS AS WELL!

“One lover. A hundred lovers. There should be no judgement either way. A woman is not defined by what she does or doesn‘t do in the bedroom.”

One of my favourite things about this novel was the concept. I really liked how she admitted she wanted power and recognition because she had never had that in her family due to her sister being the eldest. She wanted to be recognised within society, and she was ambitious in her methods in getting this recognition. I mean… marrying the KING? How much more ambitious could you get?

Moving into the court environment meant that we got to meet a group of wonderful characters such a Leondreas, Hestia, Rhoda… There’s a whole bunch of them that were nothing less than amazing. I would love to read a novella about each of these people in the friendship group because they were so cool. I loved how there was a strong f/f friendship between Alessandra, Hestia, and Rhoda. There was no bitchiness or tearing each other down. They were always there for each other and I WAS HERE FOR IT!

“They’ve never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart. And they never will.”

HOWEVER…

The ending fell a little flat for me. It was wrapped up too quickly. I think part of me feeling this is because I desperately wanted (and still want) there to be a sequel. The book wraps up nicely, but just too quickly.

There was also no world building, which is probably one of the reasons why the book is so short. We didn’t really learn anything about the Kingdoms, or why Kallias actually has his shadows. Levenseller tells the reader a little bit about them, but not enough.

“The rebel in me loves to throw dirt in the face of decorum.”

Talking about The Shadow King…

I want him to be real. So. Badly. 

When Alessandra and Kallias are together, the banter is brilliant, and they just have a laugh and a general good time. It makes me feel all warm and happy inside.

So, even though there was no world building and the ending wasn’t what it could have been, I’m still giving it 5 stars, because it was just such a good, fun reading experience for me, and I definitely think that I’m going to be re-reading it soon!

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