the shadows between us by tricia levenseller is a fantasy fiction novel unlike any other i’ve read. it’s an interesting take on not-quite enemies to lovers. a tale of revenge and with a very strong theme of female sexual empowerment i really enjoyed the book, read it quickly and gave it 4/5 stars.
my copy of the shadows between us was a fairyloot exclusive from the february rulebreakers box and is absolutely beautiful. the cover is a gorgeous purple in contrast to the regular red and has artwork inside the dust cover. the book is signed by the author. inside the book is purple and has beautiful embossing details too. i really love this copy of the book and i’m so thrilled to have an exclusive signed copy.
the shadows between us features a strong female lead in alessandra whose goal is to kill the shadow king, take over the kingdom and rule as queen. her father accompanies her to a ball where she breaks the tradition of wearing the king’s favourite colour and designs her own black gown over tight fitting black trousers, unlike anything seen at court before! the king has not shown interest in any woman to take for a bride but when alessandra enters and ignores him, he’s intrigued. the king rises from the dias and for the first time, dances with a woman at the ball.
the catch her is the king can not be touched as it’s punishable by death. he is called the shadow king because he is draped in shadows. the dance the two perform captures the whole of the court and then he simply walks away. however, as alessandra is leaving with her father she is invited back to court at the request of the king. the book then follows alessandra as she tries to woo and capture the heart of the king whilst he is trying to find the truth behind his parent’s murder.
the shadows between us is a really nicely paid read with plenty of romance and a murder mystery thrown in for good measure. i really liked alessandra as a character and enjoyed the chapters where she was making friends with a couple of other women at court. there’s a real feminist edge throughout the book which i liked and would have enjoyed seeing explored in more detail. there were moments that really did have me laughing out loud too and were quite unexpected – lines i wouldn’t have expected in the book at all which show that it’s a little different. i did like that alessandra designed her own clothes and the details of this too.
One of my goals for 2020 is to read 52 books or around one a week. Some might be new, some are ones I’ve had for a while or been meaning to read, some I haven’t quite finished yet and some will be recommendations from others. You can see all the books I’ve read so far on my Good Reads 2020 Reading Challenge.
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