The shadows between us – Trica Levenseller (audiobook review)

Title: The shadows between us.

Author: Tricia Levenseller.

Format: Audiobook.

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends.

Page count: 326.

Release day: February 25^th 2020.

Genre: YA, fantasy.

Rating: 2 stars.

What is it about? (Summary from GoodReads)

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?

Rating:
Characters: 3/10
Atmosphere: 5/10
Writing: 7/10
Plot: 4/10
Intrigue: 4/10
Logic: 5/10
Enjoyment: 4/10
Average: 4.57 (which means 2 stars!)

My thoughts:

Honestly this summary makes it sound as if Alessandra is going to be the most badass main character right? Well.. What a disappointment..

It sounds like she knows exactly what she is doing, which in the beginning of the book we do really get that feeling. But at some point that disappears, and her plan is just very vague and broad.

Besides Alessandra being a let-down, the shadow king also wasn’t as dark of a character as I had expected. I thought he would be very dark and mysterious in the beginning and loosen up throughout the book, but I feel like he was never that dark or mysterious. The secrets surrounding him were not so dark and revealed quite early on, at least to me it felt like that.

The main thing we get from this book are lots and lots of descriptions of dresses.. And how the way she dresses influences everyone else at court.. And that just did not interest me whatsoever.. Wasn’t very eager to pick up the audiobook at all for this reason.

This book also lacked world-building.. The main takes place in the castle , which is described a bit. But there are mentions of other kingdoms and them being at war, but barely and most mentions are very quickly. So we do not really get any idea about how these kingdoms are related to each other, or why they would be at war. I also have no idea where Alessandra’s town is compared to the castle, like was it a long travel or what?

I also was not really a fan of how the ending was revealed, I did not see it coming, and it did suit the story! So credits for that! But again it was done so quickly! I think if the world-building would be more expanded upon, it would make even more sense!

I really loved Tricia Levenseller’s previous works, so that’s why I was so excited for this one! Unfortunately this one just did not do it for me. I did really enjoy the writing, just as in her previous works, and I will still be picking up whatever she is writing next!

Have you read this book? What did you think?