Reviews

The Darkness Within Us by Tricia Levenseller

francxscamc's review

adventurous challenging lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The long awaited sequel of The Shadows Between Us is finally here! I was ecstatic to be lucky enough to get the chance to read this early since I am a huge fan of Alessandra and Kallias. That being said, I was quite worried to find out that this would be told in Chrysantha's perspective since I hated her character in TSBU. I found myself surprised to understand her motivations (although, I wouldn't say these were valid) and empathize with her situation. Her desire to have freedom and happiness always seemed out of reach due to numerous obstacles in her way. The moment she thinks she finally gets the life she has always wanted, Eryx just had to ruin everything. I admire how Chrysantha stood her ground and would not allow any man to take control of her after everything she endured. However, at times it came across as a privileged statement since many characters, such as Eryx

with his sole purpose to enact revenge per his mother's wishes

and her servants, all experience hardships as well. The banter between Eryx and Chrysantha was excellent! Their development towards the end was somewhat rushed but it was just so glad they got their happily ever after.

It killed me that  Eryx and Kallias stopped midway fight for Eryx and Chrysantha to have sex three times IJBOL literal tears in my eyes when they had everyone wait for them to finish

I loved Alessandra and Kallias's cameos!!! Learning about why Chrysantha acted harshly to Alessandra and her views on their upbringing in the Stathos household provided a contrasting perspective to what we've seen in the first book. The building of the relationship between the sisters was such a heartwarming inclusion and I'm glad this became a plot point of this book. Overall, this was such a fun and fast read, but I seemed enjoy the first book more. This had the same amount of romance, but something felt missing in my opinion and I wish we got to see more of Eryx and Chrysantha's relationship developing over a few more chapters.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

quadratic_queen's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kristinvaldez's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

babsreads18's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Darkness Within Us is the companion to The Shadows Between Us. It’s a fun and fast-paced, enemies to lovers read with elements of mystery and f the patriarchy vibes. Chrysantha is a strong FMC, who is constantly scheming, even pretending to be unintelligent for years in order to get what she wants. I did find her personality to be a bit annoying. She is solely focused on herself, gaining all money, and has an immature need to compete with her sister. Eryx is a morally gray MMC who is secretive with shadow powers. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, but the stakes felt too low for me to be super invested in the outcome. I listened to the audio and absolutely loved the narrator. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. 

 

abwell's review

fast-paced

2.5

sophieinbookworld's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

mayfieldsread's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

mhbookalicious's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

In this wild, beautiful, enemies to lovers, romantasy book, The Darkness Within Us follows Chrysantha Santos (Alessandra's sister) as she becomes a widowed duchess BUT she could never be more excited for the prospect of ultimate freedom. When a new claim to her estate, Eryx, shows up and claims that he is the heir to the estate, Chrysantha has to fight him and his "bodyguards" to keep her freedom. 
After I read The Shadows Between Us, I was SO excited to have this sequel butttt was a little disappointed when this book picked up with Chrysantha as the female main character instead of Alessandra👀...it reminded me of The Cruel Prince versus The Lost Sister by Holly Black, like the entirety of The Shadows Between Us, we are taught to really dislike Chrysantha BUT that makes this book THAT much better because we are able to see the REAL Chrysantha and start to love her as much as we loves Alessandra! As well, the tension and chemistry between Chrysantha and Eryx is SO good! And I was so glad that we also still got cameos of Alessandra and Kallias!🥳
While this wasn't entirely what I was expecting, I was still SO happy to pick back up in the world of The Shadows Between Us because I love it so much! This audiobook was so great and made the magical and romantic story so amazing! 
Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review!💖

kateuzbooks's review against another edition

4.0

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Chrysantha as our narrator for this book, she is cunning and a bit diabolical but you can’t help but root for her and her schemes. The story felt a little all over the place at times, and I felt the ending wrapped up to quickly and easily.

lyoungthebookfae's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75