Review by emilywemily6 - The Darkness Within Us

emilywemily6 's review for:

The Darkness Within Us by Tricia Levenseller

3.5

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’m more of a shadow daddy lover than a monster romance lover, so I liked the first book a lot more. I almost DNFed at the 30% mark because there was so much misogyny and injustice that I was really angry. The book got better for me after that point, but I was never super invested in the romance. I needed more physical chemistry/tension or more enemies to friends to lovers to get on board with the romance. It was pretty sparse on romance building. I also wish there was more fantasy throughout the story, maybe a folk tale or something. I really appreciated Chrysantha’s motivations and how they shaped her choices, I think her backstory and motivations were more flushed out than Alessandra’s in the first book. This story has good, YA level discussion about sexism, abuse of power, misogyny, etc. which brought the rating up for me.

Content Warnings