Rating: 3.5
Author: Tricia Levenseller Released Date: February 25, 2020
The Shadow Between Us starts in the middle of Alessandra’s world, where you are thrown into one of her memories of her first lover and his murder, soon to discover she’s a promiscuous woman who enjoys her time with men. As you continue to read, you discover a young woman who is intelligent, strategic, cold, insecure, honest (to a point), and conniving, living in a man’s world. She craves power and conjures up a plan to get the king to fall in love with her, marry her, and eventually kill him for his kingdom. However, nothing ever goes as planned. Alessandra eventually opens her heart, falls in love, makes friends, and protects those she holds dear.
The Shadow Between Us takes you through growing friendships, broken families, love, and loyalty. The romance is filled with tension, passion, and vulnerability. It was beautiful to see the growing tenderness between the couple and the vulnerability that had you rooting for them. I loved the friendship and the softness that Alessandra showed, displaying a fierce protectiveness over her newfound friends and lover.
Alessandra is not a character that I could fall in love with. However, the story helps you understand her actions well. I enjoyed experiencing the little clues that tied together nicely to reveal a major plot point. It was well done and kept me reading.
However, I wish Kallias’ part in the story was fleshed out more. It felt like a missed opportunity to truly feel the betrayal between families, and I craved more. I found the plot development a little dull. I just wasn’t as sucked in as I wanted to be. It felt like I was hanging by a thread, waiting for more, but I was left with a calm sense of understanding that this was it.
The most interesting character for me was Lady Zervas. She was a scorned woman who was intriguing and aloof and who walked in and out of the social circle. She was always there, yet in the background, she was a woman with a reputation for her past and confidence that made me want to find out more.
The Shadow Between Us was interesting and, overall a decent read. Despite the small gripes I had, I can see how it could be someone’s favorite.
