The Shadows between us

"They’ve never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart."

"The Shadows between us" is a YA fantasy standalone novel written by Tricia Levenseller. This was probably one of the most hyped-up books of 2020.

About the book:

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked as a second daughter. To gain power she has a plan: (1) Woo the newly crowned Shadow prince; (2) Marry him; (3) Kill him and take his entire kingdom. The Shadow King has powers whose extent no one knows about. He already has a killer trying to take his life. She tries to keep him safe long enough to make her his queen all the while struggling not to lose her heart. Would she be able to go through her premeditated plan?

Popularised as a Slytherin romance, this book lived up to that expectation. I was hooked right from the first line of the book. The fact that Alessandra is not a typical YA protagonist that is on her way to save the world is very refreshing. Both the main characters are morally grey which I loved reading about. Her unflinching character arc is so good. It made me want to read about her more. I feared the author would make their characters good in the ending. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that it didn't happen. Kallias, The Shadow King in the story is amazing. His "You can be morally questionable and still have values" persona is swoon-worthy. I loved how topics such as slut-shaming and female friendships are approached in the story.

This was a quick read and the writing was very lucid. The author has given more importance to character building rather than to world-building. We don't see much of how the fantasy world is in the book. One thing I was not satisfied with was the ending. The plot twist at the end was so out of nowhere. I wish the author had gone a little deeper about that. If you're looking for a quick read which is not too heavy with some amazing morally grey characters then you should give this a go.