I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed… okay, maybe a little mad. The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller sounded so intriguing because it claims to be a Slytherin romance told from the POV of the villain. However, it’s actually just a book filled with lazy writing and characters as interesting as mayonnaise. A pretty cover does not a good book make, unfortunately. I’ll proceed with ripping this book apart after the synopsis. This review will have spoilers.

Synopsis:

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?

My Thoughts:

I can summarize this entire book up pretty quickly:

Alessandra is soooo pretty and soooo cunning. Nobody has ever been as smart as her. But wait! She also loves to make pretty clothes because you can be tough AND girly. All she cares about is power and killing the Shadow King, no matter what! She has no trouble making the super scary (scary as a teddy bear) and gorgeous King fall in love with her because she’s irresistible and not like other girls. Despite her plans, she falls in love with the Shadow King because nobody would have ever seen that coming. Despite being a super genius, Alessandra didn’t hide the poison she had planned to use on the King well enough and he found it. He was VERY ANGRY!! But Alessandra said sorry and they lived happily ever after. The end.

The Shadows Between Us is what thirteen year old me would have thought was really edgy and cool but as far as I know, this book is not targeted toward that demographic. I feel like this book had a good base idea but the author simply didn’t have the skill or dedication to follow through with it. The writing was overly simplistic, boring and there was absolutely no world building. All I know about this world is that there are six kingdoms and a polytheistic religion; no details about either of those aspects were given. Where this book really suffers, however, is with its characters.

Alessandra is the most Mary Sue character I have EVER had the misfortune of reading about. I didn’t think it was possible for a villain to be a Mary Sue but this book proved me wrong. The other characters weren’t as bad as Alessandra but they were underdeveloped and took a backseat to our “perfect” main character. The Shadow King was supposed to be this big, bad villain but he was just a stereotypical gorgeous, chivalrous man. His ability to control shadows was poorly explained and not interesting in the slightest. His character could have been really interesting but like everything else in this book, he fell flat. My last main issue is with the romance. There was no real tension or chemistry between Alessandra and the Shadow King. They’re just friends for the majority of the story and it really drags on until they suddenly fall in love. Their love story wasn’t believable or interesting.

This is seriously the worst book I’ve read since Six of Crows. Please do not be sucked in by the pretty cover and interesting synopsis; you will regret it.

Final Thoughts:

I suppose some people may enjoy this book but I’m just not sure who; other than young teens. I’d love to know if you’ve read this book and feel the same or differently than I do! Thanks for reading and have a great day!