Audiobook Review – The Darkness Within Us (The Shadows Between Us, Book 2) by Tricia Levenseller, Narrated by Caitlin Davies (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Length: 9 hours and 35 minutes
Publisher:‎ Macmillan Audio
Release Date: July 09, 2024
ASIN: B0CHSL2T2W
Stand Alone or Series: Companion book to The Shadows Between Us
Source: Audiobook from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

“Chrysantha Stathos has won.

By hiding her intelligence and ambition behind the mask of a beautiful air-headed girl, she has become a wealthy duchess. And, once her elderly husband dies, she will have all the freedom, money, and safety she’s ever wanted.
Or so she thought.

A man claiming to be the estranged grandson of Chrysantha’s lecherous late husband has turned up to steal her inheritance. To make matters worse, her little sister is going to be queen and is rubbing it in her face.

Chrysantha decides that the only thing to do is upstage Alessandra at her own wedding. And as for this grandson, he has to go. Never mind that he’s extremely handsome and secretive with mysterious powers . . . No, Chrysantha wants Eryx Demos dead, and in the end, a Stathos girl always gets what she wants.”

Series Info/Source: This is a companion novel to The Shadows Between Us. I got this on audiobook to review from NetGalley.

Thoughts: There isn’t anything particularly special about this book, it is a fairly typical enemies to lovers story with a dark (yet humorous) tone to it. However, I absolutely devoured this. I was listening to this on audiobook and could not stop…I had to know what was going to happen and how it was going to happen. I both hated and loved the characters at times and I think that is what was fun about it…it evokes a lot of emotion and sucks you in. This book is a companion book to “The Shadows Between Us” but could be read easily as a stand alone as well.

This book follows Alessandra’s sister, Chrysantha. All her life Chrysantha has pretended to be the dumb and easy to manipulate sister, but secretly she has been directing her own fate. She wants to be a Dowager to have the money and power to final be free of any man’s influence. With the death of her elderly husband she finally has her wish…until she doesn’t. Just months after her triumph a strange man, Eryx, shows up claims to be the true heir to the estate. With his claim he is destroying everything Chrysantha has worked for and built. She is determined to uncover his secrets and send him on his way. However, some pesky feelings she is starting to develop are getting in her way.

There is a ton of witty dialogue in here and the characters have very gray (yet somehow noble) morals. The characters are both awful and admirable throughout which did cause me some frustration reading this. Both Chrysantha and Eryx are awful selfish people at times, but they are also noble and caring. I also love the shadow magic that is in here, it is very intriguing and mysterious.

This is a solid romance with some fantasy elements and it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than that. It a lot ways this is a bit cringy and what I would fondly categorize as trashy romance. I don’t mean that in a bad way. This is a pure escapist read that those with a fondness for dark and witty enemies to lovers stories will love it. It’s just one of those stories that isn’t super creative or innovative but is very well done for what it is.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was well done. I did find Chrysantha’s voice to be somewhat strident and painful to listen to at times, so I do think the narrator could have toned that down some for the comfort of the listener. However, the narrator did an excellent job distinguishing between character voices and portraying emotion.

My Summary (4.5/5): Overall I enjoyed this, it was a wonderful guilty pleasure enemies to lovers romance read. There are some additional intriguing elements (like the shadow magic) but this is primarily a romance. I enjoyed the characters, the witty dialogue and the push and pull between the characters. I found this incredibly hard to stop reading and just had to know what was going to happen next, it evoked a lot of emotion and I got very involved with the story. I would recommend if you are looking for a incredibly engaging enemies to lovers romance with some unique fantasy elements.