Tricia Levenseller does it again with a brilliant follow up to her book The Shadows Between us with the second book in the duology, The Darkness Within Us. This book follows Chrysantha, sister to the future Queen, as she finds her place in society. After the death of her husband, Chrysantha becomes a duchess with all the freedom she ever hoped for. The freedom she worked so hard for was cut short by the arrival of the Duke’s supposed grandson, who is ready to take everything from Chrysantha. What he doesn’t know? She’s alot stronger, smarter, and more determined than she ever allowed anyone to see, and she’s not going to let her life be taken from her that easily.
Chrysantha was a brilliant fireball of a character and that made it impossible not to fall head over heels for her. Her grit and determination made it incredibly fun to watch as she flourished in every situation she found herself in. Her quick wit and the banter that so quickly developed between her and the Duke’s grandson was perfection. The banter helped both Chrysantha as well as Eryx growth into fully fleshed out characters that helped with both the story flow and the development of secondary characters.
There was not a single character in this book that did not serve a purpose. Each person was carefully crafted to add to the story in some way. Some ways were small, but still meaningful, such as showing the lighter side to Chrysantha, but those small moments ended up meaning the most.
The vibrancy of the characters was set in stone by the incredible work of the narrator. Her voices and the tones she used for each moment really added to the complexity of the story. The Narrator easily captivated my imagination and led me through the story feeling like I could actually picture what was going on. This was a huge feat because I normally struggle when picturing the story in my mind.
This was such a great addition to Tricia Levenseller’s collection of works that, especially if you have read The Shadows Between Us, this story is a must.
5/5 stories for a book that was both well written and well narrated.
A huge thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
The Novel Llama 