The Shadows Between Us

I picked this book up because it was reccomended to me as a book with the ememies to lovers trope. That was all I had going into this book and sure enough, it delivered on that. Did I enjoy it? Yes, in the way you enjoy something bordering on cliche. It wasn't hard to read and brought me joy. The banter between the two main leads and the surrounding characters do make it worth while. Would I reccommend it? Only if you don't mind romance being basically the entire book. I mean, sure there is the king and him trying not to die and all the politics that comes with that. Overall, I did like the book. Not the best book in the world though. I didn't get that feeling of not wanting the book to end when you really feel yourself stuck in their world. But it was definitely a nice distraction from everything going on in the real world and I'm sure everyone needs a bit of that in their lives.

WARNING: Spoilers below The Shadows Between Us was a good fantasy romance, Kallias and Alessandra had good chemistry, and the plot... it was okay. If there wasn't any romance, I would've rated it a 2. Why? The background characters barely had an affect to the main plot. Sure, Leandros sort of did, but his reveal to be Kallias's brother was quick paced and purposeless. Plus, Kallias only noticed her in the first place because.. she was wearing black?? I do not want to overly hate this story, but there's a ton of unnecessary events in it. I liked Alessandra's witty character, but Kallias is just no. He's the typical dark, handsome, powerful mafia prince. He is cliche is me. Overall, the romance was great. But character development and the realism of their personalities is so-so.

I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication. Content Warning: Premarital Sex, Prostitution (Brothel), Murder & Attempted Murder via stabbing and poisoning "The rebel in me loves to throw dirt in the face of decorum." I find myself sitting at the barren crossroads with yet another Young Adult book. Sigh. I must admit, the first thing that drew my attention to The Shadows Between Us was it’s cover. This cover is one of the most beautiful things I’ve rest my eyes upon. It’s unfounded to judge a book by its cover, but when the cover looks like this…? Throw anything dark, high Gothic Victorian at me and you have me at “cover.” Besides the cover, this book’s synopsis had also stirred my interest. Above all else, the Shadow King’s ability made me want to know more about what exactly about the shadows were important. When I got into the first portion of this book, I knew right