Review

(Please note: this is the sequel to The Shadows Between Us, so there are some spoilers. Leave now if that’s a problem!)

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Beautiful Chrysantha has figured out how to game the sexist system she’s forced to live in: act dumb, marry an extremely old rich duke with no heirs, and then be blissfully cashed up and free when he dies. She’s schemed ruthlessly and worked very hard to be the dowager duchess. So when her idyllic country house is crashed by some ruffian who claims to be the rightful heir to all her money and property, she isn’t going to just take it lying down.

There’s something deeply dodgy about Eryx, the self-proclaimed grandson of her late husband, and Chrysantha doesn’t trust him one bit. He’s halted all her fabulous renovations, taken all the income she’s gained from savvy investments, and banished all the toy boys she’s enjoyed after her sister and soon-to-be-queen, Alessandra, started changing sexist laws and generally smashing the patriarchy. Chrysantha decides to investigate this handsome interloper, with his suspiciously lower class manners, extraordinary abilities, and mysteriously changing eye colour. Something’s not right here, and she won’t rest until she finds out what.

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Well, this was great fun. I haven’t actually read the first book yet, but I’m definitely going to now. (A childhood spent scavenging whatever books I could find has largely inured me to proper sequencing.) You can easily read this book without reading #1 first: it all makes sense.

Chrysantha was enjoyably outraged at the patriarchy, pointing out its hypocrisy left and right, and relishing the opportunity to be powerful and selfish. (If you don’t like YA feminist critique of the patriarchy, you should definitely not read this book. Fortunately for me, I love that stuff.) She’s no blushing violet, that’s for sure, and her cheerful amorality makes a fun change from YA heroines who are ethically anguished. She reminded me a bit of Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair, just to get all ‘great classic books’ on you for a moment.

Eryx was also a treat, rough around the edges and hilariously cranky, but also a bit mysterious. The bickering dynamic between them was funny. I particularly liked the dream scenarios, where he was trying to get her to go away and let him sleep.

Tricia Levenseller is definitely becoming one of my go-to fun YA fantasy authors: I also really enjoyed Daughter of the Pirate King: very popular with girls at my school. If you like a girl power YA fantasy treat, hop into the adventures of Chrysantha.

Age: 15+

Audiobook note: narrated with great verve by Caitlin Davies. I didn’t even need to increase the playback speed! Kudos.

> Click here for content information. Lots of spoilers—enter at own risk!

Chrysantha smothers her (dying) husband with a pillow (because he keeps sexually harassing her)—no remorse; after his death, she gets contraception and employs a succession of male brothel workers for sex—stated, not described, but she definitely has a good time; she tries to kill Eryx; she finds out that Eryx has killed some people in revenge—they’re both okay with it; mildly gruesome depiction of Eryx killing a bunch of bad guys; a couple of steamy kissing scenes; passionate and prolonged sex—stated, not described; Eryx transforms into a beast when angry or “impassioned” (& for sure those horns are phallic symbols). Author’s attitude is very sex-positive and consent-focused. Lots of loyal, class-crossing friendships, as well as sisterly rapprochement.

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Levenseller, T. (2024). The darkness within us (C. Davies, Narr.) [Audiobook]. W. F. Howes.

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