The Darkness Within Us (The Stathos Sisters)

➸ 4.5 ⭐️ "You. You make me forget all my rules and reasons for everything. You make me want to believe it's possible not to be alone forever. You make me want to claim the whole world and gift it to you on a silver platter. You are unlike anyone I've ever known. And gods, but I love your mouth. The way it smiles. The words that come out of it. How it feels against mine. Just looking at your lips makes my mouth water." As someone who absolutely adored TSBU when it first came out, and even now after my reread more than 4 years later, I was super excited to get my hands on this sequel/spin off/companion novel. It did not disappoint. I was unsure at first if I'll love Chrysantha as much, because—in the words of our dear Petros—I'm loyal to her sister, but with everything we learn about her and the way she grows, I was helpless to her charms. Chrysantha is similar to Alessandra, they're sisters after all, but she's still her own person (character?). Even though she has Alessandra's ruthless streak and she's almost as morally grey/villainous as her, Chrysantha is also very different in other ways—she loves to read, she cares about the people around her, she just want to be left alone in peace—and it didn't feel like I was reading the same story but with a different title. She smiles. "[. . .] How fortunate that both our men survived us." "We Stathos sisters are a force to be reckoned with." The love interest-Eryx-is as mysterious and as interesting as Kallias, i absolutely loved him. I loved the whole knife-to-throat and hidden monstrous side we get in this book. And his banter with Chrysantha is hilarious — there's so much tension from the moment they meet and it's excellent. "At least it's not pink," he mutters. "What did the color ever do to you?" "It's distasteful—and you can close your mouth right now. I don't wish to hear your comment about me being just as distasteful to match." I close my mouth, almost embarrassed that he predicted my comment perfectly. "Remind me how long of a ride it is to the palace," he says. "A few hours." He massages his temples. "I don't think I'll survive it." Where the first book takes place in the palace and there's a lot of court intrigue and machinations, TDWU mostly takes place at Chrysantha's estate, so it gives the story very strong Beauty and the Beast vibes. I couldn't help draw the comparison and it makes a lot of sense given what type of characters Eryx and Chrysantha are. Perhaps this is the main reason why I love TSBU a little bit more — I prefer the palace setting, and I think the plot of TSBU is more interesting and to a point I even find Alessandra and Kallias more interesting and more fun. When it comes to the pacing they are both equally fast paced and both books are equally captivating. The ending felt a little rushed, so much happened in that last chapter, I feel like the story could've been expanded in a few places *sighs*. The bonus epilogue in the Fairyloot edition helped though and the deleted scene was super fun though I'm so happy TL decided to include the wedding instead. It was SO MUCH FUN coming back this world—I absolutely adore that we get to see Kallias and Alessandra's wedding and what they are up to I also love that Chrysantha and Alessandra are able to reconnect and hopefully fix their relationship. I really hope this is not the last we've seen of Chrysantha and Eryx and Alessandra and Kallias. eternal gratitude to netgalley and the publisher for the arc all quotes are from an advance copy and may differ in the final publication

The opening line about did me in. 😫 Beautiful enemies to lovers. Our FMC and our MMC both deceptive and selfish in their own rights. Have to say I enjoyed TDWU more than TSBU! I enjoyed Eryx’s origin story much more than Kallias’s! Levenseller wrote the sisters beautifully. Chrysantha and Alessandra both a battling for their freedom is both very different ways. However, I think Chrysantha is so much more intelligent in her process. Alessandra rushes her way into what she wants. Chrysantha waits, plots. I liked her character to much better! Plot ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This wasn't my favorite, and I had higher hopes for it, but for me, I fell flat. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for it, or maybe I need to reread the duolagy together.

THE DARKNESS WITHIN US is one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I absolutely loved The Darkness Between Us and I reread it every year. This book is one that is no different. I read this book in a day and everything about it is pure perfection. This met my expectations and then some. I love how this author crafts a story, while also creating characters that contain depth, and moving the plot along. This is what makes her books so enjoyable and ones that I inhale. The story was great, focusing on Chrysantha, who was an antagonist in the previous book, and her journey to freedom. In the first book, she is devious and mean, and in this book she is too, but now we have background and context for her actions. It is a testament to the author that a character I disliked so much previously is one that I was rooting for throughout this book. She is the perfect morally grey character who fights for her wants and needs and does so with a ferociousness and manipulativeness that makes her a fighter and a badass. Overall, I really loved this book. If you love morally grey characters, badass female main characters, a fantasy world, and enemies to lovers, this is the book for you. And trust me, this is worth the read.

I bet y’all missed me! NOT! I got into a huge slump after the last trilogy I absolutely devoured. Got super busy, burned myself out on reading, the whole 9 yards. I started a book. It was meh. It WAS a good book- I just couldn’t get into it. When I realized I was in a slump I’m like I’m going to pull the coolest looking book off my TBR shelf, that’ll help me. OH, DID IT EVER!!! The dedication is a freaking Damon Salvatore quote so that had me in its grip right from the get go. I did give this 4/5 because I’m into dark romance/ dark romantasy and this had a lot of slow burn spice. Spice is relative! Lots of longing lingering and held breath in this- if you’re looking for wildfire spice this won’t be that, but I loved it most of the read. It got me out of my slump and I’m even doing better on my current read! (The one I started before this one.) Also, bonus points because look how BEAUTIFUL she is!!! 😍😍😍 I have no idea how I missed that this is book TWO but I was never confused or lost. I just ordered book one hopefully I didn’t wreck it for myself 😭🤣

I loved the first book in this series, so I was so excited to dig into this one, and it did not disappoint. I love strong female characters, but the female MCs in these books are kind of terrible people, except they own that about themselves, and I LOVE that. I will say that I adore that the female MC's main motive in this book is to just be left alone. No grand ambitions, no grand adventures, just carving out a comfy place for herself in a world where the rules are decided by men. I enjoyed getting to see her relationship with her sister grow and change, and of course the romance in the book did not disappoint. All in all, this was a very satisfying read. I enjoyed the characters, how the female MC handled problems, and I've always like Tricia Levenseller's writing. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!

Rezension (german) „The Darkness Within Us“, von Tricia Levenseller, ist das langersehnte Sequel zu The Shadows Between Us. Erneuert bringt uns Tricia Levenseller mit einer grau-moralischen Note, Charme und Frauenstärke zurück in die gothisch, inspirierte Fantasywelt. Und das, das machte unglaublich viel Spaß. Vor allem da sie gleich vom Start Änderungen ein wob, herbeigerufenen durch das Vorgängerbuch. Es gestaltete die Welt an sich runder. Chrysantha war eine zornige, gerissene Frau, die durch das Vorbild ihrer Schwester begann für sich selbst einzustehen. Einen Weg einzuschlagen, der sie alles überwinden ließ. Ich liebte es auch, wie wieder überall eingestreut war, wie die Erwartungshaltung gegenüber Frauen war und jetzt noch ist. Ihr Love – Interest hingegen war von Anfang ein Geheimnis. Eines, für das Chrysantha Seite für Seite Puzzlestücke sammelte, zusammensetzte und schlussendlich das Bild bekam, um es aufzulösen. Ich mochte auch sehr gerne ihre Schlagabtausche, die Emotionen die sie durchliefen und die Lehren, die sie sich einander mitgaben. Die Nebencharaktere waren herzallerliebst, loyal und doch mit einem eignen Twist. Die Story hatte tatsächlich im Fokus die Fantasy und gab tatsächlich nochmal etwas mehr Hintergrund zu bestimmten Elementen. Das einzige was ich etwas bemängle, ist, das der Spannungsbogen nie ganz gehalten werden konnte. Fazit. Faszinierende, düstere Welt und eine gerissene Protagonistin, der man gerne folgte. Absolute Empfehlung Das Buch hat von mir 4,5/5🌹bekommen. Liebe Grüße El. Rosé🌹 Review (english) „The Darkness Within Us“, from Tricia Levenseller, is the longawaited sequel to The Shadows Between Us. I loved, how Tricia Levenseller brought a morally-grey note to her writing and mixed it with charme, womenpower and the dark, gothic ambiente. I just had my fun with it. She also starts the bookw with some meaningful changes, that also made the world rounder. Chrysantha herself was such a wonderful angry, clever maincharacter, who found her courage and way, through the indirect actions of her sister. And created her own path with it. Her Love – Interest for the meanwhile, was a secret itself. One, which Chrysantha gathered piece for piece on every page for and put it together. I also liked their banter, emotions towards each other and the lectures, the gave to learn from. The side characteres were lovley, loyal but had their own personalities. The story itself focused on the fantasy and actually gave more depth to those elements. What I did'nt like, was sometimes the way of the charging. It felt a little uncoordinated. So, to sum everything up, a fascinating, dark world and a clever, ruthless protagonist. Absolute recomendation. I gave the book 4,5/5🌹 Lots of Love El. Rosé🌹

Very well packaged. Amazing book. Fast delivery. Couldn’t be happier

Perfect duology 😘😘😘 romantasy 😘😘 both of them are sooo good that i can't even express in words just read them 😘😘😘 the darkeness within us is like the viscount who loved me 😘😘

Not as good as the first book, but still a very fun and worth read. Perfect for those wants an easy read with charming characters that has their own flaws and witty attitude’s.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there is just something so enjoyable about Tricia Levenseller’s writing, I’d read literally anything she writes without hesitation. I absolutely adored The Shadows Between Us, so I was quite happy to get back into this world and discover more about Alessandra’s sister. If I am being honest, I was really wondering how it would be possible to like her haha, but she was full of surprises. Once again, we get a strong woman who surely makes her place in the world and who does not hesitate to fight for what she deserves. You can truly feel the feminist vibe in these books and I cannot get enough of it, give me all the strong women, please! Eryx was downright fascinating and I just wanted to know more about him as soon as he got on page. He was just so full of mystery... and I love a mysterious dark broody man. Enjoyed his internal dilemmas so much. As always with Tricia’s book, the banter was fantastic and she writes tension between characters like no other, and I’m here for it. She honestly has the best steamy moments where you can truly feel the pull between characters and all without getting into anything explicit and I simply adore it. And last thing: I enjoyed that we got to see Alessandra and Kallias together and more than once! *heart eyes* Unrelated to the actual content of the book but: what a gorgeous edition this is!! The quality is phenomenal and I feel like any book collector needs it on their shelves!!