The old jealous courtier woman who wanted to marry the late king and still bitter from rejection. The friend who wants to copy the main character in everything she does. The father who wants money by selling his daughter in marriage. The friends, family and court members are all portrayed from a single angle. The biggest letdown of The Shadows Between Us is that the rest of the characters are sadly one-dimensional. Yes, they are selfish, power-hungry killers, but there is teeny-tiny hope for their redemption. I also enjoyed the subtle hints that they are not completely lost. They are horrible people without a doubt. I often felt horrible for wanting Alessandra and Kallias to succeed and get their happy ending, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s so nice to have characters who are not the “good guys”, and I can still root for them.

Predictable at times, for sure, but interesting and entertaining enough to stay up way too late at night. I find romance-focused books boring at times, but with a good mixture of murder mystery and romantic tension, it was full of turns and twists that kept me reading. Plot-wise, The Shadows Between Us exceeded my expectations. After that, everything becomes a lot more complicated. The plan works splendidly, as far as the eye-catching goes. She goes to court to catch the eye of the king, marry him, kill him and become queen. Soon enough she reveals that all those dreadful actions were nothing more than practice for the main event. Okay, murdered only one, but that’s besides the point. The first chapter of The Shadows Between Us introduces Alessandra, the protagonist who does two things without shame: abuses her lovers and murders people.

The shadow between us characters