THE DARKNESS WITHIN US, by Tricia Levenseller, Feiwel & Friends, July 9, 2024, Hardcover, $24.99 (young adult, ages 14 and up)
A young woman will stop at nothing to keep hold of the fortune she’s fought so hard for in The Darkness Within Us, by Tricia Levenseller.
Chrysantha Stathos has won.
By hiding her intelligence and ambition behind the mask of a beautiful air-headed girl, she has become a wealthy duchess. And, once her elderly husband dies, she will have all the freedom, money, and safety she’s ever wanted.
Or so she thought.
A man claiming to be the estranged grandson of Chrysantha’s lecherous late husband has turned up to steal her inheritance. To make matters worse, her little sister is going to be queen and is rubbing it in her face.
Chrysantha decides that the only thing to do is upstage Alessandra at her own wedding. And as for this grandson, he has to go. Never mind that he’s extremely handsome and secretive with mysterious powers . . . No, Chrysantha wants Eryx Demos dead, and in the end, a Stathos girl always gets what she wants. —Synopsis provided by Feiwel & Friends
The Darkness Within Us is a companion novel to Tricia Levenseller’s The Shadows Between Us. And it’s really worth reading both in order, especially since The Shadows Between Us is so strong.
In The Darkness Within Us Levenseller once again enters a morally grey world where the main characters aren’t particularly likeable but are so compelling you need to keep reading. Like her sister, Alessandra, Chrysantha is cool and calculated and knows what she wants. The juxtaposition between the sisters strengthens the books overall and gives you greater appreciation for Levenseller’s ability to get inside her characters’ heads.
Levenseller excels at world-building, and the tension between her enemies-turned-lovers will keep the pages turning.
Like its predecessor, I wouldn’t recommend The Darkness Within Us for younger YA, but readers 14 and up will enjoy it.
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