"The Shadows Between Us" Week Four (Ch. 19-30)

Final week of "The Shadows Between Us" readings!

Honestly, at this point, I'm a little uninspired writing about this book. My main issue is that I'm trying to write about each and every chapter, when it feels like there isn't a lot going on . I feel as if I'm repeating myself with each post about "The Shadows Between Us". This feeling is most likely due to the shortness of the novel, with it only being thirty chapters and less than 400 pages.

So, in order to save both my sanity and yours, I'm just going to briefly go through what happens in the final eleven chapters. I'll summarize them quickly before going into my overall thoughts. In a way, I'll be writing this post like how I did for the final week of "Americanah". Only this time, I've actually read the book.

Summary

Kallias and Alessandra head to a gambling hall/brothel to try and see if they can catch who man behind the assassination attempts. They go undercover, with Alessandra dressing like a girl and Kallias as a rich noble. Kallias accidentally ends up touching someone, but they don't know who. They flee the gambling hall and head back to the palace in a panic, worry coursing through them.

We end up transitioning to the night of the ball, which sets itself up as a mini-climax. Kallias gets poisoned, due to the presence of the person who touched him, who turns out to be a girl that worked at the brothel/gambling hall. Alessandra chases the girl (getting her away from Kallias so his powers can reactivate) and captures her. She is able to get out that two people are involved in the plot to kill Kallias before she is interrupted by Leandros. Alessandra rushes back to the ballroom, checking on Kallias before returning to Leandros, who reveals that the other person involved (according to the girl) is Lady Zervas.

The following day, Kallias and Alessandra visit the dungeons to talk to Lord Vasco and Lady Zervas. Vasco just laughs in their faces, and Lady Zervas just sings to herself. She claims that she had no part in the assassination, while also extolling the person behind the plan. She points out that she is the perfect scapegoat due to her history with the past king, but that she has no ill will towards Kallias.

That night, Kallias and Alessandra take their relationship to the next level, and not only kiss (thus touching for the first time), but actually have sex. This crucial moment of their relationship doesn't last long. For the next day, their relationship is left in tatters when it is revealed that the poison in the assassination was the same poison that Alessandra had stowed in her room. Kallias' trust in Alessandra is shattered and he orders her to leave and never come near him again. Leandros finds Alessandra weeping on the floor, and she kisses him to numb her pain. He allows the kiss but stops her from going too far and implies that he wants her to come to him when she isn't upset. Alessandra, shocked and heartbroken, flees the palace in a carriage prepared for her.

In the carriage, while thinking of her next move to get back on her feet, Alessandra starts to think about the events over the past few days. She suddenly has an epiphany and orders the driver to turn around. Once she arrives back at the castle, Alessandra is lucky that the guards haven't been informed about her being kicked out yet and order them to take her to Kallias. She finds him with Leandros, and she reveals that Leandros is actually Xanthos, Kallias' dead brother.

For a moment, Kallias doesn't believe Alessandra, until he really looks at "Leandros". Knowing his game is up, Xanthos, now with a drawn sword, reveals that their father was the one who tried to kill him, and he almost died if not for Lord Vasco. For years, they planned a way to rid the world of his father and later him. He does regret killing their mother (he didn't know if she was truly in on their father's plans - he didn't want to risk it), but also blames her for the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father for not being born with the shadow gift.

At the last revelation, the two brothers start to fight each other while Alessandra watches in a panic. Realizing that Xanthos can kill Kallias with the right opportunity, Alessandra takes Xanthos' discarded sword and stabs him, showing him her true colors. She imbeds him into the wall, where he lays dead, before she runs to inform the guards.

After the whole event with Xanthos, Alessandra leaves to go stay at one of Rhoda's estates while she collects her thoughts. Kallias comes to see her and they reconcile, ending the book with a kiss.

Thoughts

Overall, the book was a fun read. I was entertained for the most part, although I did find it too short. I think Levenseller had a lot of potential in the story, which she could have furthered the plot. For instance, I wish we got to physically see Alessandra's sister and see them talk to each other. Alessandra has so many issues caused by or pertaining to her family, so I wish she got to work through those issues as the story progressed. Yes, she stood up to her father, who was trying to control her, but I didn't find any satisfaction. I felt that Alessandra never really got to articulate her exact feelings toward her father and her issues with him. I think they needed a larger argument/discussion that included her deeply rooted issues with him and not just the more recent issues, such as him trying to marry her off to Orrin/underestimating her. I also wish we could have learned more about Alessandra's mother, and her relationship with her. I do wonder if Alessandra's issues are deeply rooted towards her mother's death.

Speaking of family, Xanathos should have been talked about more, along with the former king and queen. I don't understand how Kallias never saw his father being abusive to his brother. We get tidbits about Kallias' mother, but we don't really know too much about her relationship with her sons and her husband. I question how she could've allowed her husband to mistreat her first child so horrifically to the point Xanthos was okay with murdering her. The entire family plot line just felt as if it was woven together very loosely with a lot of hole throughout it.

Another plot point I think should have been expanded upon was the whole bandit situation. Finding out that Orrin was the bandit and him going to prison was too neat. I think it would have been interesting to have Alessandra interact with him after the revelation that he was stealing form the rich. I felt his lord persona wasn't truly him, and it would have been interesting to see what Orrin was really like. The way the bandit plot point was written was made to seem like it was going to be a larger issue, and it ended very anticlimactic. I think the subplot could have been done well if somehow interwoven into the other plot points, while also adding substance and giving the audience more of a view of the kingdom (not just court).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the story is a short read and was fun at certain moments. However, I felt that the story could have been more enthralling if it expanded on some minor plot points, such as the bandit, Kallias' and Xanthos' childhood, the personality of the former king, and the kingdom's politics as a whole. We got glimpses of them, but not a lot. I think it would have also been beneficial for the reveal to know more about Xanthos. He's mentioned maybe twice before the final reveal, so I personally didn't give him much thought. Part of me understands that the author might have left Xanthos' backstory and relationship with Kallias out for the ending reveal, but I wish there were more clues. I thought that Xanthos' death was just a way to show that the royal family has always been in danger.

Next up will be a review of "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo. I'm really excited about this novel, as well as it's sequel "Crooked Kingdom"!

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