by Tricia Levenseller

Feiwel and Friends, 2020. 326 pages. Young Adult

Eighteen-year-old Alessandra Stathos, the second daughter of a minor nobleman, is tired of being overlooked and has a plan. 1) woo the Shadow King. 2) Marry him. 3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself. Sounds simple Enough. But she is not the only one in the castle who is trying to kill him. She needs to keep him alive long enough to become queen all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

This book was such a fun way to start the year. It was so different to have the main characters so ruthless and cunning and I loved it. The chemistry between Alessandra and the Shadow King was intoxicating and their interactions with each other were hilarious. Alessandra is a woman who knows who she is, what she likes, and what she wants and she doesn’t apologize for it. I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator did a wonderful job differentiating the characters and putting ream emotion into the words. The story came alive more due to the excellent narration. If you are a fan of Sarah J. Maas’s series, Throne of Glass you will enjoy this because it has a similar writing style and characters. 

 ME