…was The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller.
I should have predicted that. I wasn’t delighted with her first pirate novel, it was bland and predictable to me. It reminded me of how, before the Wattpad era, people were publishing their fanfiction on Blogger. And it was like a mediocre fanfiction. The Shadows Between Us is also a lot fanfiction-like, but this time with a “darker” twist, whatever it means.
I knew it would be a guilty pleasure, and it was. It was like Black Jewels by Anne Bishop, it was like Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Do you know that type of fantasy/paranormal romance novels? They rely on vague and opulent decorations, on heterosexual romance as their main drive, on mysterious love interests and on random signs that their setting is a cruel place full of intrigues. Nothing I haven’t seen, and nothing which impresses me. On the other hand, I can see why people may like such stories, and I’m not going to shame anybody.
So, what the blurb is? Alessandra, a well-born lady hiding that she’s had lovers (which is forbidden in a patriarchal society), joins the court of the Shadow King with a plan to gain the monarch’s trust, kill him, and rule herself. Yeah, this is the plot. As usual, something goes wrong, and Alessandra and the King, Kallas Maheras, fall in love.
I don’t mean that everything is dull or ridiculous here, or that the plot is hard to comprehend. It’s quite clear and simple, and that isn’t bad actually. Also, the setting is consistent when it comes to naming, which I liked. You can find out easily that most names are Greek-based, such as Myron or Chrysantha, or, at least, are to sound Greek. The concept of shadows protecting the monarch was an interesting basis as well. But the rest…
Once I complained on the inconsistent anachronisms in Anne Bishop’s novels; because you should either be good at writing anachronisms, or not write about them at all. This novel by Tricia Levenseller is the second case, sadly. You’ve got swords and guns, castles and electrcity, suits and gowns… and no clue what is going on here and on which periods the whole thing is based. I am aware that it works for some settings, but not for this one, not when everything around except names is so random.
This isn’t even the biggest problem. Some moral implications are the biggest problem. Because, you see, The Shadows Between Us may be feminist, but it’s girlboss feminism, with no regard for intersectionalism, with no concerns about classism, racism or ableism. What is done in this book isn’t enough. It’s even detrimental. As usual, nobody cares about the commonfolk. But let me explain it more thoroughly…
Alessandra openly acts and speaks against the ordinary people, and we are meant to feel sympathy for her, a privileged socialite. Whoever cooperates with the commonfolk is shown as a villain here, a threat to the monarchy. Because supporting a feudal institution is all we need in a feminist fantasy, right? Especially when the Shadow King is actually a violent colonizer, conquering lands after lands. And, again… Nobody cares, nobody questions that. Not when the colonizer and conqueror is a an Insecure Love Interest. I am aware that not every fantasy novel needs to be that deep in its meaning, but it shouldn’t be reckless and indifferent with its politics. It only shows that our popculture still upholds harmful, supremacist ideas, and can get away with it if sprinkled with [insert]washing. In this case, it’s pinkwashing.
Left Hand of Fiction 