In The Shadows: A forbidden, enemies to lovers romance by L.B. August

Damned by gods and threaded by fates, two mortals must embrace the darkness to find their true destinies.

Lilith Clarke is supposed to be dead: murdered by the vicious King Oren, her blood staining a field of daisies. But death would have been merciful.

After years of having no name, she is finally given a title: Queen of Umbra. But it will cost her everything. Lily is now bound to King Asher, the most powerful and brutal shadow divinus in all of Omnia. Forced to rule in secret, she slowly loses herself to the darkness. She fears it will swallow her whole.

Until he arrives, tugging an ancient thread deep within her soul.

Theodore Kincaid seeks justice in Umbra but falls captive to his sworn enemy, the ruthless King Asher. Trapped in the kingdom that killed his beloved, his fate seems sealed until a chance encounter with the secret Queen of Umbra offers him an opportunity he can’t resist.

Theo and the Queen each believe that they are in full control, but neither is prepared for what the fates have in store.
Amidst a realm on the brink of chaos, two souls collide in a heart-wrenching tale of unveiling secrets, conquering the darkness, and igniting a love that could save or destroy.

In the Shadows by L.B. August was super good! We are set up so well for book 2, and I can’t wait for it to be released!

I really liked the plot of In the Shadows! An FMC who is dead as far as everyone knows, a MMC who is stubborn, loving, handsome, and oh so attracted to the FMC for reasons he can’t understand.

Lily is a great FMC. She is smart, beautiful, sneaky, powerful, and holding a huge dark secret. She is pining after Theo and suffering for it. Lily has gone through some major trauma but only come out of it super powerful, willing to take down those who wish to harm the innocent, and fiercely defensive of her people.

Theo is a great MMC counter for Lily. He is a gruff captain of the guard, super handsome, but mostly a loner. He used to have an Amari (fated mate) but she died and he can’t bear to find someone else. Theo is loyal to his kingdom and king, and until a sexy barmaid comes along, perfectly content with his life.

The spice scenes were great. Very sexy and very good. They made sense with the plot and I felt like it flowed so well!

The twists and turns as we get farther along in the story? So good! I was shocked several times and loved it.

I love the trope of a dark evil land shadowed in darkness, and the kingdom in the light, and the debate on which one is actually bad.

Overall, I loved In the Shadows by L.B. August! I definitely recommend it and can’t wait for book 2!