We all have our shadows, both physically at our feet and in our own hidden internal battles of the heart, mind and soul.
For Alexis, the shadow man has returned as the devil in his mind, not shoulder and he is hiding his mental health struggles and not allowing others to see him for who he is and wants to be, fearing he is too far gone in the shadows, unworthy or burden. After the elemental gems quest and the battle of Stonehenge, we see Alexis starting to come into himself as a elemental growing his power and as a young adult discovering who he is and finding continence in what he likes and what he wants. Alexis is more than his mental health, he is starting to learn how to accept and cope with his mental health, whilst coming to the realisation that he is loved and can start expressing who he is and not define himself by his shadows.
All four our of beloved elementals have now returned to the Haven to chose their specialisms after experiencing mental and physical trauma after the Battle of Stonehenge. Alexis, Caeli, Demi and Blaise are asked to choose one of three specialisms, healers, fighters or scholars. Relationships amongst their found family begin to tear, grow and heal, as an ancient threat to the elemental world has returned. Not every one our elementals will be able to resist its darkness for too long.
It’s also a family affair this time as we get more page time for new and returning family members of our elementals including Alexis’ adoptive parents and his brother, Demi’s parents and sister and Caeli’s mum. We also get to see more development in Alexis and Caeli’s friendship to one of brother and sister, especially as they bond over their love of books. Andy draws us deeper into the elemental’s magical and personal worlds as they collide more now than ever his most personal and third instalment in the Descent into Darkness series.
Andy Darcy Theo has been writing up a intimately personal, elegant and boldly twisting storm with this incredibly personal, encapsulating and heart stompingly thrilling follow up to the events and aftermath of the Battle of Stonehenge in The Dark That Hides Us.
The Shadow That Finds Us has become my favourite book in the Descent into Darkness series so far. In the midst of the elementals going back into their chosen one roles, Andy intelligently and compassionately portrays an overlooked aspect of some mental health journeys, how to find and express yourself and what is good, light healing, finding comfort and safety and love in ourselves, our likes and dreams and in others after periods of darkness and traumatic experiences or emergence and relapses in our mental health.
It’s also about learning how to accept, discover and express ourselves and that our mental health doesn’t define us. We see this with Alexis as discovers exactly who is Alexis and what he wants admit the turn of his Psychosis and Caeli as we learn more about her past and trauma that led to her hyper independence and the barriers she uses to protect herself and her heart.
Alexis will always have a special place in my heart and so will Caeli. I loved getting to see Caeli’s pov and the mirror Andy offers into the self reliant and bold reserved mask that she wears, and how she and Alexis are like two sides of the same coin. Alexis and Caeli are both dealing with grief, mental and physical trauma, some of which they hide from others, grief, anxiety, depression and self conflict over their wants and desires. Alexis fears being both misunderstood and also understood by others and sometimes thinks he is beyond help or not worthy enough to struggling enough to express himself, letting his mental health define him and stop him from living as himself and how he wants too. This is similar to Caeli in this book, who has had to grow up too quickly and strives to break her own heart, so others can’t hurt her.
The Shadow That Finds Us is a book that cements the Descent into Darkness trilogy as a deeply personally, mentally and emotionally enthralling, enchanting, thrilling and healing piece of legendary literature. This is especially the case with its psychologically compassionate, sensitive and intelligent understanding and portraying of mental health and LGBTQA+ representation that is needed today especially in young adult and fantasy genres.
It was amazing and positive to see how authentically genuine and compassionately Andy portrayed Caeli’s journey to discovering, accepting and expressing her bisexuality, and I liked how this allowed us to see more of Caeli’s personally journeys especially with the women in her life, from her friendship with Demi, her relationship with her mother and her growing romantic feelings for Valentina.
Andy has given us an incredible delicate yet stark insight into our elemental as characters who shield their mental health struggles, whether to process or protect their own minds, hearts, souls and loved ones, much like Alexis who sometimes feels he is drowning in his own conflicting mind and road in life and Caeli who loudly pushing emotions or people and relationships away because she feels that it is safer to do everything herself, and trust only herself, and that it feel safer to break her own heart before anyone else can bring her down.
I will never shut up about or stop recommending The Shadow That Finds Us. It is a story that feels like a comforting hug of validation and comfort whilst still allowing us to be enjoy the gasps of shock and surprise of character driven ploy twists they feel like a knife to the soul of the elemental world, and the internal and external battles that our favourite elementals will have to face, changing their lives and our lives as readers. I also adore how the character of Alexis’ therapist Olivia is essentially a love letter to his amazing fiancée Olivia, and immortalising a loved one in fiction is also definitely some thing Alexis would do in a poem for Demi.
The Shadow That Finds Us has made me feel seen, validated and understood, especially when it comes to my own mental health journey. It is a book whose shadow will never leave you even after you turn the final page.
the girl and the city of books 
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