BOOK REVIEW: Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Sometimes we’re not who we want to be because we’re supposed to be something else.

My synopsis: Left with only a warning from her mother, “If I’m not home in two months, I’m dead,” prim and proper Enne Salta traveled all the way from safe and cultured Bellamy to New Reynes a.k.a. the City of Sin, with only a guidebook at hand and Levi Glaisyer, lord of one of the gangs and a conman, to help her. In little to no time, Enne is sucked into the world of sin and becomes unrecognizable even to herself… 

Published April 10, 2018 by Harlequin Teen

Genre: YA Fantasy

Themes: gambling, casinos, crime, identity, self-discovery, dangerous, games, risks, debt

Series: The Shadow Game #1

Next in the series:

 

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Since reading her debut novel, Daughter of the Burning City, I knew Amanda Foody is one of the authors to watch out for… and I was not mistaken. Ace of Shades hammers the point that she might just be one of the best fantasy authors out there. The worlds she build are extremely complex and unique – unique even amidst already unique fantasy worlds. But she also creates characters that are multi-dimensional who you won’t necessarily love but will definitely appreciate and remember.

Playing nice is the same as losing in this city.

New Reynes is the Las Vegas of fantasy worlds – except more sinful, more corrupt, a lot more dangerous, and dripping with magic. It is a city of intrigue, political rivalries, dangerous secrets, and unexpected alliances – a city of morally grey characters we all know and love.

He looked like a warning from her guidebook.

Of course, this review won’t be complete if I don’t comment on the romance. It’s super slow-burning but it’s sizzling even when nothing was happening… something was happening. It didn’t take me long to be really sold. I think that it’s paced very well, and that ending… it just gave me another reason to be invested in the next installments of the series.

Every time Enne surprised him, he craved a little more trouble.

The sole reason why I’m not giving Ace of Shades a 5-star rating is because of how overwhelmingly complex the world is – it’s the first book in a series so it’s completely understandable – and I was quite lost at first with all the terminology, not to mention the political complications within the world.

But overall, I’m 100% positive I will be reading the rest of the series, and probably all the future works that Amanda Foody will gift us! So, if you haven’t picked up Ace of Shades yet, I dare you to take a risk and gamble, odds are great you’ll come out the winner 😉

Are you a pearl, or are you a bullet?

Thank you HarperCollins for my review copy!

Shop for related/similar reads:

Have you read Ace of Shades yet? How about Daughter of the Burning City? 

What do you think of Amanda Foody’s fantasy worlds?