Ace of Shades
(The Shadow Game #1)
by Amanda Foody
April 10, 2018
400 pages
400 pages
Goodreads Summary:
Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…
and secrets hide in every shadow.
Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.
Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.
Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…
And she’ll need to play.
and secrets hide in every shadow.
Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.
Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.
Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…
And she’ll need to play.
Review
I have been very fortunate to read an early copy of my most anticipated book of 2018, also known as Ace of Shades!!!!! While the story wasn't as pulse-pounding as I had hoped for, it did fulfill most of my expectations.
There's an undeniable allure to New Reynes, the City of Sin. It's a terrible place to be but one you can't turn away from once you've stepped onto its streets. Every time we followed Enne and Levi into a new territory I felt a rush of excitement. Danger and death were always not far behind. The sinful vibe was strong.
The concept of the blood and split talent was really neat! It was fascinating meeting all kinds of people and witnessing their abilities first hand. I especially love how a surname is linked to the talents and these names carried complicated backgrounds. There was a lot of history to be taught and at some point I felt like they weren't very clear. I wasn't able to absorb and place them with the characters as much as I hoped. The confusion made me feel like Ace of Shades was missing a little something to the story.
I really enjoyed Enne's transformation. Even though most of the changes took place within her, the results were visible in her actions and demeanor. She was stronger than anyone gave her credit for. "The worst hurt in the world was the kind you grew to accept." (ARC, p. 221). She definitely proved herself and her worth. I'm excited to see how else she'll surprise us.
As the Lord of a gang Levi was kind of underwhelming. He always seemed panicky and like he's completely out of his depth. Not the type of street gang leader I was expecting. Even with all his knowledge about the city and its past you could feel Levi's young age. Hopefully he'll bring more to the next book cause I really admired his determination and self-composure.
I so appreciate the diversity in the cast of characters. Whether it was their sexual orientation or their outward behaviour, not one person played it straight (pun intended) or by the book. Ms. Foody showed this to us in bold yet subtle ways. I love it.
There's not much of any romance to speak of in Ace of Shades but there's enough desire to deduce some thing will most likely happen (soon?). Since I knew from the beginning this book is part of a series I found myself not minding the slow romantic progression too much. The obvious but yet to be acted upon feelings make the wait torturous but delicious once things do come true. I've got my fingers crossed!
Despite not loving Ace of Shades as much as I wanted to I am still excited for the next installment. The City of Sin has much more to offer and I'm not one to turn away from more thrills~
There's an undeniable allure to New Reynes, the City of Sin. It's a terrible place to be but one you can't turn away from once you've stepped onto its streets. Every time we followed Enne and Levi into a new territory I felt a rush of excitement. Danger and death were always not far behind. The sinful vibe was strong.
The concept of the blood and split talent was really neat! It was fascinating meeting all kinds of people and witnessing their abilities first hand. I especially love how a surname is linked to the talents and these names carried complicated backgrounds. There was a lot of history to be taught and at some point I felt like they weren't very clear. I wasn't able to absorb and place them with the characters as much as I hoped. The confusion made me feel like Ace of Shades was missing a little something to the story.
I really enjoyed Enne's transformation. Even though most of the changes took place within her, the results were visible in her actions and demeanor. She was stronger than anyone gave her credit for. "The worst hurt in the world was the kind you grew to accept." (ARC, p. 221). She definitely proved herself and her worth. I'm excited to see how else she'll surprise us.
As the Lord of a gang Levi was kind of underwhelming. He always seemed panicky and like he's completely out of his depth. Not the type of street gang leader I was expecting. Even with all his knowledge about the city and its past you could feel Levi's young age. Hopefully he'll bring more to the next book cause I really admired his determination and self-composure.
I so appreciate the diversity in the cast of characters. Whether it was their sexual orientation or their outward behaviour, not one person played it straight (pun intended) or by the book. Ms. Foody showed this to us in bold yet subtle ways. I love it.
There's not much of any romance to speak of in Ace of Shades but there's enough desire to deduce some thing will most likely happen (soon?). Since I knew from the beginning this book is part of a series I found myself not minding the slow romantic progression too much. The obvious but yet to be acted upon feelings make the wait torturous but delicious once things do come true. I've got my fingers crossed!
Despite not loving Ace of Shades as much as I wanted to I am still excited for the next installment. The City of Sin has much more to offer and I'm not one to turn away from more thrills~
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way. All quotes were taken from the Advance Review Copy I received.
I hate when you're let down by a book that you're so excited about. Boo.
ReplyDeleteI knowwwww! I enjoyed it but am sad I didn't LOVE IT...
DeleteFour RIPPLES! is still a wonderful rating, though. I hope The City of Sin knocks your socks off! .💜
ReplyDeleteThanks La! Even though I couldn't help picking out small issues I had I still ended up enjoying the story :)
DeleteI read Ace of Shades a while back, but I was sadly not about to give it 4 cats. Plus, I love your rating system. I think I have written this to you before, but what the heck? I love cats and am obsessed with talking and writing about them. If only all faults in books could be solved by cats...hmm. Anyway, great review! I loved reading your thoughts, and a lot of things you enjoyed I relate to very much during my own reading experience. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteHahaha cats make everything better ;) I had really high expectations for AoS and some of it fell through but some were met so it wasn't too bad for me.
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