Ace of Shades

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description from the Publisher

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, Enne has only one lead: the name Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and 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.

My Review

Page Count: 411 pgs; 12.2 hours

Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: The Shadow Game

CW: Violence, Pedophilia (viewed as abhorrent in the story) 

I read most of this book by listening to the audio book. The narrator is Saskia Maarleveld. I found the narrator to be very enjoyable to listen to, and it was easy to differentiate the characters. 

Amanda Foody's writing style is very descriptive and easy to follow. She made the city of New Reynes come alive because the history and atmosphere are so rich. She also includes excellent context clues for idioms and phrases from New Reynes, so it is easy to figure out what the characters mean. The world building in this novel is excellent. 

The magic system in this book is unique. Each person is gifted with two talents based on their family names (one from each parent). The talents are varied, from dancing to aura reading to counting/arithmetic. It was interesting to learn about which talents are associated with which family as well as how the family are cast in the class system. 

The character development in this novel is excellent. The characters are very realistic with very human flaws. Enne, the protagonist, grows a lot as a character throughout the novel. Levi is not the typical "bad boy," but he does toe the moral line at times. I love that Amanda Foody wrote Levi as a man that can be manly but also fragile and sensitive. Vianca was also an interesting character. As the dom of a crime family, I expected her to be completely ruthless and cliche, but she was more subtle with her ruthless role, especially combined with her talent. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Some facts of the story could have been a bit more fleshed out, but this was a very minor issue for me because I loved the story so much. It ended on a wonderful cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to read the next book, King of Fools!