Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game, #1)

by Amanda Foody

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.

Reviewed by Kelly on

4 of 5 stars

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★★★★☆
New Reynes is notorious for the corruption of the innocent, a decrepit, polluted metropolis thriving on underworld corruption. Lourdes Alfero arrived in New Reynes on whispered secrets and a sheltered existence for adoptive daughter Erienne, attending a prestigious finishing school for young women. Sixteen year old Enne is a virtuous, aristocratic young woman pursuing her mother through the ostentatious streets of New Reynes, intoxicated by immorality, prohibition and inappropriate for modest young ladies of virtue.

Levi Glaisyer is the Iron Lord of New Reynes. Throughout the narrative, Enne and Levi develop a subtle companionship and attraction. A machiavellian luminary and an endearing young man, Levi is a disarmingly charismatic, professional charlatan and the surviving affiliation Enne has to her adoptive mother.

Each resident is recognised by their bisected capabilities, their abilities manifest through their individual heritage, from entertainers to illusionists to alchemists. Electrical currents are used as monetary value, extricated from the vitality of unsuspecting patrons of New Reynes. The corruption and anarchy of a metropolis is founded upon the illegal gambling industry. Within the kingdom, the monarchy and sympathisers were eradicated during the revolution, corruption infiltrating as the Augustine and Torren families reigned the Scarhands, Doves and the Iron syndicates. Beneath the atmospheric metropolis, an amalgamation of anonymous journalists whisper the atrocities of the anarchic new world, including the notorious Séance, a monarchist sympathiser.

Characters are eclectic and diversified. A bisexual protagonist of colour, gender fluidity and socioeconomic representation, a gentle reminder of the importance of inclusion within young adult narratives. Unfortunately an instance of implied paedophilia is present. Unbeknown to Enne, she is coerced into a abhorrent and vulnerable position with a paedophile, believing she is immensely younger than she appears. Although condemned during the narration, it's confronting, uncomfortable and unnecessary.

New Reynes is atmospheric and distinctly imagined, a city of debauchery and immorality. Wonderfully portrayed, vibrantly diversified and captivating until the final page.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 16 April, 2018: Finished reading
  • 16 April, 2018: Reviewed