Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game, #1)

by Amanda Foody

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It's been a while since I read a book where it starts off very weak and ends up being enjoyable in a sense.

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I'm not going to sugar coat it, the book starts off very confusing. Of course it's not the actual plot line that's confusing thanks to the abundance of similar elements all over YA books, but rather it's the world and more specifically the talent system that needs some time to actually make sense. I enjoy when authors try to be clever with magic systems, it doesn't always work out for sure, but sometimes it interests me so much that I'm just hooked on that angle above everything else. That right there is why I continued reading Ace of Shades despite the beginning of the book not being that intriguingly different. Now that I finished it however, I can say that it gets better than the start.

The world building of the book is good in some spots and severely lacking in others, for instance, we're introduced to Amanda Foody's world where shady politics are all over the place, gang wars are very appearent instead, Don's and Donna's and there is this huge existence in this world that is very important, BUT it's never the center of attention enough for it to be a tangible thing... Some characters literally refuse to discuss it further because it's "dangerous" which to me personally is just a waste of the time and pages it took to make it this relevant. I know that some things are better explored or rather revealed at a slower pace, but I'd much prefer it if it was discussed in a manner that emphasized that aim instead of just blantaly avoiding it.

She does a pretty good job when it comes to New Reynes itself with how she took the time to explain the gangs and further explore a couple of them, how she discussed the mob bosses, The Shadow Game and how she discussed some of the talents, but I really wish she expanded more on the monarchs and the curreny system she had going on, I did get the basics of each but it's certainly not enough.

Like I mentioned earlier the book is not completely original given the demographic it was written for in both plot (you can easily predict what’s going to happen) and eventual main character development, but with how Amelia Foody blended in her new things, she still managed to entertain me to an extent with the journey I took with her characters. There are quite a few characters in the book, and while the majority is not explored in the same way I hoped, they still get enough of a focus for them to feel like they are their own entities. Our main heroine, Enne, starts off somewhat haughty and pathetic but she eventually starts hardening because of her experiences in the 10 days she spends in New Reynes and ends up being a force to be reckoned with, although I do think that the 10 days should've been 10 months to make the transition seem more realistic. I did enjoy how her relationship developed with Lola, and I'm definitely looking forward to see where they go from here.

Levi on the other hand is a very diverse charatcer, and although I really just hope for a good time whenever I pick up a book instead of being rigid about the existence of diversity or not, I can say that Amelia Foody's representation of him in this way was intentional, she didn't add the diversity as a last offhand thought. My issue with his charatcer though is that he's very nice and he's very kind which is a direct contradiction to how he's painted to be, and makes the position he is in seem like a joke because there is no way it should be a thing and makes how he get there in the first place one of the biggest mysteries the series has got that is yet to be revealed. Because it's YA, a romance has to be there and I both like and dislike how Amanda Foody went with it. I don’t like how much of an insta-love it was and I didn’t like how there has to be a mention of this attraction and a battle with feelings every time the two of them were alone despite the fact that there are much more important things happening.

That being said, I like the fact that it never really went anywhere, how Enne did her best to use her mind whenever her not-the-time feelings would try to get in the way and how Levi would give her the needed space as well. I don’t know how many books there will be in the series, but I really hope that now everything is out in the open we can start learning about the monarchs, volts and everything in between in bigger details.

Final rate: 3/5