Queen of Volts (The Shadow Game, #3)

by Amanda Foody

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Queen of Volts in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Queen of Volts is the third and final novel in The Shadow Game trilogy by Amanda Foody. It's a tale of luck, legends, and sacrifice.

We're once again diving back into the City of Sin, though the world is rapidly changing all around. The stakes are about to become higher than ever for Levi, Enne, and all of their allies. Once again they are about to be thrown into The Shadow Game.

A game not designed for a high survival rate. Levi and Enne survived once, and only by breaking the rules. Now they must find a way to bring all of their allies and friends through, as they are not the only ones playing this deadly game.

“There were warning signs now, too, but her friends romanticized the city's tragic legends too much to understand where their story was truly heading.”

Warnings: There are several warnings that go with Queen of Volts, all of which are actually listed on Amanda Foody's site. I absolutely adore that she took the time to warn her fans, and I respect it as well. Her warnings include: extreme violence, death, grief, attempted suicide/ideation, PTSD, toxic and abusive relationships, and addiction. I would also like to add in kidnapping and memory loss to that warning list.

I can't believe it. I can't believe that this is the finale of The Shadow Game. This is a series that I only recently dove into, and yet I really wasn't prepared for the conclusion that Queen of Volts brought with it.

Mostly I'm saying that because of the level of trauma both of the previous two novels left me with. Especially King of Fools, which simultaneously broke my heart and left me terrified about the fate of other favorite characters.

What can I say about the finale? It was everything the fans deserved. In many ways, it was also the ending that the characters themselves deserved, though perhaps not in the ways they would have guessed or picked for themselves.

“A reckoning was coming for the City of Sin – and if not revolution, if not war, then it would bring violence all the same.”

There were times when I had a love/hate relationship with this book. I loved that we weren't forced to move past the trauma that characters (and readers) received in the last couple of books. But I also hated the way some of the characters were reacting to it all. I loved seeing them forge forward, while I hated seeing the stakes go up again. That sort of thing.

It was all worth it in the end. That emotional rollercoaster I was forced onto paid off, and with gusto. This is every bit the ending I would have asked for, if I had thought to do so. Yet Amanda Foody still had a few surprises in store, and that came with a few more emotional gut-punches. So consider yourself warned, and get ready for that ride.

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks