Series: Wicked Games #1
Publication Date: 03rd Sep 2024
Genre: Horror, Romance (Historical)
3.7 Stars
One Liner: Dark but light; an entertainer
New Orleans
Ophelia has just taken over the family role as a Necromancer after her mother’s death. Less than a few hours later, she realizes their ancestral home is under debt and at risk of being taken from her. Her younger sister, Genevieve, decides to participate in the dangerous Phantasma challenge by entering the Devil Manor. The one who clears the nine levels gets huge prize money.
Ophelia follows her sister into the manor intending to take her back home. However, there are rules to follow and deals to make before it can happen. When Blackwell, a long-lasting resident of the manor offers help (for a bargain, of course), Ophelia wonders what it would cost her. With the attraction between them getting stronger, there’s a lot more at stake for Ophelia.
The story comes in Ophelia’s third-person POV.
My Thoughts:
Well, I don’t often take big books (anything over 400 pages is a big book). This one combines horror, gothic house, and romance, so I thought, why not?
I don’t bother with the tags and comparison, so can’t say if this is like the other books or not. I prefer to read a book for what it is.
This is historical fiction set sometime when women still wore cumbersome corsets while the mode of transport included horse carriages and automobiles. A mention of the timeline would have helped.
The premise is highly intriguing. The book starts on a high, establishing that this will be a dark read. Not for the squeamish! The main characters seem interesting too.
Ophelia takes time to get used to. TBH, it’s a miracle she managed to survive so far. Since this is openly discussed by the characters, I can see it is a deliberate character arc (can’t complain). Let’s just say there is a loooot of blood.
Blackwell is your typical handsome and quirky hero with enough darkness inside. However, he manages to endear himself (faster than the FMC).
The banter between the two is fun, despite the deadpanning (more on this next). Though the love story is on a fast track, it doesn’t feel that way due to the page count and the multiple interactions between the couple.
Now, the steam is high here. 4.5+ (or more) and a fully open door. That means we have more than a handful of such scenes, with many in the middle of the book. It messes with the pacing.
While the beginning is not fast, it is not slow either. The middle, however, drags. The % doesn’t just move between 40 and 70%. After that, it picks up a steady momentum until the end. I wouldn’t mind if a couple of steamy scenes were edited out to tighten the middle.
I know some dialogue tags have to be reused but some tend to grab my attention more than others and it becomes a nuisance. The characters deadpanned seven times, which even in a 460-page book feels excessive. Unfortunately, the word caught my eye the second time, so I noticed it every damn time after that. The same with insidious which was used seventeen times (yeah, I checked). It’s not a problem if my brain misses the recurring words but it does become an issue when I spot things. Since my book is an uncorrected proof, I hope the final copy is better.
There’s a bit of mystery but the focus is mainly on steam and the horror house game. Some levels were cool!
There is an array of characters (other participants and Devils). They do their job to advance the plot and bring a change in the FMC’s arc.
The FMC’s character development is a bit wobbly but still aligns with the plot. I wish we got to see her in her actual role as a Necromancer. The MMC’s arc doesn’t have much, TBH. Once we feel who he is, nothing really changes (not even the big reveal).
Anyway, this isn’t a book to read if you want proper character development or an intricate plot. It’s what I call a masala read but with an extra dose of chili.
Did I enjoy it? Oh, yes! And don’t forget to read the author’s note.
To summarize, Phantasma is a steamy romance-filled set in a gothic house. It had quite a few triggers and descriptions of gore. However, it is not an intense read or even scary (at least for me). I intend to read the next book in the series.
Thank you, NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for a copy of the book.
#NetGalley #Phantasma
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