Ace of Shades Book Review

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody.

From Goodreads: 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. 

Thanks to Netgalley for my e-book ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Wow.  Okay, just wow.

I’m sitting here, currently trying to remember how to breathe. It’s about three hours since I finished Ace of Shades and I just can’t get it out of my head. For some reason, I never got around to reading her debut novel, Daughter of the Burning City, but as of right now I am bumping it up my tbr list ASAP. Because Foody’s writing is JUST. SO. GOOD.

The whole world she’s created here is fascinating. Everything felt intricate and detailed and gorgeous, like layers of silk draped over one another in an elaborate painting. Although I didn’t understand all the stuff with the magic-system and volts and the mysterious game that plays a pivotal role in the plot, it didn’t feel like it mattered one jot. Seeing the devious and delicious City of Sin through Enna’s naive eyes was enough for me. I wanted to bask in it, like a cat sitting in a pool of sunlight. The casinos, the burlesque clubs. There were very grotty and disturbing settings in the novel, but even those were painted in brilliant detail so I felt as though I was actually there, standing by Enna’s side.

The characters are nothing short of magnificent too. Enna is so fiesty, and I love that she managed to be a bad-ass female character without being too vicious or terrifying. She did what she had to do, but I loved seeing how in touch she was with her emotions too. Foody did a brilliant job of showing her soft side too. And then there is Levi, who is now going on my list of book boyfriends. He was so swoon-worthy. My kryptonite is anti-hero, sassy badboys and booooy, I was not disappointed here. Levi is the Iron Lord, leader of the Iron gang, and he’s a terrible conman who will seduce and steal and lie to get what he wants. And yet… And yet, he also seemed very human. He’s not entirely corrupted by his circumstances, and it was delightful to see how his behaviour and thoughts reflected that. It’s not very often that I find a book written in third person that can achieve such a clear insight into the characters, and I’m even more impressed that we somehow come away with two perspectives like this.

And then there’s the plot too. There are lots of twists and turns, and it’s definitely something of a rollercoaster book. If you’re anything like me, the ending is definitely going to leave you feeling horribly frustrated at the huge swathe of unanswered questions and all the other unresolved things going on, but I can’t help but applaud the genius of it too. This is a book which does not pull its punches, and it will leave you a heartbroken wreck on the floor if you dare to pick it up.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I’m awarding Ace of Shades a full 10/10 stars. If I was being super picky, I’d say there were times when it could have been a bit less info-dumpy, but I get that the whole world-building thing needs to be explained to make sense of the plot.

If you’re a big fan of Kaz and the Dregs from Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology, this is a book you simply must read. It’s going to be out in the UK on May 17th. You can preorder a copy through Waterstones, Amazon UK or Book Depository.