If you liked the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber you will like this book because the premise is almost a carbon copy. A magical event named Phantasma that travels around every year promises haunts and nightmares, but if you can survive it all you will win whatever your heart desires. Enter the game and you either win, forfeit, or perish to the ghouls and devils making deals in exchange for contestants' lives.

Enter Ophelia, who has just inherited a wealth of family problems, debts, and expectations when her mother dies and passes her necromancer powers down to her eldest daughter. Ophelia is headstrong and fierce and protective of those she loves, that list being exclusive to one person, her sister Genevieve. So when Genevieve enters into Phantasma, Ophelia follows her into the manor in order to save her and bring her home (are we seeing the Caraval parallels?).

HOWEVER I will say that this book distinguished itself from Caraval almost immediately as the stakes felt higher, cast of characters felt bolder, and Ophelia herself grew a spine and accepted her own powers with intensity. This was all with the help of Blackwell, a ghost who has haunted Phantasma for centuries but cannot remember why he’s stuck there. A bargain is waged between the ghost and the necromancer, and the one rule of Phantasma (Do not fall in love) is suddenly made to be broken.

The narration was entrancing and felt real, and brought me right into the manor alongside Ophelia and Blackwell.

I had fairly accurate guesses as to the conclusion of this book, but I will say that it was much more complex and heartbreaking than I had imagined. The magical mysteries and doomed lovers reeled me in, and I was entranced by every second.

dnf at 21%

And this is why you should never let artwork make you read a book if the artwork is commissioned by the author. Historicals with a paranormal twists are still supposed to be historicals, right? Because this protag did absolutely not read that way, and certainly did not talk that way. Another case of „perhaps if I throw in enough sPiCe, the hormone-loaded youngsters won't notice I didn’t do my research“.

Off into the bin with this.

I loved this book. I was sold at Caraval meets Throne of the Fallen, both books I adore. I am a huge fan of tropes and their patterning as it is familiar and I love when I am able to see how they might shake out in books (a true dopamine hit). I loved the gothic atmosphere and really enjoyed plotting of the tournament style escape room. While I did not completely fall for these characters, I was content with their development. I love that Blackwell is this millennial's grown up version of Danny Phantom.

DNF 43%, why are they having sex so early one and out of nowhere?!? Let's start with how Blackwell had no personality except being hot, broody, mysterious and amnesic sometimes. His main purpose was to help and bang the main character. Ophelia was just as stupid as Emilia in Kingdom of the Wicked so I guess that's a good comp title for you there. The ideas were good but dear Lord was this book poorly written and just bad. It had good vibes but I can't read a book on vibes alone (technically yes, but not when the characters are so shallow). I have the author's debut novel so that's not very promising.

What a perfect read for spooky season! This was a pulse-pounding dark fantasy - for both the thrills and romance. Set in a haunted manor and featuring FMC Ophelia, a necromancer, and MMC Blackwell, a ghost. Ophelia enters a deadly competition called Phantasma to search for and save her sister. This book has a delightful mix of all the elements that make me love romantasy including deadly trials, witty banter, and tension. There are several twists that kept me hooked on the plot, and the spicy scenes were chef’s kiss! The story does not end on a major cliffhanger, and the next book in the series will focus on Ophelia’s sister, Genevieve.

Audiobook review: Laura Horowitz is one of my favorite narrators so I immediately grabbed the audio version when I saw her name, and she did not disappoint! She does an excellent job with all of the characters and bringing life to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and Second Sky Books/Forever for providing me with audio and digital copies of this book. This review is voluntary, and all opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this book!
It reminded me so much of Caraval by Stephanie Garber, that it was at times difficult to separate them, having finished that book not long ago.
There is a lot of spice here, so if you have the audio , be careful of prying ears!
The narrator is brilliant, I only needed a couple of days to finish the book.

I know this comparison is made quite a bit but this book was very much Caraval vibes but with more heat and darkness.
I loved Blackwell. Ophelia and Genevieve were fine. I saw some of the twists coming but I enjoyed it all the while. There were some reveals that left me speechless though.
I did also like the portrayal of mental illness. It felt like the shadow was there the whole time and the narrator did a great job with the different voices.

I was highly anticipating this one!
-def has big Caraval and Kingdom of the Wicked vibes
-atmospheric New Orleans vibes with a haunted house and competition trials
-OCD rep in the main character
-ghost x necromancer
This was a fun read for the spooky season, a silly goofy time.
3.5 / 4 stars
arc provided by Netgalley

Very sad the file had issues, or at least it had issues for me, since I couldn't really open it to listen.
Still, I was able to access it and wanted to leave a rating for this because it was so much fun. I'd recommend it to anyone who loved Caraval but liked Jacks more than any of the other male characters.
It had good ambiance, a fun plot, characters I could root for, interesting lore and the smut was really well written. The narrator did a great job, so I'll defiantly pick up more audiobooks narrated by her.
I'm exited for the sequel.

Do not enter Phantasma unless you want to enter into a contract with the devil. At Phantasma one will encounter a devil game that will put you through the nine circles of hell in an ultimate battle for your life. But would you be willing to strike a deal with the devil if you could come out at the top with all that your heart desires?
When Ophelia’s Grimm’s mother dies she knows that it is her fate to burden her family's gift….or curse. Coming from a long line of necromancers she has always conversed with those that have passed even those that haunt her. Soon Ophelia and her sister, Genevieve, learn that their mother left them with a mound of debt; they must find a way to repay it if they want to keep their family home. But when Genevieve goes missing Ophelia discovers that she has entered Phantasma. It is now up to Ophelia to enter hell knowing that she might not ever make it out if she hopes to save her sister's life. Luckily Ophelia joins forces with the devilishly handsome Blackwell. The end goal is to stay alive, find her sister, and help Blackwell break free from his hellish prison.
I was not prepared for how much I fell in love with this book and its characters. The ever moody Ophelia and cheerful Genevieve have stolen my heart. Not to mention the ever desirable and morally gray Blackwell. This gritty, gothic, dark and spicy romantasy is brilliantly written from beginning to end. Filled with equal amounts of adventure and passion I can not stop thinking about this book and am desperately waiting for book 2!

*Thank you to Kaylie Smith, Bookouture Audio and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

This was my first ever audiobook, and it did NOT disappoint. omg. i had to stop midstep or put down stuff because the dialogues.. wow.
Anyway ahah I loved the mystery of it all, the bond between Blackwell and Ophelia. The struggles between her and her younger sister, how they both were trying to protect the other, to love each other in their best way.
And, please forgive me, but I would've sold my LIFE for Sinclaire :")

Some of my preferred quotes are:
"Death she was familiar with, living would be the real challenge."
"In all the darkness, in all the loneliness, you have been my one source of light. My soul willl go to its grave with your name echoing in my mind."

**4.5**

Ophelia and her sister find her mother murdered and inherited her mother's death magic and massive debt on their family home. Ophelia sister decides to enter Phantasma to pay off the debts a competition where the winner gets granted a single wish but many don't make it out alive. Ophelia has to enter in order to save her sister. Ophelia will need to face nine floors of challenges to win. When a charming, arrogant stranger claims he can protect and guide Ophelia, she knows she shouldn’t trust him. While Blackwell may not seem dangerous, appearances can be deceptive. But with her sister’s life on the line, Ophelia can’t afford to turn him away. She just needs to ignore the overwhelming, dark attraction drawing them closer and closer together.

This is a great read for spooky season. This book had everything. Forbidden romance spice, gothic atmosphere and fight to the death games in a haunted house. I initially wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this but I couldn't have been more wrong. I loved this can't wait for book 2 ☺️

I listened to this book on audio and it was well read and kept me engaged all the way through and the voices I felt were well done.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Kaylie Smith for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Phantasma" by Kaylie Smith is a romantasy and book one of a series called Wicked Games. It starts with the death of a Necromancer, the mother of two girls. Upon her death, the oldest daughter, Ophelia, inherits this "gift". Then they find out the house is about to be taken by the bank. Genevieve leaves the house, and Ophelia is pretty sure she knows where she went. To get her back, Ophelia goes after her to the old house where the dangerous Phantasma competition is held and about to start.

The competition has 9 levels based on the 9 circles of Hell from Dante's Inferno. There can only be one winner, and the rest either drop out or die in the contest. A tantalizing, powerful phantom named Blackwell befriends Ophe and offers to help her for a price. A romance develops.

I liked it, but I feel it had weak pretense for the plot and actually too much spice. It is well written spice but gets to be obsessive. That said, I'm intrigued enough to read the next book!

Characters - 5/5
Writing - 4/5
Plot - 4/5
Pacing - 4/5
Unputdownability - 4/5
Enjoyment - 4/5
Narration - 4/5 by Laura Horowitz
Cover - 5/5
Overall - 34/8= 4 2/8
Rounded to 4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture Audio, Second Sky books, and Kaylie Smith for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Really good! The story was great and the characters Blackwell and Ophelia specifically were wonderful. The plot was great and carried everything so well. The spice was very nice! I couldn't really get a gist on a time period exactly, like what year or if this was a different world but it was still interesting. I'm excited to read the 2nd book when it comes out soon.

I grabbed this book from NetGalley because a bunch of people were talking about it in one of the fantasy groups I am in and I didn’t want FOMO so I grabbed it too. Now it did take me a bit to actually get to it but once I did I was super impressed. I listened it on audio and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved the narrator Laura Horowitz’s voice. It’s like the perfect Victorian gothic voice which is what this book was giving me. And I loved that she changed it for every character and it was enough that you can tell the characters apart, but they didn’t sound like silly voices that someone is just trying to all sound different.
The actually story was really cool it’s about how our main character Ophelia Grimm and how she is a necromancer and finds out her mother was in debt and her sister has left to enter Phantasma to win the game and take home the prize money. Ophelia being the great sister she is even though she’s pissed she didn’t know she also joins Phantasma to try and save her sister. Now if you’re like me and love a game you will enjoy this. Then add game plus demons/ devils/ and haunts. There’s also a love interest and a little spice. I wouldn’t say too spicy maybe like a 2.5 but it’s there.
I really enjoyed it. I’ll be reading book two when it comes out and I’d recommend it to everyone!

Thanks again to Netgalley, Second Sky/Forever and Bookouture Audio for the review copies.

Just fantastic! Such a fast paced read but one I wanted to sit down and savor and have it never end. I loved it so much and I need more from this author immediately. The characters, the plot, the pacing. It was all perfection.

Dang this book was so so good I couldn't put it down it was so addictive enemies to lovers, magic, trials, tension, a ghost cat, sibling love and more. I can't say enough good thing. And the tension and connection of the main characters are *chefs kiss* I wish we got some more back ground as it left a few unanswered questions

Reminds me of a Hunger Games meets Haunted Mansion mashup!

I found the start up the story a little dry And convoluted, but once Ophelia gets into Phantasma, the story picks up and it’s an entertaining ride with her hunky phantom help her by her side!

Not for the faint depart this one’s full of your and death as the players fight their way victory and the cash prize at the end of Phantasma.

I listen to the audiobook version married by Laura Horowitz, and found myself very excited to learn she would be the narrator. I have been following her on social media for a while this is the first narration by her and I’ve listened to. She has a wonderful reading face and voice variety for her characters. I really enjoyed the emotion range. She brought to Ophelia‘s adventure.

It was a fun and dark romance start off the spooky season!

I felt the comparison to Caraval made sense with the technicalities of Phantasma. It was a bit more dark and eery. I felt like i was vibing with this book in the first half, it was mysterious and held my attention. But then as it went on i found myself underwhelmed and not as intrigued as i was when i started. I liked Ophelia, i thought she was fine. I found Blackwell to fit that morally grey, mysterious man character-stigma. I found their romantic subplot to be meh. There was this kind-of tension between them and then all of a sudden theyre in love and theres a sex scene. I was like whoa did not see the relationship advancing that quickly, but okay. So from there i just was indifferent with their relationship and didnt see how it brought any other aspect or role into the story. the twists didn't really shock me either. i felt that some of this was quite predictable and i didnt have that OMG moment. I think the concept and everything for this book is fun but it didnt really pull me in like Caraval did.

Ophelia & Genevieve’s mom has passed away suddenly & Grimm manor is being foreclosed in 60 days so the city can build a hotel.

The younger sister disappears after an ominous promise that she’ll fix things. This is a story of Ophelia’s search for Genevieve and the gorgeous phantom she encounters in a 10 level crawler game where there can be only one winner who will get one wish from the devil.

You can bow out, make a deal with the devil or die in some gruesome fashion. I loved all the characters! The horror was great! A cat named Poe!

Action, GORE, mystery, humor, horror, and so much sex your eyes might fall out. I stayed up late to finish this in one listen.

Easy 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley & Bookouture Audio, it was just what I was in the mood for. I look forward to book two, Enchantra! Great cover art & narrator!