📖🎧 Book Review 🎧📖 What a treat to become truly immersed in the long awaited second installment of the Wicked Games series with both the print and audio version of Enchantra! Having escaped the clutches of Phantasma, Genevieve receives a mysterious invitation to the Enchantra villa in Tuscany. Seeking answers, she finds yet another dangerous game, and a handsomely intriguing man with secrets who might just be her only hope of survival. Kaylie Smith set the bar extremely high with her mesmerizing, hauntingly beautiful, and jaw-dropping first book. Drawing on many of the beautiful elements that captivated readers in Phantasma, she pens another stunningly macabre novel that delivers nonstop shock and awe in a fresh and darkly fun manner! Laura Horowitz pristinely breathes life into this thrilling gripping game in an audiobook that simply draws you in as dangerously as the game in Enchantra.

Thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!

2.5⭐️

Where I enjoyed Phantasma’s plot all the way through the book up until the ending, I liked Enchantra’s ending but didn’t favor the rest.

I couldn’t connect with Genevieve because of her personality, though I could connect because of her character appearance which is rare so I did like that part. But unfortunately she acted like a child. She argues over any little thing, did exactly what she was told not to do, wouldn’t listen to save her life. Literally. Speaking of her life being save, I don’t think there is a single chapter where the MMC didn’t have to save her life from some terrible idea or decision she had.

The events were pretty repetitive, though that can be acceptable given the setting and the game. Though I wished some things were done a little bit differently each round to make it feel like you were actually getting somewhere in the book rather than turning in circles.

I did like seeing the glimpses of Salem and Ophelia.

GAHHHH!!!! I received this as the audiobook version from NetGalley for my review. Let me just say it was amazing. I loved the story, the narrator was fantastic! Just amazing all over!

“…and you’re my wife I think it’s reasonable to want to know you.”

“…and you’re much to satisfied to be complaining.”

“It’s never easy to realize that the people who are supposed to protect us are the ones who can create the deepest scars.”

Thanks so much to @bookouture for my #gifted copy of 𝙀𝙉𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙍𝘼 (𝙒𝙄𝘾𝙆𝙀𝘿 𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀𝙎 - 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 2).

I did the first book as a physical read and this one as an audiobook. Although Laura Horowitz did a wonderful job as the audio narrator I think I prefer reading the physical or maybe doing some immersive reading…reading & listening together.

This book was a lot of fun and we got to dig deeper into some of the more surface characters we met in the first book which I enjoyed.

Ooof the invitation situation. Talk about taking the wind out of your sails.

This one has spice, demons, romance and dysfunction families.

I definitely recommend that you allow yourself to be enchanted by 𝙀𝙉𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙍𝘼!

Enchantra was a delightful, magical and intense read with a high stakes family game of trials and death. I devoured this book in one sitting, just an absolute fun read.

I was able to listen to the audiobook and the narrator was incredible and brought the story and characters to life. It is in the heroine’s POV only though.

This is the second book in the Wicked Games series, so I would highly recommend reading the prior book first for better context and backstory.

There are some amazing tropes like a marriage of convenience, forced proximity, touch her and die, and a paranormal romance.

The overall premise was intriguing and well explored. There were deadly games, a complex family dynamic, and a lot of secrets and twists. I loved the introduction to the Silver family and there were some surprising moments.

I will say though, it was quite slow at first and did take a bit to buildup but once it started I was on the edge of my seat.

There were also certain subplots and moments that could have been a bit more explored. So I’m hoping there’s more books in this series so we can get some more answers.

The romance between the main characters was a slow burn but filled with so much tension. The chemistry and banter between them was perfectly written. I just loved how protective the hero was. There were also a lot of “my wife” moments that I completely swooned over.

The last few chapters were amazing and kept me in suspense. I really enjoyed how everything wrapped up for the main characters and introduced the storyline for the next book in this series. Overall, just a fun read with an amazing narrator!

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Kaylie, her publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ALC of this novel.

5/5⭐️
1.5/5🌶️

I had read Phantasma this past fall and absolutely devoured it in less than 24 hours. It was also a 5⭐️ read for me. Enchantra was immediately added to my TBR and was one of my most highly anticipated reads for April.

This novel follows Ophelia’s sister, Genevieve. Following her mother’s death, she was searching for answers and found herself with an invitation to Enchantra. At first, she is turned away by Rowin, but ultimately finds her way in.

What a mistake that was! She finds herself trapped in another deadly game. A deadly game that Rowin and his siblings have been trapped in for decades, thanks to their father’s deal with the demon, Knox.

In hopes to survive she must enter a marriage of convenience with Rowin. They work together during the different rounds to try and survive to find a way out of Enchantra. And well… you know what happens! 😏

There was hilarious banter, an FMC who wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself, great side characters, and lots of drama and intrigue. I’ll let you read to find out how it ends!

Enchantra by Kaylie Smith is an absolute 5-star read! The audiobook is fantastic, and I adored every moment of this book. You’re going to fall head over heels for Rowan—the newest shadow daddy on the scene—who is equal parts sweet and utterly irresistible.

The romance? Top tier. The banter? Chef’s kiss. This book delivers everything I love in a romantasy: thrilling games, intense trials, and a marriage of convenience. If you enjoyed Phantasma, you’re going to love this one too!

What an incredible addition to this universe—I already can’t wait for more. Enchantra releases on April 8, so go preorder it now!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Second Sky Books for the gifted ARC.

I had just as much fun with this book as I did with Phantasma. Kaylie immediately had me at the rings and lip ring (inner emo me was thriving).

I’m generally not a huge fan of insta love but it’s been growing on me lately. Or I’m just starting to accept that with a single standalone romance read it’s just expected. But I think their romance was done well! You’ve got the marriage of convenience to really kick things off and I loved their growing connection.

All the side characters were enjoyable to read and I hope we see more of them again. The trials in this one were definitely different and felt like a dangerous game of hide and seek between the siblings.

The last 10% had me laying in bed just starting at my ceiling super sad while I listened. I love a good pull on the heart strings. There were a lot of things I loved in Enchantra and I can’t wait to go back and annotate!

I’ll circle back to this review closer to release date but this is a dark but fun series to binge (and binge I did). This series is perfect for spooky season reads too!! I will 100% be picking up book three.

This audio was super fun and very easy to follow! I’ve followed the audio narrator on socials for a while and I was so excited to see she was narrating. She is fun, expressive, and very easy to listen to.

Thank you so much again to Second Sky Books and Bookouture audio for the ALC - as always all opinions are my own. :)

I love this series settings, characters, challenges, and personalities. I loved Phantasma and cheered when I got an arc copy of the audiobook. The narrator is the same and as wonderful as the previous book. I thoroughly enjoy Kaylie’s writing style, her storlylines and creativity. Another great read (or listen).

I liked how the storylines were interconnected to Phantasma, but a completely different storyline, side characters and problem to solve. The same amount of passion, character personality and wonderfully macabre aspects were present. The world building and details were so easy to picture while reading. The characters were easy to love (or dislike depending on the character) where you’re rooting for some over others.

Spoiler: I gasped when another event was referenced and hoped that meant another in the series was planned. It makes note of this at the end of the audio that the storyline will continue there and I cannot wait!

If The Hunger Games, Saw and Get Out conceived a BDSM smut baby, it would be called Enchantra!

This book showed me all of my own red flags and I'm okay with that. lol

I'm now convinced that Genevieve is a badass. She isn't this little sister that needs to be saved, like we thought her to be in Phantasms. In the second book of the Wicked Games series, we learn so much more about her history and her innerworkings as the plot of Enchantra progresses. In Enchantra, we also meet Rowin (if a mmc's name is Rowin, Rowan, Rhys, R-anything, he's going to bring the heat!), and his family. There's a....family reunion...in an arena...that changes...and they hunt things/each other. 😬

I do love that we get tiny glimpses of our beloved characters from Phantasma. As Genevieve navigates the challenges that Enchantra brings, she's faced with a past that is hard to look at and a reality that is too unbelievable. Kaylie Smith writes her characters with such charm and spice that I can't help but fall in love with each one--even the villains (the ones you don't root for).

💜forced marriage
💜light BDSM
💜 (I will argue that) he falls first--and harder!
💜public sex/intimacy
💜"she's mine"
💜touch her and die
💜"The Olive Theory" but with Licorice
💜horror vibes
💜hide-and-go-seek, but with murder
💜HEA

If you get the choice, listen to the audiobook! I LOVED the narrator's unique voices for each character. They were so distinct that I had no problem deciphering who I was listening to. Laura Horowitz brought every character to life. Her inflections and tone were on-point! 🤌🤌

Thank you to Bookouture Audio | Second Sky Books for an audio-arc of this release. All opinions expressed are my own.

I’ve read this book in ebook & audiobook version. This is the second installment, after Phantasma, which in this book is about the sister, Genevieve.

Basically we still get the game and adventure, including paranormal beings tropes as the main in the plot. There are also humorous banter, marriage of convenience, from hate to love, morally grey, touch her and die, strong fmc,family matters and more, which manage to make the plot interesting and enjoyable.

Overall, I did enjoyed reading and listening to this book. The game in this feels less intense than in the first one to be honest, yet still got good characters all around and nicely match environment as well. The plot also went well with a good pace.

The audiobook version doesn’t disappoint at all, narrated by the same narrator as the first book. I loves it when she narrated it since she always managed to bring the book to life - from the characters to it’s ambience and story as well, truly captivating and made me glued to my headphones to listen. I totally recommend listening to the audiobook version.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in both ebook & audiobook version for an exchange with my honest review here.

ALC Review~🎧

If you loved Phantasma, get ready for Enchantra! This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint! Book 2 follows Ophelia’s sister Genevieve, in which she accepts an invitation to stay with a family in the Italian countryside, in hopes of finding answers about her mother and those that are truly like her.

What she doesn’t expect to find is the owner’s son, Rowin Silver, tall, tattooed, pierced, shadow daddy, and broody as hell, telling her to leave. Did I mention that Genevieve is the type of FMC that listens to no one and defies him and his family at every turn? She refuses to leave, ultimately trapping herself in Enchantra and forced to play the devil’s deadly game.

This story was a marriage of convenience, with the perfect combination of tension, banter, spice, and action! I’m absolutely in love with the worlds Kaylie Smith has created and I’ll be patiently awaiting book 3!

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this audiobook!

If you enjoyed Phantasma, you will enjoy Enchantra. Enchantra is very similar (re: almost identical) to Phantasma except it is technically set in the Italian countryside. It has a tournament style, life or death game set in a haunted house. It was a forced proximity style romance between a semi-paranormal woman and a 100% paranormal man. It is sexy and flirty. And, of course, it is paranormal and spooky and fun to read. This book also has a ton of dynamic characters, each which I could see having their own fantastic spin offs with interesting and engaging love stories.

This book also includes:
- demons and devils
- curses, lots of curses
- chaotic and complicated family dynamics
- cute af familiars
- bad decision making

While, its similarity to book 1 is part of the appeal...Enchantra has essential all the same plot beats as Phantasma, which sometime made it a bit boring and bland. The "challenges" also lacked an element of excitement, as the stakes sometimes felt very low, and Vivi really didn't take part in much of the excitement as it was mostly off page. The chemistry between Rowin and Vivi also felt a bit forced sometimes, although the last couple chapters were so good that I forgive that. I am definitely looking forward to the next book and am so eager to explore romances with Seven and Graves, who were my absolutely favorite of all of the insanely named siblings.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Kaylie Smith, and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted across my socials under the username @tinynightingales, check out my GoodReads profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863
my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/
and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

3/5

This was enjoyable, but it wasn't my favorite. I felt that Genevieve and Rowans relationship felt one dimensional. They went from 0 to 100 very quickly. Also, the ending felt very rush. It also seemed like the author had forgotten at some points that the mirrors allowed the demons to watch them during the games. There were points where they discussed things that they would not have wanted and audience to hear.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

Loved loved loved it !!
This was amazing one of my all time favourite series
Nothing like I expected it blew me away !
I listened to it in one sitting as I couldn’t not
Fantastic!!

6 Stars

The light is wherever you are.

This was addictive! What a follow up to Phantasma. I loved listening to Genevieve and Rowington’s story. The setting, the supporting characters, and the plot all had me gripped from the first chapter.

Tropes
Marriage of convenience
Deadly Trials
Found Family
NSFW
Masquerade Ball
Touch Her and Die
Animal Familiars
“Mine”
Banter
Morally Grey
Shadow Daddy

I love the plus size FMC representation were being curvy isn’t her whole identity and as a fellow Aries, I really connected to her as a character. Rowin is getting added to the book boyfriend list for sure. What a man! Already planning my re-read for this one!

Thank you to Bookouture Audio, Second Sky Books, Kaylie Smith and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Kaylie Smith has done it again! I loved Genevieve & Rowin just as much as Ophelia & Blackwell. You do not have to read Phantasma to enjoy Enchantra, but I would recommend it for the backstory. The games of this book were interesting (I think there are six rounds), and the fact it is like a reality show broadcast through mirrors to the creatures of hell was added even more depth.

I was fascinated by the Silver family and the personalities of all the siblings. I am hoping another Silver is back as the main character of the next book in the series. Genevieve is a spitfire and not afraid to stand up to anyone, even a devil. Her banter and chemistry with Rowin is unmatched, and the spice is high heat (piercings, anyone?). There is a twist at the end that kept me on the edge of my seat until the final pages. While the romance is resolved, the plot to save the Silver’s mother & potential drama with Blackwell leave me with many questions to wait for answering in book three!

🎧 Narrator: Laura Horowitz
🎧 Length: 11 hours 57 minutes

Laura Horowitz is one of my favorite audiobook narrators - she could read the dictionary and find a way to make it interesting! She did an amazing job voicing all of the characters in the story and giving nuance to each of their voices.

“𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭. 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱.”

“𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥. “𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦.”

Thank you to Forever & Bookouture for providing me with copies of this book. This review is voluntary, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Enchantra is more than I could have dreamed. There were so many amazing twists and turns that kept me guessing. Genevieve just keeps pushing and prodding to get to the truth which I love about her and Rowin is her perfect match in every way. The exploration of more of the paranormal beings was really interesting, The more in depth understanding of wraiths was so intriguing especially Shadow Wraiths. I'm excited to see what will come next. The narrator of the audiobook is the same as Phantasma and I have to say it was narrated really well and ties in together perfectly.

‘I deserve to be the centre of my own story’

This book is 6 stars 🌟 5 stars is not enough stars to label how much I love this book.

You’ll love this if you like:
☠️ Deadly Trials
🎭 Masquerade Ball
🔥 Spicy Romance
🖤 Dark Gothic Vibes
💪🏼 Strong FMC
🤤 Shadow Daddy MMC
💖 Fake Dating with Forced Proximity

First off, a review for the audiobook:
Laura Horowitz truly brought this amazing world to life. Her narration was so well done and I thought she was the perfect voice for Genevieve. It truly enhanced the reading experience.

And now, a review for the story:
Kaylie has expertly crafted the most amazing world in Enchantra. It is a true talent to keep a book in one place and it never gets boring. I loved the way she designed the token rooms and the hidden doors/passages. Kaylie created the most atmospheric setting full of magic and dark gothic vibes. The magic system was so amazing. I loved the mixing of so many different paranormal creature and exploring the different kind of wraiths in the Silver family.

I adored the hide and seek element to the trials.
If I wasn’t on the edge of my seat biting my nails in suspense, then I was kicking my feet and grinning so much my jaw hurt.

Genevieve was the perfect FMC. She is feminine, but fiercely independent. She is headstrong but caring. And what I love about her most is that she is unbelievably strong and confident, but also beautifully vulnerable. To top it all off, Genevieve wasn’t the slim or athletically toned girl we’ve come to expect from romatasy books. She’s curvy and she owns it. An inspiration 🌟

And where do I even start on Rowington Silver 🤤 He was the perfect bad boy MMC. I mean the shadow tattoos and piercings 👀
And the way he stood up for Genevieve is what every girl wants. The ‘She’s mine’ moments had me melting. He fell so hard and I enjoyed every second of it.

And there was an animal sidekick!! Adorable animal sidekicks are quickly becoming my favourite part of Kaylies writing and not only was Umbra top tier, I adored the other familiars and their connection to the siblings.

‘Shadows can only be seen in the presence of light’

Rowin and Genevieve have firmly placed themselves in my top Romantasy couples list. The tension between these two was unreal. The fake dating trope coupled with forced proximity created the perfect reluctant allies to lovers situation. Their relationship developed so naturally, the addition of the two truths and a lie game was unbelievable wholesome and I loved the way Kaylie used it to give us background info and build the burn between them. And the spice was most definitely spicing! Chapter 33.. That’s all I’ll say 👀

And that ending! I was on the edge of my seat and gasping, my poor little heart couldn’t take it! But then I was back to kicking my feet and grinning like an idiot so all was right in the world 😇

The epilogue left me so pumped for book 3! I am so ready for Kaylie to ruin me all over again 💃🏼

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ALC!

🌟🌟/5

Phantasma, while not groundbreaking, was undoubtedly a fun time. I was in for the gothic aesthetic and the trials, the OCD representation was fantastic, and the smut didn't make me want to pour bleach into my eyes. That's why Enchantra ended up becoming the first romantasy book to have appeared on my anticipated books of the year list. Unfortunately, it ended up being pretty formulaic.

I'll start with the good: Genevieve was a great protagonist! She's not like the not-like-other-girls girls and embraces her femininity. It was refreshing to have an FMC who's not 'stabby'. Of course, that doesn't stop her from being sharp-tongued but that too wasn't annoying. The Silver siblings had some very fun interactions throughout the book. Also, I'm glad that Rowin's bed was big enough to accommodate both him and Genevieve and no awkward one-bed interactions happened. Laura Horowitz was a phenomenal narrator and did a great job at giving each character a distinctive feel.

Unfortunately, the things I was most excited for ended up being poorly executed. The manor didn't have the decadence or immersiveness that I've come to associate with good gothic novels. The setting didn't evoke any feeling of awe that I wanted it to. Phantasma's trails were fun to read, with each one distinct from the others. The trails embodied the qualities of the seven circles of hell quite well. It pained me to see that Enchantra's game of hide and seek was unimaginative, poorly conceived, devoid of any stakes, and worst of all... excruciatingly dull. I always look forward to reading books that feature trails or games of any sort so this was the biggest disappointment.

Blackwell had a lot more personality than Rowin. Rowin is your standard love interest (indistinguishable from all of the other popular ones) with piercings and tattoos thrown in for better sex appeal who spews the usual 'who did this to you?' and 'touch her and die' lines. Dear authors/publishers, please stop calling the transition involving two people who constantly bicker and later become fueled with lust for each other 'enemies to lovers'. How said lust turned to love is beyond my understanding because I never felt that it existed. Even I (a known romantasy hater) have to admit that Ophelia and Blackwell had chemistry. I found it to be missing in Vivi and Rowin's relationship. The romantic scenes didn't make me feel anything because they didn't have a strong foundation to stand on and just felt like the author was trying to use the usual tropes.

All critiques aside, I will be reading the next book in the series. If it's about who I think it's about... let's just say that I'll be expecting too tier banter (that isn't clichèd or feels forced). Although Enchantra was a miss, I'll consider the fact that Phantasma is my highest rated romantasy novel (4 stars isn't much but whatever) and hope that the next book will be a hit.