Audio Review: ACE OF SHADES by Amanda Foody

ACE OF SHADES

Author: Amanda Foody

Series: The Shadow Game #1
Source: Audio from Audible
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 18, 2018
Overall Rating:
Diversity Rating:

Summary:

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, Enne has only one lead: the 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.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Sheltered and innocent, Enne Salta, arrives in New Reynes on a search for her adoptive mother, Lourdes, who has gone missing. Enne's only lead, one name: Levi Glaisyer. Fortunately for Enne, it doesn't take her long to track down Levi. He's a bit infamous in New Reynes. That is when the fun begins. Swept up into this new and dangerous world, Enne feels overwhelmed, but despite her initial culture shock, she finds New Reynes bringing her to life in ways she never imagined possible.

This was just a meh book overall. I thought there were a lot of really interesting parts but they were always coupled but not interesting and even boring aspects. I liked the dual perspectives because it added depth to the world and the writing.

The setting was really well built out and I enjoyed learning about the traits and how they work. I thought it was an interesting way to showcase people’s talents and abilities while also allowing people to break their mould.

The characters were meh, at least the main ones. I enjoyed our sidekicks a lot more and even some of the one off characters because it meant we didn’t have to deal with our main ones. I would have liked more nuance for both of them.

My problem was that I had a hard time connecting to the world and the characters right off the bat. But once I passed the half way point? I ended up really loving the end of this. It was so fast paced, and addicting, and I needed to know all the answers to all the mysteries. I honestly couldn’t put it down. I loved the ending so much, and I think it had the perfect setup for the next book.

I also want to mention that the main villain in this book is a grown man that has a fetish for young girls. We don’t get to see any of these terrible acts on the page, but there are many hints. But we get to see him sexually assault (unwanted touching) to a character we follow. He does some gross things, and insinuates a lot of even grosser things, so please use caution when reading this book, because I did not know going in. Trigger and content warnings for pedophilia, addiction, drug use, gambling, death, loss of a loved one, torture, and violence.

Overall, if you were planning on reading this, still read it! If you weren’t sure it was for you, it probably isn’t.