Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game Series, 1)
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Description
From the New York Times bestselling coauthor of All of Us Villains.
Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…and secrets hide in every shadow.
New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin, is no place for a properly raised young lady. But when her mother goes missing, Enne Salta must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail in the city where no one survives uncorrupted.
Frightened and alone, Enne’s only clue leads her to Levi Glaiyser—a street lord and a con man in desperate need of the compensation Enne offers. Their search sends this unlikely duo through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets, and into the clutches of a ruthless Mafia donna. But as Levi’s enemies close in on them, a deadly secret from Enne’s past comes to light and she must surrender herself to the City of Sin — to a vicious game of execution…
Where the players never win.
Praise for Ace of Shades:
“A rich, satisfying, complicated story. One of the best fantasy series I’ve read in years.”—Christine Lynn Herman, author of The Devouring Gray
"Thieves, rogues, and shady characters have always fascinated me, and so I enjoyed my dive into the morally ambiguous world of New Reynes." -New York Times bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima
The Shadow Game Series:
Ace of Shades
King of Fools
Queen of Volts
Book Information
Posts
The subject of street gangs is not quite my thing, but close enough to things I like that I found enough to enjoy in this book. It's set in a fantasy world where everyone has two talents inherited from their parents who give you their names. So the protagonist is Enne Abacus Salta, her mother a counter (Abacus) and her father a dancer (Salta), and Enne's main, better talent is Salta. Or at least she thinks so, because while she's been good enough at dancing that she might belong to one of the lesser dancing families like the Saltas, her mathematical abilities are abysmal. When Enne's adoptive mother disappears, Enne leaves her finishing school to look for her in New Raynes, a city full of crime and gambling, where right from the first word sue speaks, she gets embroiled in the life of street gangs and gambling. There, she discovers all the secrets her mother kept from her, both about her own life, as well as about Enne herself. Following Enne and her friends trying to lift the mysteries of her mother and herself as well as of the Shadow Game, was very interesting, I always love unearthing secrets. As the character dynamics also often make or break a story for me, I was very happy to find Enne and Levi being surrounded by a cast of characters they partly have existing relationships to or develop different relationships to that kept me involved in what they were going through. Throughout the first half of the book I was unsure if I would continue the series once I finished this book, but during the second half was where the magical properties of the world and its characters came more into focus, and that's something that draws me in more than street gangs. I assume that we will get to know more about it during the coming books and so I do want to read the sequels. All in all, I was satisfied with this book and found myself more and more invested, even if it is not a story that I will count among my faves. Despite its good quality, the subject matter made it unlikely for it to be so.
3,5/5 stars I can definitely see why people compare this to Six of Crows, and whilst I could see some similarities to Kaz in Levi, to me these two books are wholly different, which, of course, isn't inherently a bad thing. This book had more of a Las Vegas vibe to it, which I really loved, and the characters were enjoyable to read about as well! I'll definitely continue on with this series asap! Listened to the audiobook and would definitely recommend it!
Description
From the New York Times bestselling coauthor of All of Us Villains.
Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…and secrets hide in every shadow.
New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin, is no place for a properly raised young lady. But when her mother goes missing, Enne Salta must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail in the city where no one survives uncorrupted.
Frightened and alone, Enne’s only clue leads her to Levi Glaiyser—a street lord and a con man in desperate need of the compensation Enne offers. Their search sends this unlikely duo through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets, and into the clutches of a ruthless Mafia donna. But as Levi’s enemies close in on them, a deadly secret from Enne’s past comes to light and she must surrender herself to the City of Sin — to a vicious game of execution…
Where the players never win.
Praise for Ace of Shades:
“A rich, satisfying, complicated story. One of the best fantasy series I’ve read in years.”—Christine Lynn Herman, author of The Devouring Gray
"Thieves, rogues, and shady characters have always fascinated me, and so I enjoyed my dive into the morally ambiguous world of New Reynes." -New York Times bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima
The Shadow Game Series:
Ace of Shades
King of Fools
Queen of Volts
Book Information
Posts
The subject of street gangs is not quite my thing, but close enough to things I like that I found enough to enjoy in this book. It's set in a fantasy world where everyone has two talents inherited from their parents who give you their names. So the protagonist is Enne Abacus Salta, her mother a counter (Abacus) and her father a dancer (Salta), and Enne's main, better talent is Salta. Or at least she thinks so, because while she's been good enough at dancing that she might belong to one of the lesser dancing families like the Saltas, her mathematical abilities are abysmal. When Enne's adoptive mother disappears, Enne leaves her finishing school to look for her in New Raynes, a city full of crime and gambling, where right from the first word sue speaks, she gets embroiled in the life of street gangs and gambling. There, she discovers all the secrets her mother kept from her, both about her own life, as well as about Enne herself. Following Enne and her friends trying to lift the mysteries of her mother and herself as well as of the Shadow Game, was very interesting, I always love unearthing secrets. As the character dynamics also often make or break a story for me, I was very happy to find Enne and Levi being surrounded by a cast of characters they partly have existing relationships to or develop different relationships to that kept me involved in what they were going through. Throughout the first half of the book I was unsure if I would continue the series once I finished this book, but during the second half was where the magical properties of the world and its characters came more into focus, and that's something that draws me in more than street gangs. I assume that we will get to know more about it during the coming books and so I do want to read the sequels. All in all, I was satisfied with this book and found myself more and more invested, even if it is not a story that I will count among my faves. Despite its good quality, the subject matter made it unlikely for it to be so.
3,5/5 stars I can definitely see why people compare this to Six of Crows, and whilst I could see some similarities to Kaz in Levi, to me these two books are wholly different, which, of course, isn't inherently a bad thing. This book had more of a Las Vegas vibe to it, which I really loved, and the characters were enjoyable to read about as well! I'll definitely continue on with this series asap! Listened to the audiobook and would definitely recommend it!