Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars rounded up**
What the!? Am I a Romantasy Girlie now?!?!
I am shocked, awed and quite pleased at how compelling I found Phantasma to be. I just read it to see what all the hype was about, and you know what, I get it.
This is my first real foray into the Romantasy genre, which seems to have taken the world by storm. I’m not a huge Romance Reader overall, but I do dip my toe into the pool every now and again. I feel like the other elements of this, though, are what made it a true winner for me.
By that I am referring to the creative competition and wicked gothic atmosphere. Atmosphere is my number one want out of any story and I feel like Smith nailed that here.
If you aren’t aware, this story is set in a sort of alternative New Orleans where paranormal creatures and occurrences aren’t outside of the realm of possibility.
We follow our MC, Ophelia Grimm, after the unexpected death of her mother, a necromancer whose magic she’s now inherited. Ophelia is left with her younger sister, Genevieve, as her only family. They reside in the Grimm family home, which they discover they are close to losing due to their mother’s unresolved debts.
Genevieve believes she has the solution to their problems as she enters a traveling competition known as Phantasma. The grand prize is a wish granted; she could wish for enough money to settle their debts.
The kicker is that most contestants don’t make it out alive. By the time Ophelia discovers Genevieve’s plans, it’s too late. Her sister has already entered the game. Now Ophelia must get in as well and find her sister before it’s too late.
Phantasma is a cursed manor where the contestants must reside while they compete. Think Paranormal Big Brother. Ophelia is allowed in, but will she be able to make it out?
Phantasma is made up of nine levels, each containing its own unique challenge in which the contestants compete. If Ophelia is to have a hope of finding her sister she must successfully complete each level, but dangers lay in wait around every turn of the haunted hallways.
When a charming stranger, Blackwell, assures Ophelia he can help and guide her through the levels, she knows she shouldn’t trust him, but what other choice does she have?
As a being tied within Phantasma, Blackwell should know its ins-and-outs better than anyone. She’s willing to take the risk in order to save Genevieve, and the burning attraction doesn’t hurt matters either. As the two grow closer, Ophelia has to fight to remain focused on her task. Blackwell is quite the distraction.
I found Smith’s writing so easy to read. I would find myself getting swept away into the story every time I picked it up. It was so easy to picture everything she was describing.
I loved how quickly we got to the meat of the story, with Ophelia entering Phantasma fairly quickly. I had so much fun following her journey through the competition and felt the danger increase with each passing level.
The fact that the contestants all lived together and entered each level together made for a lot of dramatic interactions amongst them. It did have a Hunger Games sort of vibe in that, in order to win, you needed others to lose.
I would say the competition, and the setting of the competition, were probably my favorite things about this novel. I did find all of that so fascinating, but I did also enjoy both Ophelia and Blackwell as characters.
There’s obviously some insta-attraction between the two, but I liked how it did take some time to build up trust. It was enjoyable to watch them learn to work together; that didn’t happen instantaneously. There was also some light pining and a bit of back and forth that kept me glued to the pages.
In the end, I would say I fell for them, the idea of them, and what they could provide for one another. The steamy bits were just an added bonus.
I’m so glad that I stepped outside my comfort zone for this one. I’m looking forward to the 2nd-book, and to continue on in my new Romantasy Girl era!
