Review | Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game, #1) by Amanda Foody | it's diverse

“Sometimes we're not who we want to be because we're supposed to be something else.”

SIMILAR VIBES: This Savage Song, Daughter of a Burning City, The Last Magician, Caraval

GENRE: YA Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, LGBTQ+

PUBLISHER: Harlequin Teen

PUBLISHING DATE: April 10, 2018

READ DATE: August 25, 2018

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Here are just some of my raw thoughts, book notes, and emotions while I was reading the book. I can't string enough words to write a full-fledged review but I thought that I should at least publish these.

┈ overall thoughts ┈

- each house/family has their own power (different social levels in the different houses, and different families in the house)

- The fact that bisexual characters are not a big thing in the book and are just plainly part of the story. I think this was a very nice touch to the story, especially adding to the fact that this is a YA fantasy story

- I was underwhelmed with some of the details

- but the world itself is actually pretty unique

“Sometimes we’re not who we want to be because we’re supposed to be something else”

┈ plot ┈

- I need to say that this was not the best in terms of storyline, the world was something very unique to me

- I do think there was much more that could have been explored aside from the search for Lourdes, for Enne’s side

- for Levi’s side, I was actually pleased with how his story went to an extent. i loved his character and enjoyed his background story but there just could have been more

- it seemed like most of the interesting parts of the story all happened in the past or everything was a result of something in the past

- I get that this is the first book, but I feel like there could have been more exploration in the word.

- the world-building throughout the story was the weak point here

- there wasn’t really anything that SURPRISED me

┈ characters ┈

“I just kept thinking, looking at you, that you had a winning hand. You play like you’ve already won.”

“That’s the only real way to play.”

- GOSH I LOVE LEVI

- first of all, his descriptions were different

- he’s bisexual and this isn’t something that is a big deal in the world

“Her doll-like features, her determined dark eyes—how could anyone not notice her?”

- ENNE underwhelmed me half of the time

- i didn’t dislike her or anything. she was just there for me.

- i was able to relate to her, and though her personality was not weak, it was not something I would describe as strong either

- JAC AND VIANCA are the two characters i feel we could have a little bit more explanation for. I really think they could have been the minor characters that everyone would have loved

“And every night he spent trapped in her empire, he dreamed of building empires of his own.”

- the relationships between the characters were actually good and heartwarming and all that, I just wish that it was executed better, in a way that would make the readers REALLY feel their relationship and be able to relate to them (I'm guessing this happens more through the rest of the series)

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Have you read this book? Did you like or hate it? Comment below, I would love to hear your thoughts!