Phantasma
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
What I loved:
1. The gothic and scary vibes 👻
2. Ophelia's growth and inner strength 💪
3. Ophelia + Blackwell 🖤
📖 About the Book:
To save her sister, Ophelia must enter Phantasma, a deadly contest inside a haunted mansion, and face nine dangerous challenges. Along the way, she forms an uneasy alliance with Blackwell, a mysterious and attractive stranger who offers to guide her through the trials in exchange for ten years of her life.
🤔 Review:
When I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. The concept of Phantasma, with trials each mirrored after a circle/level in hell, gave all the gothic and scary vibes. The setting was perfect for this story, and the scare factors were great and in vivid detail that helped put you in the moment.
Ophelia was a great character, and I enjoyed seeing her grow and find her inner strength while facing her OCD. The depictions of OCD were haunting and dark, which really conveyed the struggle Ophelia was going through. I thought each of those scenes was done very well.
Now to Blackwell. The dynamic between her and Blackwell was fantastic—the humor and sass were on point, making their interactions some of my favorite moments. Plus, Blackwell's memory loss of his past intrigued me to find out what happened to him. I had a suspicion, and let's just say, I called it! (see image for my reaction to the moment. HA!)
The one downside I had with this story was the ending. I felt it was rushed and that things were not fully explained. I can't say much without spoilers, but I would like to know the why behind a certain character's actions. Maybe we will get more answers in the next book. I hope so.
Overall, this was a captivating read with a unique premise and strong character development. If you love gothic, spooky stories with romance, this book is for you.
