“A deadly game unfurls, upon a twisted board, watch every step you take, or your fate will be untoward. To gain the upper hand, levers are in play, but be careful which you choose, the pendulum swings both ways. Temptations in numbers, don’t overcount, forward or backward, a single key to get out.”
“A heart and a key would set me free,” it said. “But you should hope we do not meet again, angel.”
Roses are red; apparitions are blue. Phantasma is a manor that will feed on YOU.
Are you ready to step into Phantasma to meet your worst nightmares and play a game that may take your heart?
Let’s go through the basics: “Phantasma” by Kaylie Smith is a dark romance book about Ophelia Grimm, who lives in New Orleans with her mother and sister, Genevieve.
Right at the beginning of the book, Ophelia will inherit her necromancer abilities after the sudden death of their mother. Along with her powers, she also inherits her mother’s crushing debt, putting their home, Grim Manor, at risk. Her sister decides to take matters into her own hands and enters Phantasma, and Ophelia will follow to save her.
So, what exactly is Phantasma? It’s a mysterious mansion that appears in different locations, each time offering a twisted game organized by devils. Survive nine nights and win all the trials, and you’ll be granted one wish—but the cost of failure is high.
Ophelia will find in Phantasma much more than torture and blood; she will meet the beautiful phantom Blackwell, who will offer to help her through the trials, but that offer has its price. Will Ophelia save her sister? Will she pay the phantom’s price, or will the cost be her heart?
Review
Overall Rating: 4/5😈
Characters:
Atmosphere:
Plot:
Logic/Relationships:
Enjoyment:
Spice:
😈😈😈😈😈
😈😈😈😈😈
😈😈😈😈
😈😈😈😈
🌶️🌶️🌶️
So, be welcome in my little torture chamber that reading Phantasma created. I must say that I started reading Phantasma multiple times—not because it is a bad book, don’t get me wrong.
The first time, I went to the book blindly, based on the cover and some snippets from TikTok. When I started it, the historical aspect of the book threw me off.
The second time, I did not vibe with the characters, so I put it on soft DNF and decided to return to it later when I was in the right headspace.
I started it the third time because I saw in some reviews that the MMC of this book heavily reminded them of Astorian from Baldur`s Gate 3. I was sold.
So, the third time was a charm not only for me but also for Ophelia.
“I can fix myself without your help.” She huffed. “I was just under a lot of stress. It gets louder when I’m stressed.” “Ophelia.” His tone was firm now. “You don’t need to fix yourself. You’re not broken. But it’s okay to get outside help if it gets too loud.”
In this story, our main character deals with severe OCD, with the number three deeply intertwined in her thoughts. I love that the author includes her struggle with OCD in her book; it is always interesting to read a character from the perspective of someone who knows how OCD feels.
But despite that, I understood her actions and felt sorry for her struggle with OCD, the death of her mother, and financial issues. I did not vibe with Ophelias’s decisions in some parts of the book. It is not that she was poorly written; I think the author showed that some people under pressure were not taking things well, and she has plenty of character development throughout the story.
Spoilers
Spoilers
There are several scenes in which Ophelias’s attitude toward Lucy (other contestants in trials) is terrible. It did not correspond with her character to be mean to other women in competition, especially when she was kind. But I can understand that under the pressure she was encountering, she did not want to participate in chit-chat initially,g especially when she thought it was an act. But this was not specified in the book, so it is only something I am supplementing to make sense of her actions. “But most of all, she shed tears for herself. And the soft heart she would never have again.” The above line indicates that Ophelia reflected on her soft heart, which she believed would be hardened by her trials. Wouldn’t such a person prefer to extend kindness to someone they perceive as likely to lose? I don’t know. I am probably looking too much into it, and the author’s motives were simple, and I don’t see it?
“Gluttony.” He enunciated the word with flair. “There’s this whole bit with collars and chains… you wouldn’t happen to enjoy being choked, would you?” She spluttered a bit. “I—” “I’m kidding, angel,” he snorted. “But if you ever get curious, I’m always game to try anything.”
Blackwell
Our phantom Blackwell has fulfilled what was promised to me. His perfect sense of humor, with his wits and filthy mouth, strongly reminds me of Astorian. Every dark girly must have him on the book boyfriend list. My Kindle is full of highlights with his funny lines. Unfortunately, because he misses his memories for most of the book, there is little more to his character development.
Spoilers
Spoilers
I think there will be no surprise for anybody that he will fall in love with Ophelia. It is painfully evident throughout the whole book that he falls first, and when he breaks up with her (if you can call it like that, when he wants some distance so she will not become cursed because she is attached) that there is something more to his history with her. But I was so blinded through this book that I did not put two and two together when Sin told Ophelia about the prince of devils running Phantasma as punishment for that he preferred his love before his devil father.
“Gluttony.” He enunciated the word with flair. “There’s this whole bit with collars and chains… you wouldn’t happen to enjoy being choked, would you?” She spluttered a bit. “I—” “I’m kidding, angel,” he snorted. “But if you ever get curious, I’m always game to try anything.”
I must say romance in this book is romancing. Spice was impeccable, and the chemistry between Ophelia and Blackwell worked soooooo well. Part of their banter was the highlight of this book. I fell in love with Blackwell so many times in this book that my husband may have a big problem in the future. The bar is so high right now ?
“She buried her face into the crook of his throat. “You came.” “You called,” he answered.”
Let’s look at the story that revolves around our main characters and how I feel about them.
Where to begin with this book? It has been a while since I was thorned about some books. I needed two days after reading this book to decide whether I liked it.
On one hand, the concept of Phantasma was really cool for me. The gothic manor that appears at different places is run by a bunch of devils who try to make a bargain for your soul, life, or whatever they want.
Ophelia enters trials to find her sister and meets a beautiful phantom. I feel that for paranormal/fantasy romance, it is a standard concept nowadays. Making it forbidden love because Phantasma has a rule that you cannot fall in love, I felt a little pushed at the beginning and felt like creating unnecessary drama. Still, with the story unfolding, I liked how puzzle pieces folded together at the end.
Also, the plot had some “Oh, that’s why!! ” moments, so it was really nice that it surprised me.
Spoilers
That`s why moments
Ophelias’ mother enters Phantasma, Ophelias’ father, as a specter, doors that Ophelia finds at the beginning of the book. I remember first when I discovered that Ophelias’ mother was in Phantasma, and she was looking for Gabriel, who I thought was Blackwell; I prayed that he was not her father ??? With everything that happened between them, it would be awkward ?
But the overall plot was good. It has its fantastic moments, and I am a sucker for a book that feels like it is giving you a little piece here and there throughout the whole book, and all will fall together at the end.
In the first half of the book, I often got distracted, and it failed to capture my mind and glue me to my place, so I could not take it down. It was a good read, but not so good to give it a 5-star rating.