”I wanted to offer you my bargain then and there, but I knew I had to be patient. So, I made myself leave you, determined to give you space for the rest of the night - and then you found me. Because it seems that’s what we do. We find each other.”

In Phantasma, we enter a magical New Orleans where Ophelia Grimm must enter a deadly competition in pursuit of her younger sister and face nine trials based on the levels of Hell. It’s a compelling and bloody addition to the deadly game trope, with romance mixed in.

I think I’ll probably read whatever Kaylie Smith writes, because she has such unique ideas and there’s always something for me to relate to when it comes to all her characters. Her writing style is simple but detailed (and it reminds me a lot of my own, actually), and none of it felt superfluous. The pacing of this story was very good, and in particular I loved seeing what challenge each new trial put forward. Throughout the book, there was an undercurrent of “nothing is as it seems,” and that continued all the way to the end. I enjoyed the paranormal aspects, along with all the unsavory creatures Ophelia ran into. I couldn’t wait to read the end and figure out what was actually happening!

The reason my rating isn’t a 5 star is because of the romance, and this might just be me being really picky. This book would classify as a romantasy, and along with that genre comes a certain amount of expectations. Some of the tropes were a little on the nose, and I thought that a more slow burn between Ophelia and Blackwell would have worked better for me, letting their little moments add up until a climax. I also would have liked for the ending to be a bit more stretched out.

Now, for the OCD rep…the author states in a note that OCD is different for everyone, and that what Ophelia experiences is based on her own dealings with the condition, as well as that from friends. As someone who is undiagnosed currently but definitely has all the tells of OCD, the version depicted in the book wasn’t exactly like my own, but there were certainly things to relate to. Also, the fact that it wasn’t like my own experience isn’t a bad thing! These things contain multitudes. I really like even numbers, and Ophelia likes to tap things in counts of three, so whenever she did it, I was thinking to myself Add one more, make it square!! But I digress.

The way OCD was incorporated into this world, without any formal diagnosis, was well done, and I appreciate how open the author has been in her own experience and in portraying the condition in her novels. I’m looking forward to reading Genevieve’s own book, Enchantra, in April 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. This review reflects my honest opinions.