*Photo from Kaylie Smith’s website*

This story takes place in New Orleans, a city that has long fascinated me. Ophelia Grimm is the oldest daughter in a long line of Necromancers who provide services for the townspeople, as well as the tourists, of New Orleans, helping them revive dead loved ones and get messages to them and such.

The story starts with Ophelia and her sister Genevieve losing their mother and performing the spell to receive the family power. Unfortunately, Ophelia discovers the family power and legacy aren’t the only things she has inherited from her mother. Along with loads of other secrets, Tessie Grimm also left them with a load of debt that puts their family home in danger.

After Genevieve runs off and enters Phantasma, a deadly game run by devils, for the possibility of being granted a wish, Ophelia also enters for the sole purpose of bringing her wayward sister home. Instead of running into her sister, she runs into Blackwell, a phantom Ghost who just happens to be incredibly sexy and offers her help to get her through the game and make sure she wins — for a price.

Throughout this story, I found myself throwing it across the room only to immediately pick it back up to dive headfirst into its Gothic halls. Each trial brought excitement, frustration, and intrigue.

I loved Ophelia’s growth in the book in particular. With all the devils, ghouls, and apparitions, Ophelia’s greatest enemy winds up being herself. After fearing her obsessive compulsive disorder and the Shadow Voice in her head all her life, throughout the game, she comes to sort of make peace with herself.

Phantasma is a book that has been on my TBR for a long while now. I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into this one. I just knew it was highly recommended by a book reviewer Bailee on TikTok that, from the first video I watched of hers, I knew I could trust with my depraved desires (in book form).

And it did not disappoint!

Despite my preferences in literature, I am not usually one for horror. I hate scary movies. I can’t force myself to sit down and watch people make stupid decisions getting themselves killed and walk away feeling entertained. However, I have discovered that, if it’s in literary form, I can not get enough of it.

I absolutely loved this book. I highly recommend it, but you should definitely take heed of the content warnings and be aware this is a dark romance book with violence and mature content. Proceed at your own risk.