Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Synopsis: Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems. 

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play.
Review: Ace of Shades is a book I've been highly anticipating for awhile. I haven't read Foody's debut novel, but I was excited about this one nonetheless. I had a hard time with Enne as a character. She's supposed to be this prissy girl from finishing school, but she falls into the wiles of the city fairly quickly. Yes, it would have been annoying to have pages and pages of internal debate about whether she was doing something that was wrong, but I feel like it would have been more believable. Levi was a fun character. I enjoyed exploring New Reynes from his perspective because he knew where he was going and what he was doing.

The story was okay. The synopsis makes it seem like this massive card game is the most important part of the story, but it's at the very end of the book. On the note of card games, I don't see why Levi didn't show Enne what it was like to gamble. I also don't really think this book dissected some of the modern conventions that are considered "wrong," like gambling and prostitution. I feel like this book could have actually been a little thicker with some more development of the world. I love the concept so much. I was so excited to dive into a fantasy version of Las Vegas. Ace of Shades just didn't quite hit the mark for me. I'll read the future books to see if aspects of the world get explained better.

Interesting characters and world concept, but it feel a bit flat for me.

3 howls