A review by beccaannekent
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A dark, adult variant of Caraval. Phantasma immediately sucked me in and didn’t let go. 

The FMC, Ophelia, is portrayed exceptionally. The inclusion of OCD, represented correctly, is excellently done and it was refreshing to have a FMC who knew she had a flaw and worked around her weakness when she could (its manifestation of a creature was very much One Dark Window esque). 

Blackwell, as a MMC, was very well written. I loved the slow release of his backstory and, without giving too much away, the twist at the end. 

If anyone loves a morally grey MMC, the darkness of the hunger games and the mystery of caraval, all with a spooky, and spicy vibe running throughout then this book is definitely for you.