Phantasma: 1 (Wicked Games, 1)

There are so many things I liked about this book..... First of all, the genre..... Gothic fantasy romance is my favorite one all. There is just something magical in the spooky, gothic vibes that you just get transported to that time and place. I loved the characters, the trials, the elements of horror, secrets, the bond between the sisters, the pacing of the story ..... and everything else. Theirs was a soulmates kind of love story. It couldn't have been better than this. Without giving away much, I just want to say one more thing, there were enough clues which highly suggest the connection between the past and the present. It's not confirmed at the end and I totally get it because the past doesn't matter anymore. Only the present and the future does....but, I have a strong feeling it was her.

The twist at the end completely changes things.One of the very few twists that literally left me reeling

🆆🅷🅰🆃 🆃🅾 🅻🅾🅾🅺 🅵🅾🆁🆆🅰🆁🅳 🆃🅾: 🔐Dark Fantasy Romance 🔐 Phantom x Necromancer 🔐 Gothic Vibes 🔐 Wild Adventures 🔐 Twisted Secrets 🔐 Deals with the 𝖣𝖾𝗏𝗂𝗅 🔐 Dangerous games 🔐 Spicy 🥵 📢 𝑪𝑨𝑼𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑨𝑹𝒀 𝑪𝑨𝑳𝑳-𝑶𝑼𝑻: 📢 As this is a Dark fantasy, there are some dark and 𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗅𝖾𝗇𝗍 scenes that might be a bit too much for some. So please beware before diving into this book, as there are many themes that might not be 𝗌𝗎𝗂𝗍𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾 for some. 💕 🅵🅰🆅🅾🆄🆁🅸🆃🅴 🆀🆄🅾🆃🅴🆂 💕 𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒎𝒂 𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌. 𝑯𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆. “𝑩𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅. “𝑺𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.”“𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒐?” 𝑯𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍. “𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉.” “𝑨 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” 🅼🆈 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆: This book was full of suspense and dark mystery right from that very first page and it pulled me in so intensely, that I was with Ophelia and Vivi right from the start. Each and every encounter and the build up of events that lead Ophelia to take part in the deadly competition of Phantasma had me so freaking glued to the pages with all the secrets that were piling up but also I was admiring Ophelia for her utmost determination to do right by her family. Every contestant has to pass the nine levels in Phantasma after which the last one standing gets a grant award of a wish from the Prince of the 𝖣𝖾𝗏𝗂𝗅 himself. But the Gothic manor is full of hidden passages and secret rooms that Ophelia unknowingly seems to find herself in, increases the secrecy behind this place. If the competition itself is not deadly enough, the manor and its demons pit the contestants against each other to one up each other and also the many hauntings, the apparitions and ghouls roaming the hallways, terrorize the people all the more. But the most dangerous is the Phantom, Blackwell who seems to have a mystery of himself and in exchange for help is ready to assist Ophelia in her quest to win. I feel this would be so freaking perfect for the spooky season because it sure will haunt you with everything that's happening. Blackwell and Ophelia together were Enemies-to-Lovers vibes but also were so hot together. As they do resist each other so much because they can never have a future together but also the fact there's a rule that nobody can break lest they invoke the ancient curse. We have so many twists in this one that it had my head spinning. Definitely excited for Enchantra and Vivi's story next. Loved this one.✨♥️

Phantasma had all the right ingredients—cruel competition, dark, hellish elements, and a world of debauchery—but it never fully plunged into the depths it hinted at. The story kept me intrigued, and the twist at the end genuinely caught me off guard, which I loved. But for all its eerie, high-stakes atmosphere, it skimmed the surface rather than fully immersing me. The romance? No toe-curling, no butterflies. The banter was fine, but the chemistry never quite burned hot enough. The non-main characters felt like they were just there, and I kept wishing for more depth. And then there were the editing errors—enough to be distracting, which took away from the reading experience. One thing I did appreciate was the representation of mental struggles. The main character had tics, a voice in her head, and demons in her mind—clear nods to mental health challenges and overcoming them. But much like other elements in the book, it wasn’t explored as deeply as it could have been. Still, I’m glad it was there. That said, if you’re new to dark fantasy or looking for an easy, fast-paced read with wicked games and light horror vibes, this could be an enjoyable ride. Just don’t expect to sink too deep into its shadows.

It is one of those books that pulls you in with its eerie atmosphere and refuses to let go. It bends gothic vibes, mystery and a touch of the supernatural in a way that feels both haunting and addictive. If you enjoy books that are more about vibe and mystery than fast paced action ,this is definitely worth picking up.

Amazing. This book is just mind blowing.

I’ll admit, the Caraval similarities were what drew me to this book. Despite the mixed reviews, I decided to take the leap. As expected, I couldn’t stand the younger sister—Genevieve was fine at first, but she started getting on my nerves a few chapters in. The storyline was compelling, and I was somewhat hooked, but the ending is what really salvaged it for me. If you liked Caraval but wished it had more spice, this one’s for you.

Haven't read it yet but have heard great things bout it