Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody wasn’t what I expected. And that’s good and bad. I was intrigued by the notion of a new, mysterious game with the inclusion of these gold minted shadow cards. It was intriguing. The hunt to obtain 5 of the 22 cards at the risk of lives lost had me on the edge of my seat. However, this hunt ran way too long and all of the context in between this seemingly simple game just kept adding more and more drama that wasn’t that interesting. It didn’t keep me invested but rather made me bored, wishing for the story to head in a different direction and quickly otherwise I wouldn’t be able to keep going. At first I found the multiple perspectives helped fix this error in plot but as it neared the end I found it no longer helped. I really liked Harvey’s chapters and the addition of Sophia’s provided a much needed relief from all of the North side gangs drama because hers showed more of the forgotten South side. However, I ended up really hating her chapters because I found I didn’t care that much for the South side angle despite knowing its purpose and how it connected to the story. To me, it just wasn’t interesting enough.
Unfortunately, the complexity of the story made these beloved characters suffer. Levi’s character was my favourite in this conclusion by far as he was the voice of reason and served as the moral compass for most of the other characters and especially for Enne who was falling through a downward spiral ever since killing Jac under Vianca’s omerta from King of Fools. I also really enjoyed knowing more about Harvey Gabbiano. I felt for him throughout the entire book and he might be why I finished it…I wanted more of him earlier!
I want to thank publishers at Harlequin Trade publishing and Inkyard press for including me in the 2020 Fall Reads Blog Tour and for giving me the chance to read the conclusion to The Shadow Game trilogy.
What I found that stood out for me in here were all the relationships made and broken as they chased down The Bargainer and their respective target cards in the game. Grace and Roy were expected and they were adorable! I wish they got a happy ending but I guess some people in the City of Sin can’t have that right?
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“I’m going to look at this,’ Levi grumbled, snatching a box of chocolates from a nearby shelf, ‘as an investment in my political future—and state of mind.’
‘Oh, you must stop,’ Enne said flatly. ‘Or I might swoon.’ This earned her a small crack of a smile. He waved the box.
‘That’s what the sugar is for.’
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Levi and Enne were up and down and reduced to a fake coupling for the media which was hilarious and ironic! It reminded me of The Hunger Games when Peeta dropped that huge bomb about his crush on Katniss. It brought a fiery heat that reminded them of their true feelings. The only thing that let that down was how long it took from them to man up and say something to each other. It ran too long. There’s moments like these ones above that were so cute and funny and they did she a different side to Levi, one with humour and vulnerability. It was raw and emotional and showed that they belonged to each other. It just took them too long to figure out something they both already knew since book 1.
“Enne saw the answers clearly now. Even if she could return to the girl she used to be, that girl had also been weak. And facing monsters like Vianca Augustine, Sedric Torren, and Bryce Balfour had taught Enne an invaluable lesson: the City of Sin would always prey on weakness. She would not, like Lola suggested, diminish herself so that the wigheads would dismiss her. She wouldn’t leave her fate in the hands of those who’d prefer her dead regardless. She’d had so little control of her life until now, and she would not willingly relinquish it again.”
This right here was written early on in Queen of Volts and despite this sure confidence in the main character of Enne, I didn’t see it here. She wanted to not be weak but that’s exactly what happened here. She needed Levi to help with her blood talent to produce viable volts, she needed him for her pardon by using him to fake a relationship. Someone strong can handle things by themselves and this last installment showed a step back in her character. She seemed to always be relying on someone else despite wanting this control. She was constantly out of control in both life and strategy. It was a disappointing turn for the MC and with a title like “Queen of Volts” I thought it was heading in a completely different direction. This title makes it sound like she’s going to go through something verging on epic and unfortunately it missed its mark.
“Enne still saw Jac Mardlin in the glint of the metal, and perhaps she always would. But Enne hadn’t killed him—Vianca had.”
I was devastated when this happened in King of Fools and throughout this entire book I was looking for a loophole to bring him back and when that didn’t happen I was in shock. But I could deal with it, what I couldn’t deal with though was Enne’s constant guilt. It was so infuriating especially when she stated this so early on. Despite knowing that it wasn’t actually her doing but rather the omerta put on by Vianca, Enne stays in this constant state of guilt. It was hard to keep reading. To me if felt like the amount of times they mentioned it, that they were going to find a way to save him because why else mention it as often as it was? But then that didn’t happen which only left a sour note.
I hated the break up between Lola and Enne, I just couldn’t understand why it happened. They were torn apart and separated for most of the book and I missed them. They were the original girl gang. It lost some awe to it with this twist. It added drama but it was at the expense of the characters and the plot. I don’t think it needed to go this way because they were a strong team determined to have control and power for themselves and this separation only made them vulnerable and weak. The very thing they never wanted.
“Lola did not approve of cabarets. The Sauterelle was as loud as it was dirty, with a sugarcoated stickiness to the floor from spilled cocktails…”
I loved Lola’s voice. Despite where she was headed plot wise, her actual voice and tone was humourous and enjoyable.
Overall, I was disappointed with this conclusion to the Shadow Game trilogy. The plot was dragged on way too long and there was too much drama and not enough of the gritty City of Sin that I was introduced to in the first two books. What let me down the most with this book was how far Enne seemed to spiral, she no longer made any progress or growth in character and what little she did manage to achieve would be knocked down and reduced to nothing by the events of the plot as it unfolded. She was the least liked by characters as well after what she did with Jac in book 2 despite knowing that she was under an omerta and had no choice. Instead of insisting throughout that she couldn’t help what she was forced to do, she dwelled on it and that the whole story suffer. My favourite book will always be Ace of Shades. I still think this series is worth a read because I found the concept wholly original and I liked the City of Sin angle. It’s definitely a more mature YA series because it deals with mature scenes but still good!