#BlogTour Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody

 

Today is my turn on the BlogTour Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody. It is the third and final part in the Shadow Game series.

About the Author

Amanda Foody has always considered imagination to be our best attempt at magic. After a double life as an accountant preparing taxes for multinational corporations, she now spends her free time brewing and fermenting foods much more easily obtained at her local grocery store. She lives in Boston, MA with a hoard of books guarded by the most vicious of feline companions, Jelly Bean.

She is the author of The Shadow Game series and more. Her middle grade debut, Wilderlore: The Accidental Apprentice, hits shelves March 30, 2021, and All of US Villains, co-written with Christine Lynn Herman, releases in September 2021.

Subscribe to Amanda's newsletter here, Follow @AmandaFoody on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Instagram, Visit amandafoody.com, Buy Queen of Volts

About the book

Return to the City of Sin, where the final game is about to begin…and winning will demand the ultimate sacrifice.

Only days after a corrupt election and brutal street war, one last bloodthirsty game has begun. The players? The twenty-two most powerful, notorious people in New Reynes.

After realizing they have no choice but to play, Enne Scordata and Levi Glaisyer are desperate to forge new alliances and bargain for their safety. But while Levi offers false smiles and an even falser peace to the city’s politicians, Enne must face a world where her true Mizer identity has been revealed…and any misstep could turn deadly.

Meanwhile, a far more dangerous opponent has appeared on the board, one plucked right from the most gruesome legends of New Reynes. As the game takes its final, vicious turn, Levi and Enne must decide once and for all whether to be partners or enemies.

Because in a game for survival, there are only losers…and monsters.

Review

This is the third book in The Shadow Game series and also unfortunately the conclusion to this fantastic Young Adult fantasy trilogy. I would absolutely recommend reading the other two in the series just to get the whole gist of it and experience the pleasure of the entire story.

It was interesting and also important given the age group this is marketed to for the author to take the time to insert scenes with certain characters engaging in discussions about toxic relationships. You can love each other till the cows come home or be attracted to each other like a bee to pollen, but when your relationship is toxic you eventually have to realise that being apart is sometimes the best for both of you. Looking at you Enne and Levi, and Bryce and Henry. When the toxicity becomes abusive, which it is because Bryce is a lost soul with a lack of compassion - Henry needs to just find the strength to sever those really tight ties.

The Shadow Game takes on an even sinister feel, and every time the players think they have played and won - there is actually no winning when it comes to this game, just saying - then a knife is twisted and the cards are reshuffled once more.

A few pages in I remembered why I love this series so much, and why I need to go back and re-read the first two in the series. I absolutely adore the complexity of this plot, the writing, the world-building, the depth of the characters and just in general the story overall. Also the way Foody took the opportunity to address certain tropes in the Young Adult genre.

This has a bit of a Caraval vibe and is most certainly one of those series that has slipped under the radar a little bit - underrated. Foody needs to be right up there with the best. Not quite sure why her talent for storytelling, weaving a plot and writing doesn't get the recognition it deserves. I'm hoping this isn't her last venture into this genre, perhaps an off-shoot of this series or a step up beyond young adult. Either way she is an author to keep an eye on.

Buy Queen of Volts (The Shadow Game #3) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ Young Adult; pub date 1 Sept. 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Waterstones.

Read my reviews of Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) and King of Fools (The Shadow Game #2) by Amanda Foody.