A review by lilipopmlml
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Phantasma was an entertaining read. I appreciated how the spicier scenes didn't venture anywhere close to abuse territory like many "dark romance" novels tend to do, rather the "dark" part was from the gothic themes of the book. I did feel like the pacing was way too fast to be believable. A lot happens plot-wise that the female lead doesn't really get the time to process because the narrative clock is so short, to the point that what growth she does have seems implausible. The ending was also a little confusing and didn't quite feel earned. As a reader, there was enough foreshadowing for me to know where it was headed, but it felt like Ophelia didn't actually have to do enough to have pieced all the clues together. 
The book overall is giving Kingdom of the Wicked and Caraval mixed together, with many similar themes, characters, and tropes.