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A review by thebakersbooks
Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
3.0
2.5/5 stars — Disappointing.
It took me 15 days to get through this as an audiobook. For reference, I usually finish audiobooks in less than a week.
In my opinion Ace of Shades missed several tricks. The story had potential, but the choice to focus on a lackluster romance over the main plot and the main character's development hamstrung both the main plot arc and the emotional payout of the ending.
Nearly everything that drew me to the book turned out to have a major downside upon closer inspection. Bi person of color as the love interest? Great, except he was portrayed as sexually promiscuous without forming romantic attachments UNTIL the super-special main character showed up, at which point he fell for her instantly. I'm bi, and I've had enough of that 'if you're attracted to multiple genders, surely you have *tons* of sex' biphobia to last a lifetime. I would have been willing to overlook that in favor of intersectionality, but a) portraying a male character of color as hypersexual is extra harmful, and b) there's a ton of classism from the main character that's very hard to read coming from an upper-middle-class girl (who I think is white) toward a lower-class boy of color. Genderfluid adoptive parent of the main character? Awesome! Except she's never actually present in the noveland is discovered by the end of the book to likely be dead.
In the end, I couldn't get past Enne's classism and holier-than-thou attitude throughout most of the book. Unlikeable protagonists are fine (and unlikeable female protagonists catch an unfair amount of flak), but I'm not sure Enne was meant to be as unlikeable as I found her. She's scandalized by everything she sees or hears, and she metaphorically looks down her nose at Levi right up to the moment she begins to find him attractive. After that, she becomes frustratingly dependant on him, constantly looking to him to take the lead. This makes sense in light of the way the story is constructed, with Levi the expert on the city and Enne new to its customs, but there was potential for a much less hobbled character arc for Enne if she hadn't been taking all her cues from Levi.
That said, the setting was interesting, as was what little we saw of the magic. Emme's mother, Lourdes, was painted as a very interesting larger-than-life character,so I hope she turns out not to be dead after all. Generally speaking, the atmosphere of "magical Vegas" was also established well. Atmosphere, interesting worldbuilding, and a cool character we never actually get to meet weren't enough to sway me in this book's favor, but your mileage may vary!
content warnings: gang- and law-enforcement violence, implied pedophilia (condemned in-text), sexual assault, drug abuse
It took me 15 days to get through this as an audiobook. For reference, I usually finish audiobooks in less than a week.
In my opinion Ace of Shades missed several tricks. The story had potential, but the choice to focus on a lackluster romance over the main plot and the main character's development hamstrung both the main plot arc and the emotional payout of the ending.
Nearly everything that drew me to the book turned out to have a major downside upon closer inspection. Bi person of color as the love interest? Great, except he was portrayed as sexually promiscuous without forming romantic attachments UNTIL the super-special main character showed up, at which point he fell for her instantly. I'm bi, and I've had enough of that 'if you're attracted to multiple genders, surely you have *tons* of sex' biphobia to last a lifetime. I would have been willing to overlook that in favor of intersectionality, but a) portraying a male character of color as hypersexual is extra harmful, and b) there's a ton of classism from the main character that's very hard to read coming from an upper-middle-class girl (who I think is white) toward a lower-class boy of color. Genderfluid adoptive parent of the main character? Awesome! Except she's never actually present in the novel
In the end, I couldn't get past Enne's classism and holier-than-thou attitude throughout most of the book. Unlikeable protagonists are fine (and unlikeable female protagonists catch an unfair amount of flak), but I'm not sure Enne was meant to be as unlikeable as I found her. She's scandalized by everything she sees or hears, and she metaphorically looks down her nose at Levi right up to the moment she begins to find him attractive. After that, she becomes frustratingly dependant on him, constantly looking to him to take the lead. This makes sense in light of the way the story is constructed, with Levi the expert on the city and Enne new to its customs, but there was potential for a much less hobbled character arc for Enne if she hadn't been taking all her cues from Levi.
That said, the setting was interesting, as was what little we saw of the magic. Emme's mother, Lourdes, was painted as a very interesting larger-than-life character,
content warnings: gang- and law-enforcement violence, implied pedophilia (condemned in-text), sexual assault, drug abuse