Phantasma is a dark paranormal romance that features witches, ghosts, devils, and an abundance of gothic horror. The story follows Necromancer Ophelia Grimm, who discovers her sister has entered Phantasma, a deadly trial-based competition in a travelling haunted mansion hosted by devils, and follows her to save her. The trials of the competition are based on the Seven Deadly Sins and feel very reminiscent of the games played in the “Saw” films, featuring puzzles that need to be solved in a timely manner and deadly consequences for those who don’t succeed. The winner of the competition is gifted a devil’s grant with no strings attached. The book also features several popular romance tropes between protagonist Ophelia and Phantom Blackwell, including forced proximity, enemies to lovers, “touch her and die,” and shared bed.

There is a large cast of characters introduced over the course of the story, many of whom are contestants in the Phantasma competition. It’s sometimes difficult to keep track of them all, so jotting down their names when they’re first introduced is very helpful. The story is told from a third-person POV of Ophelia, and despite her impulsive behaviour and poor judgment, her fearlessness makes her very admirable. Ophelia suffers from a malevolent, relentless inner voice that nearly pushes her over the edge, insisting she commit terrible acts. The relationship between Ophelia and Blackwell quickly evolves from untrustworthy enemies to forced allies to steamy lovers, and the communication between them is open, honest, and full of dark humor. Blackwell has his own selfish agenda for helping Ophelia in the competition, but he also puts great effort into helping her dispel her negative inner voices. In the author’s note, the author explains that Ophelia’s inner voices are based on her own OCD experience. Anyone who has suffered from any form of anxiety or compulsive negative thinking will relate and should definitely give the author’s note a listen!

Although the story starts off slow, it quickly picks up once Ophelia is in the haunted mansion. The trials come one after another, each including different forms of horror that are not for the fainthearted. As the stakes get higher in the second half, the pacing increases, and there are a few pleasing twists. The major plot twist of the story becomes somewhat predictable, but its execution is still compelling. After such excitement in the haunted manor, the ending feels a bit disjointed and rushed. Seeing as this is the first book in a series and the second book is set to feature the perspective of Ophelia’s sister Genevieve, readers may feel a bit unsatisfied with the conclusion of Ophelia’s story.

In summary, this dark paranormal horror romance has everything you could ask for: necromancers, devils, witches, ghosts, deadly trials, a haunted house, and spicy dark romance! If you’ve enjoyed books like Caraval or One Dark Window, you will definitely enjoy this story. Narrator Laura Horowitz does a superb job narrating all the characters and creating a suspenseful, atmospheric listening experience. This book has received a lot of hype already, and with a sequel slated for the new year, its popularity is set to skyrocket further!