The second book in The Shadow Game series by Amanda Foody. This book picks up where the first book, Ace of Shadows, ended.

Favorite characters are back (Enne, Levi, Jac) and new characters are introduced. The characters in this series are so intriguing. This novel is told using multiple points of view, which gives insight into several characters. I especially love the strong female characters.

The fun thing about this series is the politics in New Reynes. With so many people trying to be in power, nobody can be trusted. That's made very clear in this book.

This YA fantasy series is action-packed and fun to read. I can't wait for the next book... especially after that ending.

I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Amanda Foody's first book Daughter of the Burning City and enjoyed Ace of Shade and really didn't care for this one. It felt incredibly too long. 200 pages could have been easily removed and it would not have taken anything away from the storyline and would have kept the pacing more consistent. We do learn more about each of the characters and the storyline progresses a little further.

I would recommend this book to those that loved Ace of Shades as it continues on in the world and would give you are the things that you loved and then more. It just wasn't what I was anticipating.

*I received an advanced copy in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own.*
I finally finished this book and loved it!! I was devastated that I never had time to read, so I got behind on this book, but I'm so happy I was able to finish it!
It was such a great book, just like Ace of Shades. It's definitely different and I love that there are so many strong female characters!
It was definitely more confusing than book one. Time passes much faster in this book, which made it difficult to read at first, but I got the hang of it as I kept going. I liked that the change in POV was actually noted instead of me trying to guess, which is something I like when there are several POVs in a book.
That ending also had me wishing that book three was already out. Not just the ending in general, but that epilogue. It's going to be interesting to see what happens with Sophie. So many twists (and a death I am not going to get over for a long time) have left me wanting more!!

4.5/5 Stars

Amanda Foody is back with the second book in The Shadow Game series and she's ready to wreck you. King of Fools is a heavy hitting maze of politics, gangs, and lots of betrayal that will leave the reader bereft and yet clamoring for more. No one is safe and that means every single crafty character that the author has created is in some serious peril. *Cue heavy sobbing and wailing in the street.*

Enne takes on the mantle of Seance and starts her own street gang seeking wealth and vengeance. She's learning to handle herself in the North Side while also holding onto the soft things she enjoys. Levi's determination and ambition is on full display as he puts the people he cares about in the crossfire but he's self aware enough to rue every poor choice and worry himself to sickness. And Jac, the best boy now with his own POV, is still a great friend while taking his own stand.

This book delves deeper into the streets of New Reynes exploring more of the underbelly of the city and the prominent players in society. From brutal casino owners to the rampant drug trade as well as upcoming elections and the lengths people will go to for power, the author truly weaves a wicked web of traps and tricks that ultimately keeps the reader guessing and turning pages at a rapid pace.

Overall Amanda Foody's King of Fools was the best kind of gut punch there is even though I'm still emotionally compromised. The characters' growth is tremendous especially where Levi, Enne, and Jac are concerned and I fell even more in love with all of them. With a riveting plot and a whole bunch of politics, this book takes the series to the next level and I totally recommend taking part in The Shadow Game.

TL;DR – While this book contains much intrigue and action, most of the “why” was unclear.

I had a really hard time getting into this book in the beginning. I just felt like the story took a while to get going and I couldn’t remember why I liked any of the characters from the first book. They all seemed annoying and there were plot points that were confusing to me. Vianca wants Levi and Enne to set up profitable gangs…why? I mean, I know she takes money from them, but was that the only reason? And then I’m not sure about Harrison’s deal either. Why does he need to know who the next don is? It’s all just kind of confusing.

As far as characters go, again, in the beginning I found everyone annoying. Over time, Enne grew on me–I think the same thing happened for me in the first book too. I really liked who she ended up being, but I don’t think her developmental arc made a ton of sense. I wasn’t super convinced. I don’t like Levi very much at all and I can’t quite put my finger on why. I don’t really buy him and Enne together, so that might be part of it. Neither character gives a convincing reason why they want to be together. Their relationship has no base, no foundation. What do they even like about each other aside from looks? I’m just not a fan of their relationship. There are a ton of secondary characters too who are all fine. I thought character diversity was done pretty well and authentically.

Overall, this book was just LONG and kind of confusing to me. Plot points and character reactions didn’t always seem logical. There were also all these excerpts from the legends of the North Side scattered throughout and I couldn’t see how they related to the story at all. The ending was intriguing and confusing and while it does make me want to read the third book, I’ll probably feel the same way about it as I do this one.

Overall Rating: 3.5
Language: Moderate
Violence: Heavy
Smoking/Drinking: Heavy
Sexual Content: Moderate

Note: I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

After finishing Ace of Shades I knew that I was going to be anxiously awaiting the release of King of Fools so I could continue on this crazy journey through the streets of the city and all its gangs and people who lurk around every turn. I honestly couldn't get enough of the first book and I'm happy to say that King of Fools was even better!!! It kept us involved in the same gang of characters that we came to love in the first book but in King of Fools they were all put to the test after beating the Shadow Game. You'd think that beating an unbeatable game would give you a little time for reprieve but no, the very next day all are back on the most wanted lists and must go into hiding or be hung for their "treason".

I love the atmosphere of these books. Its parts dark and dingy, but also colorful and adventurous. There are really no dull moments or lulls in the plot pulling you from one scene to the next just wondering what could possibly happen next. Will Enne get caught? Will Levi and Enne every come to terms with their feelings for each other? Will they ever be able to break their vows and become free again? From one problem to the next you are on the edge of your seat biting your nails just hoping that things turn out as best as they are able.

I like that even though the first book ended on a somewhat happy ending, of course King of Fools can't begin with rainbows and butterflies. Living the life of a gang lord (or lady) is never slow or boring. There is always a con to be planned, someone out to stab you in the back, fellow members getting in trouble and needing saving. It really leads to an action packed book that I could hardly put down to eat and sleep.

I'm really excited to find out what happens in the third book and I can't wait to get back into this crazy world. And who knows WHAT will happen after this crazed adventure of a book!

The follow up to Ace of Shades does not disappoint. This book has been described as a “girl gang” book, and while that is an appropriate description, I feel like there is so much more. The characters we were introduced to in Ace of Shades become more fully developed, and the new additions to our favourite gangs in New Reyes add a lot to the story. The book was twisty and turny, and Oh My God that ending. If the book was not so good, I would be so mad about that twist. Way to get my heart racing and then shatter it into a million pieces. I cannot wait to read the third book. No seriously, I can’t wait. When does it get published?

I’m really sad to be giving this book a 1/5 stars, but that’s just the truth. This book was all over the place, nothing made sense to me, and every single character managed to get on my nerves. This book actually started off fairly promising, especially since I did enjoy the first book. My only wish for the first book was that there was a little more depth to the setting and the characters. I figured that those things would be added in the sequel. I was wrong. I feel like I don’t even know who the characters even are anymore. From the first book to this book, I don’t feel like any character really acted like themselves. Obviously characters change, but I feel like the author just wanted to change the storyline and could only do so by changing the characters. But then she did that without even developing those characters to be that way. I did like that this book started off right where the first one left off, but that’s about the only thing that I actually liked. This book just dragged on and on, and nothing felt to be of any significant importance. Every time I felt like this book was getting interesting, it would take a turn and I would just be disappointed. I loved these characters in the first book, but I just can’t get behind this book. The plot was all over the place, and I don’t even understand what happened at the end. Maybe other people will like this more, but it just wasn’t for me.

Picking up directly after the final events of Ace of Shades, this book, the second in the Shadow Game Trilogy, is so full of action and political intrigue it left my head spinning!

We see the return of our favorite characters from the first book, Enne, Levi, Lola and Jac, and get to meet some great new characters as well.

Welcome, Tock, my sweet little bomber.

New deals, alliances and deceptions are made, with the final scenes shaking New Reynes to its foundation.

I was really impressed with the maturation of Foody's writing for this one. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the first book but ultimately ended up having some issues with the magic system and world building. All of those slight criticisms are completely absent with this book.

The plotting in this is seamless, the world lush and bold; the magic system didn't feel as prevalent in this one and I never felt confused by what was there. I look at this as a fairly evident improvement over the first novel and I hope other people feel the same way.

In addition to the growth I feel I have witnessed for the author, the growth in these characters was tremendous as well. Enne and Levi both have strong character arcs, Enne most of all. The strategies and ambitions they both show, man, so good.

If you are a Slytherin like me, this series is not to be missed. Also, if you were just okay with the first book, I really hope you continue on. I do not see how this second book could disappoint!

Now, the question of how the heck am I going to survive until the third book is released!?

Thank you so much to the publisher, Harlequin TEEN/Inkyard Press, for providing me with an early copy of this to read and review. You know I will be knocking on your door as soon as I know there are review copies of Book 3!

King of Fools by Amanda Foody is such an amazing follow up to Ace of Shades. I love how clever Foody is with this book. This book focuses a lot on Enne. We really get to know her in this book. We see how fearless she is. I love her unapologetic attitude. She definitely knows how to work with what she has. I really enjoyed how Enne decides to put together her own girl gang. This girl gang is pretty amazing. They really supported each other.

This book expands the world from Ace of Shades so much more. I feel like all the characters grew even more. We really got to see different sides of them. One of my favorite things in a book is seeing characters evolve and become better characters, and let me tell you...Foody does a great job with this. You will not be disappointed in this book. I liked it way more than the first one.

Then we have Jac. Jac, I love you dearly and I want to make the world so much better for you. Jac deals with a drug abuse problem. He is finally getting better only to be thrown into a world of Chaos that could make him worse again. My love goes out to you Jac.

This was definitely a great sequel and I am really looking forward to book three. Thank you Amanda Foody for writing such an amazing book.

I loved this book! The world building only built upon what has already been developed. Plus with the badass females and overall. This was such a great addition to this world!

King of Fools was one of my most anticpated sequel and book for 2019. After the amazing cliffhanger in Ace of Shades I needed King of Fools in my hands immediately. I feel the same way about King of Fools; I need the third book immediately especially after THAT ending.

I didn't realize it was possible to love these characters more than I already do, yet here I am loving them with every fiber of my being. I loved the new characters as well.

King of Fools had me on the edge of my seat, I just couldn't put it down.

I really enjoyed this sequel to ACE OF SHADES! I love Levi and Enne (and Jac, don't even get me started) and the world that Amanda Foody builds in the City of Sin. The amount of creativity she displays in her worldbuilding... insane!

This storyline was also really great, although sometimes I was a little bit confused – especially closer to the end, once Bryce has revealed his omerta with Vianca. He is not who I expected to have the omerta, even though I realized later that it was implied several times, and I really like how that turned out. But a lot of the actual details of it were confusing.

I also like how Levi and Enne's romantic arc is twisting and turning.

All around, an enjoyable sequel!

King of Fools is a story about magic, taking risks, and fighting against the odds.
I read Ace of Shades (book one in the Shadow Game series) last year and absolutely loVED IT. My friend recommended it to me, and it definitely was one of my favorite reads last year. So as soon as I heard it was getting a sequel I was beyond excited!

I was so thrilled to be selected for the King of Fools blog tour and get to read this book! Second-book blues are a huge problem, but I think the author delivered an amazing sequel!

Full review at: http://charisrae.com/king-of-fools-by-amanda-foody/

After completely falling in love last year with Ace of Shades, I was so anticipating its sequel, and it was one of my most anticipated releases of this year. I had such high expectations, and though I didn’t love it as much as the first installment, I still think it was such an incredible sequel, and left me wanting for more.

The pacing of the story was a bit slower than it was in the first book. It took a while for the plot to start, because it did a recap of Ace of Shades as well as the author added more information that was going to be relevant throughout the book. There were some things that confused me a little and I didn’t really understand at first, and it took me a bit more to get engrossed in the novel, but as I kept reading I started to enjoy it more and more.

Something that I really enjoyed about this installment was that there was more background information about the cast of characters. Though Ace of Shades was more focused on Levi and Enne, in this one we got to know a lot more about the side characters and the different relationships between them and our protagonists. There was a new POV in this book (Jac), and though his storyline was a bit different from the main plot of the story, we got to know more about him and I really enjoyed his personality and dynamics with the different characters.

I still loved Enne and Levi as much as I did in the first installment, though I think their relationship was more angsty and dramatic in King of Fools. I liked the evolution they had throughout the book, and I’m so interested to see the path they will take in the last book.

Like I said before, I liked the first book more than this one, and I think that had a lot to do with the elements. Though this one had some of the elements we saw in Ace of Shades, I found most things quite different. One of my favorite parts of the first novel was the Shadow Game, and though in this one we got to see something related to that that was quite mind-blowing and surprising, I was expecting to see more things from the first installment.

Still, I think it was a great sequel that had lots of twists and turns that kept me engaged and interested in the plot, and I cannot wait to read the third novel and discover how everything will end

After my glowing 5-star review of Ace of Shades, I was excited to see what came next for Levi and Enne, and unfortunately King of Fools was a disappointment. I'm not sure if it's just Second Book Syndrome or my tastes have changed over the course of the year, but I didn't have the same patience for the characters. Even though Levi and Enne had an obvious attraction to each other, Levi seemed more afraid of exploring that in King of Fools. There was a bit of a love triangle, and I had no patience for Levi not knowing what he wanted while hurting Enne. For my indifference to the book, the ending was downright explosive and really raised the stakes.

This was a good sequel to Ace of Shades. I had trouble getting back into the world, and it felt a little disjointed, with not much refresher information to get me back to where the last book ended. Ace of Shades was a book that crept up on me, and it made me like it more! But this didn't add much to that feeling.

The characters werent as morally grey as I was expecting from gangsters, but I love them all so much I ended up not caring. I was thrilled to see Enne become a famous Lord in her own right with an awesome girl gang at her side. Out of all the girls she hires the knife wielding, stock market dealing, romance reading, assassin Grace was my favorite. I loved all the female friendships and solidarity. I also really enjoyed the slow burn romance between Enne and Levi. The first book showed them getting to know each other and by the start of this sequel they're aware that theres an attraction there, but they cant really act on it with all the danger they are in. Levis a little full of himself, but he usually means well. I really loved how the new Iron member, Tock, kept checking his ego and how she finds herself dating another one of my favorite female characters.

I was delighted to see chapters from Jacs point of view. His story was gripping and intense. He got the most dangerous mission out of all of them and gets tested in ways he wasnt sure he'd be able to survive. For the most part, I thought the addiction recovery representation was done with care, but it was a little weird that people could tell he was a recovering addict just by looking at him. I loved all the new female characters in this sequel and Sophia was no exception. She's full of secrets, but understands Jac better than anyone else. I liked the relationship that develops between them when they decide to team up to take down a crime family. I also thought Vianca was a fascinating and complexe antagonist. I wish we got some chapters from her perspective. I had no idea she couldnt remove the bond between her and her victims without one of them dying. I couldnt wait to find out who her third was.

I really enjoyed the gritty sin city setting with its 1920s mafia feel. I was happy to see Ennes guidebook make an appearance since it had such funny advice in the first book. I also like that we got some North Side legends in between chapters. The magic system was fascinating with the different types of abilities. Theres all kinds of talents people can be extraordinarily good at like dancing, counting, charm and even strength, but the talents that are really interesting are the ability to see auras, bonding people to your will through omertas, and blood gazing to figure out someones lineage. From what I understand a person gets each parent strongest talent passed down to them and the one that becomes their strongest between the two is totally up to chance. I do wonder though if each parent has the same weaker talent could that be passed down and maybe even become the childs strongest talent.

The stakes and the danger is amped up even higher than the first book since we have the war breaking out on the North Side. Theres also more focus on the shady politics and the upcoming election that might change the city forever. All the duplicity and schemes were very entertaining. Enne and Levi dreaming of the same hallway kept me guessing, but I did predict Viancas intentions for them from the beginning. I do wonder how one character in particular was able to break the oath by just walking away. As for the writing, I thought it was compelling and easy to get immersed in. I could read for hours without getting pulled out of the story or distracted. The pace was a little slow in some places, but I liked the characters and the setting so much that I was able to stay engaged. These fantasy books with queer main characters mean a lot to me. Im already excited for the third and final book.

I enjoyed the first book, so I was really hoping I would like the second one as well. This series is imaginative and new. We don't get a lot of books like this nowadays. It was well written and well thought-out. I can truly say I enjoyed this one.

This book was a little harder to get into than it's predecessor but either way it was spectacular.

It was such a great power book. Not only in general, but specifically for Enne. She comes into her own in this book and it is so liberating to see. I love how she decides to strike out on her own. Enne gets more than friends in this book, she gets a family that actually backs her.

Not that Loudres didn't back her. But... well y'all know what I mean.

Levi was an interesting character in this book. He became a more secondary character and acted almost like a foil for both Enne and Jac. Levi was someone they both ended up measuring their success by. He was the one they both knew had reached the level he did and how he ended up doing it.

The family dynamics was interesting and definitely worth a read. The manner in which Enne and Vianca's relationship changes was a sight to see.

Who ended up being the villain was a true surprise and Amanda Foody did an amazing job bringing him or her into the fold. The way the villain showed up throughout the story was super interesting.

Amanda Foody continued being an amazing writer who does diversity a favor. The main characters were all of different backgrounds and different races and different sexuality and honestly, it was so seamless that I didn't even notice it until the end.

Of course, there were certain things that I didn't particularly like. The relationship between Enne and Levi (I ship them) was a little off center to me. Not so much in terms of power but the fact that they were keeping secrets from each other and honestly were making each other miserable in the beginning of the book and they didn't talk about it. They just kind of swept it under the rug.