Phantasma by Kaylie Smith is a dark fantasy romance novel that was originally released in September 2024 and currently published under Forever Books. The first book in the Wicked Games series, it blends mystery, horror, magic, and family secrets and is set in vibrant New Orleans.

If you’re looking for a refresher before jumping into Enchantra, this guide is for you! I share a plot summary of Phantasma, character highlights (including the Devils), and my critique of the book overall. I do lament over ALL the unanswered questions in the series so far, because there are many.

Here’s what I cover:

• characters in Phantasma
• book summary
• ending recap
• book review & loose threads
• my favorite Phantasma quotes

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. Now, let’s get into it!

Characters in Phantasma

Who is Ophelia Grimm?

Ophelia is the eldest Grimm daughter and inherits her mother’s necromancy magic when she dies suddenly. Her eyes turn an icy “Grimm Blue” when she inherits Tessie’s power, and she suffers from OCD-like symptoms that manifest as the Shadow Voice in her head. She has no friends, one unsatisfactory former lover, and feels obligated to shoulder her mother’s legacy alone. She wears a family heirloom locket around her neck that occasionally pulses like a heart beat. Tessie instructed her to never take it off.

Who is Genevieve Grimm?

Genevieve is the sociable, bubbly younger sister and is very much Ophelia’s opposite in many ways. She’s carefree and warm, curvy, has bouncy curly hair, has many friends, many lovers, and she adds levity to even the most serious situations. She’s also very messy. She enters Phantasma behind Ophelia’s back as an attempt to win the prize money to pay off their mother’s debt.

Who is Blackwell in Phantasma?

Blackwell is a mysterious Phantom tied to Phantasma and becomes a devoted ally to Ophelia. He doesn’t remember anything about his far past. Major spoiler: he’s the Devil of level 9: Treachery, is the Prince of the Devils, and his true name is Salemaestrus “Salem” Erasmus Blackwell. He’s drawn to Ophelia, and needs her help in escaping Phantasma once and for all.

Other characters

Name	Description
Tessie Grimm	Ophelia & Genevieve’s necromancer mother who died suddenly. We learn she played in Phantasma when she was young and fell in love with a man named Gabriel White. To hide from him, she took on a lot of debt.
Gabriel White	Ophelia & Genevieve’s specter father (can turn invisible and pass through objects). Met Tessie in Phantasma many years ago, they fell in love and were cursed (he became terrifyingly obsessive, she became heartlessly apathetic). Tessie erased his memory of them, but it returned due to the curse. He played in Phantasma again (allying with Blackwell for help) to try and win the Devil’s Grant to reunite with Tessie but failed level 8, inadvertently causing her death at the start of the book.
Fluffy / Poe	A white cat that always seems to be lurking about. Turns out, the King of the Devils used him to spy on Salem.
Sinclair “Sin”	Devil of level 8: Fraud. Has slitted pupils. He was imprisoned in Phantasma alongside Salem for conspiring against the King of the Devils. He actively works against Blackwell/Salem, attempting to prevent him from finding his tether and seeking revenge. He can create powerful illusions.
Jasper	Devil of level 4: Gluttony. He also acts as the host and admits players into Phantasma. He has a third eye.
Rayea	The beautiful Devil of level 5: Wrath. A former lover of Blackwell’s.
King of the Devils	Ruler of Hell, punished Salem with Phantasma for choosing a mortal woman over his duty.
Phantasma Devils	Zel (level 1: Limbo), Drima (level 2: Lust), Devon (level 3: Greed), Phoebe (level 6: Deceit), unnamed Devil (level 7: Violence)
Luci Veil	Can rapidly heal (AKA she’s likely supernatural), Cade’s cousin, falls in love with Leon, but the sentiment isn’t returned. She forfeits.
Cade Arceneaux	Luci’s ruthless, antagonistic cousin. Dies in level 7.
Phantasma contestants	Leon Summers (forfeits), Charlotte Williams (forfeits), Eric Greensborough (dies), James, Beau (dies), Baker Broussard (dies), Edna (forfeits), Mason (forfeits)

Phew—I think that’s most of them!

What happens in Phantasma (plot summary)

It starts when their necromancer mother dies

The story centers on Ophelia Grimm, a 20-something woman who inherits her mother Tessie’s necromancer abilities following her sudden death. Thrust into a world of magic and supernatural beings, Ophelia has to cope with her grief, look after her younger sister, Genevieve (as well as Grimm Manor), and heed the compulsions of the OCD entity in her head she calls the Shadow Voice.

But Tessie’s death is veiled in mystery. Strange occurrences begin shrouding New Orleans, and Ophelia and Genevieve learn the dangerous competition known as Phantasma is in town, taking place entirely in the realm of Devils (inside the traveling manor).

The bank informs the sisters that their mother died with considerable financial debt and now they face foreclosure. Following this news, Genevieve vanishes, but Ophelia finds clues in Vivi’s diary that point to her entering Phantasma to try and win the prize money to balance their debt.

Meet (Joe) Blackwell

On the eve of Phantasma’s next games, Ophelia finds herself at its shadowy gates where she meets an entity who tells her, “A heart and a key would set me free… But you should hope we do not meet again, angel.” Determined to save her sister, Ophelia joins the competition, where local contestants face nine lethal trials (inspired by the Nine Circles of Hell) until only one player remains.   

Inside Phantasma, Ophelia encounters the enigmatic Blackwell, a handsome Phantom revealed to be the same entity she met outside the gates. To survive, she strikes a bargain with him: his protection through the deadly trials in exchange for her help finding a mysterious key to break his ancient tether to Phantasma. Their pact quickly spirals into a complicated forbidden romance—anyone who falls in love within Phantasma will have their love be cursed. 

The end of Phantasma

Ophelia survives deadly challenges, ruthless contestants (Cade), haunts, and ALL the Devils, eventually uncovering the truth about her parents’ cursed history with Phantasma and Blackwell. Blackwell’s true identity is revealed to be Salemaestrus “Salem” Erasmus Blackwell, the Prince of the Devils—and the Devil of the ninth level of Hell: Treachery. His father the king imprisoned him in Phantasma for centuries as punishment for falling in love with a mortal woman and shirking his duties to Hell.

By the end of the games, Ophelia sacrifices the magical family heirloom locket she’s always worn around her neck. This leads to her making a decision that binds her to the Prince of the Devils forever and gaining immortality. But, hey—at least she saved Genevieve!

Phantasma book review

I have mixed feelings about Phantasma. On the one hand, I loved Blackwell and the elements of gore and horror throughout the games. At times, it struck me as a steamier version of Caraval (which I also struggled with), but my main issue was the plot holes that went unaddressed. After the first several, they started weighing on me and took me out of the story.

These are the questions I hope are answered in Enchantra (or ever):

Loose threads

The locket

It was identified as the “heart” tethering Blackwell/Salem, but we’re never given how it came into the Grimm family with Hestia Grimm. Before Salem magicked a new heart for Ophelia, the locket would beat like a heart, and Ophelia’s heart stopped when she took it off. Did this happen to Tessie, too? When was Tessie able to pass the locket down to Ophelia—did Tessie’s own heart beat again when she gave it to Ophelia??

The key

Maybe I’m being dense, but the riddle mentioned needing a heart AND a key. Assuming the locket was the heart, what was the key? Is it literal or is it more symbolic? I could see the locket representing Ophelia and maybe the key being her sister (staying with the opposites theme). Or is it sexual and the key is Salem because you stick keys IN locks and they had to fall in love again? Help! 🤣

Phantasma’s falling-in-love curse

Contestants who fall in love are cursed—one becomes terrifyingly obsessive and the other becomes heartlessly apathetic. How will this curse affect Salem and Ophelia going forward (if at all)? She’s now bound to Salem forever, so was the curse destroyed when Phantasma ended? And how does Phantasma’s end affect people on the outside like Gabriel, Luci, and Leon?

Ophelia’s specter abilities

Will this be explored further but through Genevieve’s POV? The next book doesn’t follow Ophelia, so will we learn more about it?

The Shadow Voice

Is it truly a manifestation of Ophelia’s OCD? It was silenced when Salem was near. Now that they’re bound together, is it gone? And since Ophelia and Genevieve are basically polar opposites, does Vivi have her own version of the Shadow Voice? If Ophelia is OCD and Vivi is a clutter bug, will little sis have a Chaos Voice to contend with?

Speaking of Genevieve…

Since we know she’s part specter too, is it confirmed that Ophelia is the only necromancer of the family and that Vivi has no part in those powers?

Salem’s missing memories

Salem finally regained his identity BUT he still has significant memory loss from his father AND sacrificed years of his memories to keep Ophelia safe in Phantasma. What memories were lost?? The ones with him and Angel? Are they even recoverable?

Home sweet Hell

Salem abandoned his duties as the Prince of Hell. Even though he’s now completed his father’s centuries-long punishment, surely the King of Hell isn’t just going to be okay with Salem having a happily ever after.

Sinclair

What is the beef between him and Salem? I want more depth of conflict here because it feels very shallow and unjustified. Is there anything redeeming about Sinclair? What is his fate now that he’s failed to keep Salem in Phantasma?

Phantasma quotes

There were two golden rules their mother had taught them about roaming New Orleans after dark: the first was that if the dark looks at you, you never look back. That was a surefire way to be caught by a Devil.

In a different life, in a fair one, I would’ve kept you until my eternal soul withered away to dust.

The dark is for people who are too cowardly to face their actions in the light.

That’s not how things work, angel. Life is not measured in good or bad thoughts—it’s how you treat the world around you despite them.

You don’t need to fix yourself. You’re not broken. But it’s okay to get outside help if it gets too loud.

Please, darling, call me Sin.

A house of Devils is no place for an angel like you.

Final thoughts

Overall, Phantasma was a fun, spicy read that kept me guessing on things like the Shadow Voice and Sinclair’s motives. It would have been cool to get some actual necromancy in the book, but maybe we’ll get some of that in the next one. I still have questions about the Shadow Voice, Salem’s missing memories, Sinclair’s fate, and the King of the Devils (not to mention Salem’s original soulmate—OG Ophelia?—Angel).

Basically, I was craving something a little meatier and got a light appetizer instead, but I’m willing to pick up Enchantra. I think most romantasy fans are going to love this one, but if you skew more toward fantasy romance or something with heavier world-building, Wicked Games may not offer enough…yet. But I’m willing to find out and report back!

Check out these other romantasy books I’ve read recently—A Tribute of Fire by Sariah Wilson (for all you Greek mythology nerds) and A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L Jensen. Both have a sequel coming out very soon, so I’ve included everything you need to know before the new books come out!

Anywho, if you’ve read Phantasma, what did you think? Any interesting theories out there?