Imagine your magical power being the ability to do math...

Ace of Shades takes place in what is apparently one of my favorite fantasy settings: gambling dens. The magic system, too, is quite interesting, as children inherit magic from their parents in both a stronger blood ability and a weaker split ability, and they can play off of each other too. It reminded me of a mix of Six of Crows and Caraval.
The story follows Enne, your typical out-of-touch wealthy girl, as she searches for her mother in a city built on crimes. She meets Levi, a gang-lord, and together they're thrown into political turmoil as Enne discovers that her mother isn't who she thought she was. It's quite fast-paced, with the whole book taking only ten days, and there's plenty of action and danger. This was a reread, so I remembered most of the plot twists from last time, but I'm pretty sure I didn't call any the first time. While the plot is reminiscent of many other YA books, it's still a fun read.
The book mostly focuses on Enne and Levi, and while there's not a ton of romance (yet), there's plenty of chemistry. I didn't love Enne at first, but she has a nice corruption arc set up for book two. Levi had cool character design and I liked him, but he wasn't my favorite. There weren't a ton of side characters, but the notable two were Jac (my favorite, probably) and Lola (who I hated my first read-through but didn't mind this time). There's also Vianca, and I hope she steps up her villain game in book two because although she's insidious from the beginning, she doesn't really act on it.
If you're looking for a fantasy story filled with corruption and urban settings, Ace of Shades is a fast-paced, easy read.
4/5