Game of Secrets by Kim Foster is a book I knew I wanted to read as soon as I read the summary. A historical fantasy with a spy school for people born with special powers…SIGN ME UP!!

Felicity Cole sells flowers on the streets of London to provide for herself and her younger brother when one day, things go terribly wrong. Not only is her brother’s secret of being a Tainted (someone born with special abilities) revealed, but the boy she loves is killed and Felicity is taken off to prison. Oh yeah…she also finds out that she is Tainted too.

Felicity was an interesting character for me. I liked her and sympathized with her. She wasn’t brought up in the same world as the other people at the school and after having gone through a pretty traumatic event, she is tossed in with a group of teens who have no idea. Throughout Felicity struggles with whether she should stick it out with this life or go find her brother and run away to what she has always known. There is a turning point in the story where she starts to embrace her ability, but she doesn’t fully commit to this new life.

There was a pretty big twist in the book that I never saw coming so kudos to Foster for that. I also thought putting this in the Victorian era was a great decision. It created some challenges for Felicity that she may not have had otherwise.

I hate to say it but the other characters in the story didn’t wow me. You have a mean girl who shows her colors the second that Felicity comes to the school and then the love interest. I loved how Felicity met him, but the rest of their interactions were just so hot and cold…it didn’t feel like their relationship was real.

I also thought the competition between the students was a bit underplayed. There just didn’t seem to be a lot of build around this piece of the story even though it was a key part of what was happening…outside of all the things going on with Felicity. There is quite a bit of action in this book though, which I enjoyed.

Overall, I thought this one was ok. It may just be me on this one because in all honesty, this book has all the pieces of a story that I would love. I’m going to chalk it up to my expectations more than anything. With all that said, this did end in such a way that a book two could be possible. If you are looking for a quick read with a historical feel, this one might be for you.

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the copy in exchange for an honest review.