Ready or Not meets Throne of the Fallen in a spicy, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance, where an Italian getaway turns deadly after a young woman is trapped in her host family's cursed game.
Ready or not, the game has begun.
Genevieve Grimm has felt adrift ever since her sister became the head of the family. So when a mysterious friend of their mother's invites her to Italy, she accepts. She arrives at his grand palace, expecting passion and magic, decadence and luxury... perhaps even a midnight ball.
She doesn't expect the owner's ruthlessly handsome son to slam the door in her face. Rowin Silver is tall, dark, and exceptionally rude, and invitation or not, he demands Genevieve leave and never come back. But Genevieve follows nobody's orders, especially those of arrogant rich boys. She slips inside—and immediately discovers her mistake.
Rowin and his family are caught in an insidious game of hide and seek, where only one can win. The rest will be trapped in Hell... until the competition begins again.
Genevieve must either join the hunt or forfeit any hope of escaping. But to her dismay, her best chance of survival lies with Rowin. Since lovers may play as a pair, Rowin and Genevieve agree to form an alliance under the guise of a fake courtship. However, as they race through the game's elaborate labyrinth, trapped among gleaming gold and shining marble, their loathing gives way to irresistible attraction. Only Rowin is keeping secrets, especially when it comes to his ruthless family, and Genevieve can't help but wonder if she's trapped in two treacherous games: Enchantra and the one Rowin is playing with her heart.
I knew going in that I was going to love Kaylie Smith's Enchantra! Genevieve gave me all the Tella from Legendary vibes, albeit as an older character and I LOVED her! This story was so freaking fantastic that I enjoyed myself from start to finish.
Genevieve is traveling throughout Italy looking for answers about her mother's past and herself and the abilities she has to turn invisible. Her quest leads her to the door of Enchantra where she meets Barrington Silver, a man who was once in love with her mother before meeting her father. Assuming her identity to get into the door, she's hoping that Barrington can provide answers to all the questions she has, but finds that her arrival couldn't come at a more terrible time, for it's time for the annual Hunt.
The seven Silver children, who are all adults and not at all human, play an annual game of "Hide-and-Seek" but deadly style. They are watched by many spectators, led by Knox, a Devil who controls the game. There can only be one winner left standing, meaning the others must die...temporarily. And because of her illy timed arrival, Genevieve must now play the game, even though she is mortal. To give her the best chance at survival, Barrington decides to marry her off to one of his sons, and Rowin is the lucky winner this time.
Rowin is none too pleased to have to marry a mortal woman, and one he must somehow keep alive during the Hunt. But naturally, we begin to see him and Genevieve, for that matter, change their tunes. Genevieve is a headstrong young woman who isn't afraid to say what she's thinking or going after what she wants no matter the cost. Even if means teaming up with the beastly Rowin in order to survive.
The heat between these two was intense! Rowin isn't one for romance, but that doesn't mean he doesn't indulge in physical pleasures. Genevieve must try to keep her heart close to her chest or she may just lose it to this immortal who cannot possibly love her. But naturally, you kind of know where that's going to go if the first book was anything to go by!
The deadly game of hide-and-seek was quite the thrill chaser. I don't do horror movies, so I'm not familiar with the aforementioned one in the book description. But being a reader, I am vastly aware of all kinds of deadly games! Lol. The Caraval vibes continue to run strong with this series and likely will continue to in some aspect given the series name is Wicked Games!
Despite not being the biggest romance fan, I enjoy it more as a side element than the main course, what kept me going with this book was definitely the characters! And with so many siblings I can definitely see some of these characters becoming a lead role in future books!
We did get to have a nice little popup appearance of Ophelia and Blackwell towards the end in this one which just had me giddy! I love when series change main characters but you still get to see the previous ones! I'm hoping this cycle will continue throughout the series.
All in all, Enchantra, was yet another amazing and steamy read! I love that there are these deadly games that become a focus point for the story! That mortals and immortals continue to be thrust together in order to survive! While some general themes repeat with these two books, they are as different as night and day and that's because the characters are very different! I am definitely hooked into this series now and cannot wait to see where it will go from here! If you love spicy spice and paranormal entanglements with life and death on the line, then this is the series for you!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
