A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J. Spann: A non-spoiler review
"𝔏𝔦𝔣𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔪𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔞𝔰 𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔲𝔡𝔢𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔦𝔱."
For the fans of Caraval and The Night Circus
A new 6⭐️ book you should pick right away!!!
︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶
🔮 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲:
Marked by a curse from a godlike Player, Riven Hesper is forced into the Playhouse, a brutal theatrical contest where mortals hunt Players to claim their immortality. Her only chance at freedom lies in a dangerous alliance with Jude Stepharros, the feared and charismatic Lead Player, drawing her into a performance where survival, betrayal, and power blur into one deadly game. It is a dark YA fantasy.
🔮 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 & 𝐕𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬:
🎭 Theatrical Fantasy
🎭 Unique Magic System
🎭 Enemies to Allies to Lovers
🎭 Greek Mythology inspired
🎭 Cursed FMC
🎭 Deadly Competition
🎭 Deadly Bargains
🔮 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬:
“Life is a game of playing the cards you’re dealt and then justifying them so you can sleep at night.”
“We’re actors. We live a thousand lives, but we still die at the end of each one of them.”
“You can be a great many things, dear heart. But you cannot be fewer.”
🔮 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 6⭐️/5
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞: None.
In true Playhouse fashion, I will not spoil.
But where do I begin???!!!!!!!!!!!
SIX STARS IS NOT ENOUGH. THE STARS IN THE ENTIRE GALAXY IS NOT ENOUGH.
This book was unlike anything I have read before, and from the very first page, it refused to let me go.
From beginning to end, I was completely consumed. The immersion was so intense that I am pretty sure that I was going through some reality suspension 😭. I was not just reading the story, I was basically living inside it. That's what it felt like. And a morally ambiguous female lead? Say no more. Riven Hesper delivered exactly that, sharp, compelling, witty, and impossible to look away from.
From the overture onward, putting this book down felt nearly impossible. The pacing was flawless, the language effortless to sink into, and the short chapters paired with script style writing made every page addictive. Each scene pulled me forward, demanding just one more chapter, again and again. Yea, I haven't slept properly in 24 hours.
The formatting deserves special praise. The theatrical structure of Overture, Prologue, Acts, Scenes, Intermission, Applause, and Curtain Call elevated the entire experience. And an ENCORE for the epilogue is genius level thinking.
And Jude Stepharros. (alexa play where is my husband by raye)
Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude.
Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude.
Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude.
Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude.
Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude.
;)
One of the most charming male leads to ever bless my
life. Every time he came on, I couldn't stop giggling and kicking my feet. I found myself yearning for him whenever he was absent in the scenes. The author has written him to be so effortlessly charismatic that you have no choice but to fall in love with him. And as a hopeless romantic, I did exactly that.
Certain tropes, which I will not name because I refuse to ruin this for anyone, were executed so brilliantly and so unexpectedly that I had to physically put the book down and applaud. I was stunned. I was betrayed. I was impressed. I did not see the plot twist coming in any way, in any form, at any point.
Act III happened. Scene after scene delivered emotional whiplash with no mercy. Every page escalated the madness. I had to hold myself back from reacting like a complete lunatic in public, but the author ensured that I failed at that spectacularly.
As a debut author, Shannon J. Spann absolutely delivered. Thank you, Shannon, for allowing me to witness the full spectacle of The Playhouse. I am beyond excited to read more of your work. You are absolutely going to drain my bank account, and I could not be happier about it.
