Top Ten Tuesday Seventy Eight – Top Ten Reasons Why I Loved Ace of Shades

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/ meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

 This week we get to choose a book, genre or anything else bookish related that we love and share ten reasons why we love it, and so I can not wait to see everyone discuss some of their favourite things!  Although my first thought was to talk about the obvious Raven Boys, I actually ended up deciding to share why I love another of my favourite books, Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody.  I adored both this book and its sequel, and so this TTT was a perfect excuse to gush over all the many reasons why.

So here are eight reasons why I love Ace of Shades!

I could probably just list Jac himself as a reason I love this series, but as he comes into himself much more in King of Fools, it seemed only right to talk about his gorgeous friendship with Levi when discussing why I love this first book.  He is the best second to Levi and the close bond these two have is just so beautiful to watch in such a dog-eat-dog world.

The City of Sin is one of my favourite bookish settings, not only because of how dark and interesting it is, but also because of how good a job Amanda Foody does at building up this world.  It is a complex and three-dimensional world that I just can not learn enough about, and the story itself works so well against this backdrop of a corrupt city with a deadly game at its heart.

I would like to meet anyone who is not even a little scared of Vianca Augustine, and she is just one of many amazingly crafted villains who terrify me to my core.  These are exactly the sort of villains who you love to hate because whilst they are truly evil people who you want to lose so deeply, you also are constantly in awe of how good of an antagonist they are.

These two have one of the best and most interesting relationships that I’ve read about, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hugely invested in them as a pairing!  I just adore how well they work together and how real their relationship feels, with its flaws and conflicts not shied away from but instead something that just further strengthens their amazing connection.

This book takes you a journey from the start, and its roller-coaster ride you will never want to get off of.  I promise you this plot never gets boring because the moment you think its starting to slow down something will come along to prove you very wrong and to keep you reading till you reach the very last page.

Everything from the crime families to the leaders of the cities and the history of it is so well done and detailed whilst not being overly informative or boring.  I adored watching the politics play out amongst the street lords, something that is brought up to a whole new level in King of Fools.

Someone name me a better character arc than Enne Salta’s in this book.  When we first meet her, she is a meek girl who is entirely out of her comfort zone in the City of Sin, and yet by the end of the book she is a strong and powerful woman who will fight anyone who gets in her way.

The way Amanda Foody manages to blend this 1920’s-esque world with a unique magic system based on family skills is spectacular.  I adore so much about the fantastical aspects in this book, from the volts currency to the deadly unbreakable oaths, that its no surprise that the magic system is yet another reason why I adore this book.

Have you read Ace of Shades – what did you think?  Do you agree with my thoughts?

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