Great strong female characters who don’t need saving , great character and plot development, what more do you need. This is a great sequel and I think even better than the first book. I adore Amanda Foody’s writing, her world building is amazing and her characters are brilliant. You should read this and the previous book if you haven’t already. Thoroughly enjoyable and thrilling read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Fools I couldn’t wait to jump back into Enne world created by Amanda and to re-experience Amanda’s world building which is very complex yet easy to picture. I honestly still believe Amanda has a talent for edge-of-your-seat writing and when the story gets going it’s spectacular. Amanda’s writing style holds you completely captive.
King of Fools starts off right where Ace of Shades ends. After the Game of Shadows, there is a huge price on both their heads and they've both lost pretty much everything. Enne and Levi are wanted for murder and Vianca's son. With the Chancellor of the Republic dead, New Reynes is thrust into campaign season and there are two parties vying for power.

New Reynes is in chaos as it was during the revolution, and history has a way of repeating itself. Levi wants his gang back but after being challenged by his third and losing all their money he's not sure how to win back their trust or sort out their finances. While Enne, on the other hand, doesn't want the reputation, she's earned. Just like Ace of Shades we have the story told from multiple points of view: Enne, Levi, and Jac. Jac's perspective helped develop a new dimension for the other characters, specifically in my opinion for Levi.

Amanda entwines so much cleverness and un-subtle feminism throughout this book and I love it. I was a little apprehensive that this book would suffer from Middle Book Syndrome and I was wrong it didn’t. There is a lot going on in this sequel and there is never a dull moment. I adore how many strong female characters we have in this instalment. Not just Enne and Lola who I already knew and loved but also new characters like Grace, Tock and Sophia. Our female characters do not fall into the YA stereotype of a strong female, they like nice things, dresses, and romance books.

The ladies are strong and don’t need to be saved by men, and their struggles are more than their relationship with men. There is so much character development in this second book that sets us up for book three and we learn more about the history and politics of New Reynes. All of the characters become so much more than what they originally were, and Amanda's characterization of them made them feel like real people who make mistakes and occasionally do bad things. Everyone in this book is searching for something, vying for power of their very own.

King of Fools picks up Levi and Enne's story not long after the end of the first book. After the Game of Shadows there is a huge price on both their heads and they've both lost pretty much everything. Levi wants his gang back but after being challenged by his third and losing all their money he's not sure how to win back their trust or sort out their finances. Enne on the other hand doesn't want the reputation she's earned and would much prefer to stay out of the limelight but Vianca has plans for them both and since she has magical control over them thanks to the omerta they don't have a choice but to go along with them.

We see a very different side to Levi in this story, he's had a lot of setbacks and he's not handling the pressure well at all. He is willing to risk anything to free himself and Enne from Vianca but his methods were pretty dodgy at times and I didn't like the way he was willing to place Jac in so much danger. In fact he often makes decisions for other people without consulting them first which I found really frustrating. I also really disliked the way he was using Narinder just to get what he wanted. I loved the chemistry between Levi and Narinder but it was completely ruined by the way Levi would be kissing Narinder while thinking about Enne and how much he wanted to be with her. While Levi did make some particularly bad life choices he does grow a lot throughout the story and I appreciated the way he apologised for the mistakes he made and the way he treated both Enne and Jac.

Amanda Foody has been calling this her "girl gang" book and I did absolutely love how many strong female characters we have in this instalment. Not just Enne and Lola who I already knew and loved but also new characters like Grace, Tock and Sophia were all fab too. The one thing I did find slightly disappointing was that most of Enne's gang spent more time sitting around reading magazines and painting their nails than they did doing anything exciting. Lola and Grace had more of a role to play but the rest of the characters seemed completely unimportant which was disappointing. If you're wondering why I'm not including Tock and Sophia it's because they're members of rival gangs, they were definitely much more kickass than most of Enne's spirits though and I thought they were fantastic characters.

This is a book of two parts, the first is slower paced as it sets the scene, gets all the players in the right places and gives us insights into their motivations, then the second part quickly snowballs into an action packed finale that took my breath away. The ending definitely left me desperate to get my hands on book three and I can't wait to see how certain events play out, I know I'm not the only one who is hoping one thing in particular can be reversed!

Could I remember anything that happened in book one? Could I heck. Did I read on anyway and hope that I’d remember as I went along? Of course I did.

While the events of King of Fools span a number of months, the action picks up very soon after the end of Ace of Shades so actually it wasn’t too hard to work out/remember who was who and where alliances lie. That’s especially true because Foody opted to go down the ‘I brought them together and now I will pull them apart’ kind of sequel route. This is one of my preferred routes for a second book to go down as I think it forces characters to grow independently and you get more of a sense of their own personalities and desires outside of their book one relationship.

I definitely felt like that worked for Levi and Jac, both of whom grew in my estimation throughout this book. I wasn’t particularly enamoured with Levi at the end of Ace of Shades, at least, not as much as I felt like the book wanted me to be. But King of Fools gives him a great deal more personality and drive, I felt like you got to understand his motivation a little more. Jac, I confess I barely remembered from book one, but I definitely remember him now - a great example of a flawed character attempting to make changes.

Did I feel the same way about Enne, arguably a character I should have loved? She’s feisty, she’s unashamedly female, she’s figuring out her place in the world - I should have adored her - so what didn’t quite hit home? I think I didn’t quite fine Enne believable. I appreciate that there’s a certain amount of suspension of disbelief in a fantasy novel, but Enne felt like she was a bit of an archetypal character both when she was being courageous and when she was being vulnerable. I found myself much more interested in the other female characters in the book, Enne’s ‘girl gang’ were great to read and in those interactions, I didn’t mind her too much. But I’m incredibly picky when it comes to heroines and I suppose I’m being overly harsh towards her - she just wasn’t my favourite. (I also felt like she spent too much of this book mooning over love lost but that’s just me…).

I was pretty much sold in the last half/third of this book, the plot really picks up, there are some great twists and turns and some fabulous betrayals - I would expect nothing less from this series. This book and Ace of Shades are absolutely worth reading especially if you’re a YA fantasy fan - but you an aesthetic that leans a little more modern than traditional ‘vaguely medieval’.

There is, apparently, a third book coming in this series, which I am now actually quite excited to read. I think this is a great example of a writer developing their craft across a series and, while I’m still obsessed with the weirdness of DOTBC, I’m most certainly warming towards this series the more I read.

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

King of Fools is available now!

Because I follow Amanda Foody on Twitter, and because I waited quite a while to be approved for an ARC (thank you so much for granting the request), I knew something bad was going to happen in this book (and it did, but I won’t spoiler it)! Amanda Foody has no mercy on either her characters or her readers, so, like Ace of Shades, King of Fools never feels like a ‘safe’ book to read. The author’s only promise for book 3, for example, is that the Spirits’ cats are safe. None of the humans are though!

The story in Fools picks up at the end of Shades, with the fallout from the main action covered in this one. It is over a much longer period of time than its predecessor, but Foody handles the storyline really well. There’s a lot of politics, a lot of development of characters, and lots of interesting plot, so it didn’t feel like a filler book, but a necessary next part of the story as Enne builds her girl gang and Levi tries to rebuild the Irons in a new landscape where his alliances are fractured, and some are irreparably damaged. However, I’d suggest not getting too attached to the characters, just in case.

One of the things I really like is the concept of blood and split talents, which are really key to the movement of the story, and such an interesting way of adding an extra dimension. Surprisingly Enne and Levi still don’t use their main talents, but many other characters do, and I enjoyed that extra facet to their personalities.

All in all, King of Fools was a really good follow up to Ace of Shades, and has left me really excited for the third book, though goodness only knows what tortures the author still has to inflict on the hearts of her readers!

As a huge fan of Ace of Shades I was so excited to receive this book for review!
From page one you are thrown right back into the action and I felt like I hadn't been away, I was right back with Levi and Enne in New Reynes.
Amanda Foody knocks it out of the park with the atmosphere in the book, just like she did with Ace of Shades. One of the things I worried about was losing the atmosphere due to the age old "second book syndrome", it was my favourite thing and really draws me to Foody's writing in the future.
The characters in this series come across and really clear and strong and easily identifiable. I feel like they have distinct voices and personalities and their interactions together feel so real and raw and Jac and Levi in particular are my favourite. I wish I could know them in real life, honestly.
The feminism elements of this book are fantastic. Its SO REFRESHING reading a book with several female characters who aren't competing against each other or bitching or sniping, y'know.
This is the second book in a series, so I don't want to give too much away but if you are into books that make you feel like you are there and that you know the characters this book is for you. This book is for readers who enjoy strong female characters and relationships, and who want to fall in love with characters and don't mind having your heart broken.
Love this. Need more. 5/5 Stars!

This was a wonderful read. I was hooked from the first chapter and I fell in love with Levi from the very start. I haven’t read Ace of Shades, but Foody does a good job at keeping newbies in the loop. While I don’t think I’ve lost anything by reading this first, I do feel I’ve got everything to gain in terms of my connection to the characters.
Whether intended or not, I got a very steampunk vibe from the world building which added a richness to what developed over the 600 pages. This story-verse would work well on film; whether is be in a live action or animated form.
It ends with enough of the plot resolved to be satisfied, but if the final chapter doesn’t pull a gasp from you; you’ve been reading it wrong.
I can’t wait to read the final instalment, but I guess I can distract myself with the first outing in the meantime.

“The City of Sin would learn that a pistol painted pink was just as lethal.”
King of Fools was captivating, thrilling, devastating and tense! It was a real whirlwind of emotions in the last third of the book and I couldn’t sleep without finishing and knowing what happened. King of Fools was even better than Ace of Shades in my opinion! The second half of the book was my favourite part, but the ending killed me!!! Why would you do that Amanda!? I need the third book now pls.
To be honest as it was a year ago since I’d read AoS, I’d forgotten a lot of what happened so had to refresh my memory before starting KoF and I would recommend that you recap too as you’re thrown into the City of Sin very quickly. The drama, suspense and stakes are piled SO high in KoF and I was worried for the characters the whole time, it was exhausting!
The plot was honestly amazing; I don’t know how Amanda managed to keep all those multiple ties and sub-plots in check but it was superb! I thought it could have gone about ten different ways and there could have been various endings but the ending that we did get was gut-wrenching! There are definitely some major shockers in store for readers. There were some really funny moments of sass in this book which made me laugh out loud. I can’t wait to follow this journey and see where this will all go in book 3 and I’m so excited!!!
It was great meeting new characters such as Sophia, Harrison, Grace and more! I loved how they all added their personalities into the mix and felt very believable. I loved reading about Enne’s girl gang, they were fierce, confident and not afraid to be both girly and vicious! Their friendships were important to them, they looked out for one another and they each added something new to the story. I enjoyed the split narrative with Jac, Enne and Levi providing their own perspectives on the events. It was great to explore a new side of these characters and I love them even more.

5 out of 5 stars.
[Thank you to HQ for providing me with a Netgalley copy in exchange for an honest review!]

I loved this book so much! Everything from book one is taken up a notch, we get new characters, a new POV, new places to visit in the world and the drama is dialled up to 11 as well. The pace was so much better than the first book, I was consistently engrossed and couldn't wait to read more to find out what happened next. I love that this book had so much focus on female power and dismantling misogyny, I thought that was really great and Enne and her Spirits were just so awesome, especially Grace. It's a really unique world that Foody has created here and just when you think she couldn't up the stakes more, she does, the cliffhanger from this book is possibly even better than the one from the first book. I cannot wait to see how everything ties together in the final book of the trilogy next year.

This one is purely for the fans. If you were on the fence about "the brilliance of Ace of Shades", this addition to the series isn't going to convert you. I'll probably still pick up the next in the series, but for me this one was only ok, not great.

While Ace of Shades had the characters jumping and dodging continuous death-defying situations, King of Fools is bogged down with exposition. The expansion of the character roster and a new POV were a welcome addition, but this added to the continually growing nonsensical plans, plots and schemes. Some of which made no sense, added to the convoluted story or were red herrings and added nothing to the overall plot. The pacing was off, there was a lot of padding, the timeline seemed to jump around a bit, and the main characters have grown increasingly unlikable.

Thank you to netgally and HQ Young Adult for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a: it's not you, it's me. At this point (14/04/19), I've read all of Foody's novels, and every time came away thinking "there's something good here, but it's not quite there/it's not clicking with me". I struggled with this one the most out of all her novels, and in full disclaimer- I skim read the last quarter of this book.

There's interesting ideas here, some interesting concepts and turns in the story. This is a novel that I can understand why other people would like it, but it's not for me.

The biggest issue for me is that I don't connect to Foody's writing style, I can't pin down why, but it doesn't immerse me into the story .


Characters

(spoilers for the first book in this series in this paragraph) I think a big part of my disbelief is how young all these characters are. They're meant to be mafia bosses and are 16/17 years old? One boss that young, maybe, I could believe, but two? I can't believe Enne could've, in any way, become a mafia boss. I liked the idea of this posh girl becoming a mafia boss, but the whole book could've done with the characters being in their twenties (though I know this is YA, and some teenagers will enjoy the wish fulfillment, but even in my fantasy, and when I was a teenager myself, it annoyed me when such young characters were in unrealistic positions of power like this).

Levi and Enne were the only characters I felt had strong personalities. They were mildly interesting and I could tell who they were meant to be- but I felt no chemistry between them as a couple, and there romance felt forced.

I didn't enjoy Jac's new POV. He didn't stand out enough as a character to survive his own POV (for me).

There are a lot of other side characters, with only a few carrying on from the previous book. Honestly, everyone was interchangeable to me. No one stood out. There are a few relationships being developed with side characters- but I honestly couldn't bring myself to care about them. I would still consider Jac a side character to be honest.


Plot

There were a lot of scenes where the character would be talking strategy/having a romantic moment, and then it would be interrupted by some action, and repeat.

There's a big political storyline in this sequel, as characters (who are not the main characters) ran for office, and honestly I couldn't have cared less about it, and it took up so much of the conflict of the novel that I struggled to get through it.


Overall

I was hoping this would bring forward all the good things about the first book and make it better, and finally be the Foody book I loved, but this was disappointing for me. My enjoyment level was 1 star, but I thought the book itself wasn't that bad, but it's my personal taste.

I think this will be the last Amanda Foody novel for me, though I wish her the best in her career.

I'm still largely in two minds over this book. It probably didn't help being part of a series I hadn't read, but I'm still a strong believer that good books should be able to stand on their own, and this one didn't at first. Obviously, not having encountered the characters before meant that it took a little longer to settle into the book - a problem further exacerbated by my struggle to really connect with the narrative at times (and talking around, I'm glad I'm not the only one who experienced this - even among people who'd read the first!) And don't even get me started on the will-they-won't-they romance (was this a thing in book one, too?)

Those niggles aside, however, King of Fools progresses to capture a really strong plot - dare I say, no middle book syndrome here with the storyline! - and there are some really strong characters thrown in amongst it all. In fact, there are a lot of characters, which more often than not becomes problematic in itself, but not with King of Fools!

Foody overcame many stumbling blocks of a second book, but in doing so seemingly slipped at the places authors normally do OK, such that on the whole I got an I-like-what-you're-doing-but-not-really-how-you're-doing-it vibe.

I had read Ace of Shades last year and wasn't bowled over but did really like all of the characters.
As a result i went in to this somewhat wary but looking forward to reuniting with Enne, Levi and the rest of the gang.

I think the characters are the best thing about this story, the authour does an excellent job of keeping you invested in the main characters storylines whilst also introducing new characters you can't help but be drawn to.

The plot is much darker in this follow up and relys less on action sequences than Ace of Shades which works well enough but isn't my favourite thing about King of Fools.

Overall a pretty decent book but not one that blew me away.

This book hooked me in from the get go, I loved Ace of Shades so I was really excited to read King of Fools. The second book was even darker and more delicious than the first. The characters took bigger risks, there were bigger falls and oh my god!
I liked that the book was so forward thinking in a way, the characters liked who they liked and we got to see more of the unique world they live in.
I loved this book but I will not forgive one of the things that happened and anyone who reads it will know why! Not cool Amanda, not cool.
Now I have to wait impatiently for the next one.

Brilliant follow-up to Ace of Shades. I love how the details bring the world and magic to life. The characters are complex and I love how thoughtful the author is in regard of representation.
Ace of Shades was heart-stopping, but King of Fools really dials up the tension in the best way. i'm not sure I breathed once while reading the final 100 pages!

Ace of Shades was my favourite book of 2018 so naturally, King of Fools was by FAR, my most anticipated release for 2019 and I can tell you, I was definitely not disappointed!

Amanda Foody is an incredible author that always has me constantly on the edge of my seat whilst I'm in her worlds. I love her world building of The City of Sin so much and I find myself being able to see it in my mind so clearly when I'm reading about it which is one of my favourite things when I'm reading a book! Her characters are also just so incredible! My favourite character is still Levi, I love Levi so much and he definitely disappoint me in this book but I also loved Enne and Jac too!

Having said that, one of my favourite things about King of Fools was the girl gang! I follow Foody on Twitter and for months, she's been tweeting about this girl gang from King of Fools and I was very excited to meet them all and they didn't disappoint! They were all very fierce women and I loved all of them. I am very, very excited to read more about them in book 3 where their arc will hopefully continue to grow as it goes. One of my favourite things in books is a solid girl gang and I'm so happy that we have one in this world that I'm so in love with for sure!

"This isn't just talk. It's a promise. And the war has already begun."

After the ending of Ace of Shades, I knew that this was going to be full of tension and stress. I get very stressed reading books and I was definitely stressed whilst reading King of Fools although, there wasn't as much full on action throughout as I was expecting there to be but I'm sure that will be coming in the conclusion of the series but, there was still so much tension and the stakes were just so high in this book. I found myself very worried for Levi, Enne and Jac, so many times throughout this book and just want them to get the happy ending they deserve in book 3 :(

I really, really love the relationship that is blossoming between Levi and Enne. I've shipped them since halfway through book 1 and although, there wasn't too much on that front in this one, again, I'm sure there will be in book 3 and I am most definitely here for it.

Overall, I thought King of Fools was a fantastic and worthy sequel and definitely will be on my top books of the year! I am just so love in this book and this series and I can't believe there's another year now until book 3 because I just really need it now!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review! All views are my own. Quotes may change in the final copy!

I'm a sucker for morally dubious conmen in literature and "Ace of Shades" absolutely filled the "Six of Crows"-sized hole in my heart, so it wouldn't be unfair to say that I came into this with high expectations. I was not disappointed. So many story elements came together perfectly in this book to make for an incredible adventure (the omertas especially!) and I loved seeing how far Enne had come since the beginning of the series. More than that, I love her dynamic with Levi. They're both ambitious crimelords and while that point in common makes for some amazing moments when they work together, it also pulls them apart more often than not. As per usual, the side characters were also amazing. I had a particular soft spot for Jac and Sophia, but Lola and Grace were also high in my favourites as well. Once again, the "everyone has a talent" magic system was amazing and I loved the ways in which it developed in this book.

That ending though...I am definitely going to need to get hold of the new book as soon as possible because that was such an explosive way to end things and I need to know what happens next!

I absolutely loved Ace of Shades but this sequel fell flat for me. There was no action, none of the spice and excitement of book one that had drawn me in. I found that many of the characters had become whiney and a little annoying and didn’t seem sincere. This was one of my most highly anticipated reads of this year so I’m really sorry that it just didn’t do it for me.

I was so, so excited about this book and I requested it the second I saw it. I adored the first one and god I needed more. But I found this one kind of meh.

The problem with my problem is that there was nothing really wrong with it. The world building was good, the twists and characters interesting and I loved the girl gang. They were fun and different and not ashamed of who they were. But none of that really stuck out.

I also don't ship Enne and Levi anymore. In this book, we get a guy called Narinder. A guy who Levi had such chemistry with. It was fun and delicious but emotional. There was a spark that I don't even remember with Enne and Levi in the first book. I still love Levi, he's a bi disaster and realistically I could see how he and Narinder could fix things but I know they won't but...

Look

"Since Narinder was taller— which Levi liked— Levi could feel his breath against his ear. Narinder slid his arm around Levi’s stomach, slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out Levi’s pistol. The act left Levi’s head dizzy."

Just god damn.

There was also a f/f couple on the side that essentially you see interact like once or twice but they seem so cute and can I have more of them please and thanks?

I will still be reading the next book as I do wanna see what happens. I'm just not as excited anymore.

After the events of the shadow game, Enne and Levi are the cities most wanted. Enne has become Seance' a mysterious figure of the cities underworld. As The newest street lord in New Reynes, Enne needs to find recruits, with the help of Lola her second she finds Grace a counter who likes to kill people, they soon find more and make up The Spirits.

Mean while Levi strikes a deal with Viana's estranged son Harrison. Levi tries to build the Irons up and make them the most successful gang in New Reynes. Levi must find votes to help Harrison win the election, but to do this he must put Jac into an uneasy situation. Meanwhile Enne must help Vianca to find votes for her candidate.

Will they come out triumphant?

In this book we get Jac as another narrator. I thought this was a great idea as we get to see Jac’s version of events. We learn so much from Jac through these chapters. There was more character in this book Lola and Grace are funny but also offer Enne the female support she needs. The development of these characters
is wonderful they have grown so much from the first book. This story has so many ups and downs sometimes it got frustrating, but I felt that It was intentional.

We also got to see more of the New Reynes underworld and its leaders, how they all works tighter or not as some of the cases were. And we got to go to the Southside and see how different life is there.

Overall I loved this book I cannot wait for book 3!