Phantasma

Phantasma is a 2024 romantasy novel by USA Today bestselling author Kaylie Smith, which follows the romantic relationship between necromancer Ophelia Grimm and a phantom named Blackwell during a high-stakes competition for a Devil’s Grant, a rare favor that allows the winner to wish for anything they want. It is the first novel in Smith’s new adult romantasy Wicked Games series, soon to be followed by the forthcoming novel Enchantra. Smith is also the author of the young adult romantasy trilogy Heartless Fate, which includes A Ruinous Fate (2023) and A Reckless Oath (2024). The third novel in the series, A Raging Heart, is forthcoming. Her work often deals with themes regarding love, trust, and danger. In Phantasma, Smith explores Sacrifice for the Sake of Survival, The Impact of Legacy, Romantic Tension Under Threat, and The Importance of Family Bonds.

This guide refers to the 2024 Second Sky Kindle Edition of the text.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss violence, torture, murder, and self-harm.

Plot Summary

Phantasma opens with Ophelia and Genevieve Grimm finding their mother Tessie’s dead body in the foyer of Grimm Manor, their large house in early 20th-century New Orleans. Tessie died during the night, and Ophelia discovered her body the next morning. As the eldest Grimm sister, Ophelia must take on the mantle of her mother’s legacy. She performs the necessary ritual and obtains her mother’s necromancy magic, which allows her to see Apparitions and other types of ghosts. She also takes the family locket off her mother’s neck and wears it. When she taps it, it beats in time with her heart. The sisters then take their mother’s body to the coroner to obtain her death certificate. On the way home, Ophelia is tormented by the Shadow Voice, the embodiment of her obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which tells her that bad things will befall her and those she cares about if she does not perform certain actions. The voice encourages her to act violently, but she manages to resist those thoughts. Throughout their time in the city, Ophelia hears rumors about Phantasma, a deadly competition run by Devils and Demons. The winner will receive a Devil’s Grant, allowing them to wish for whatever they want.

The next day, men from the New Orleans City bank arrive to discuss Tessie’s debts. The house is set to be seized by the bank and torn down. Ophelia is distraught, especially as she recognizes that Genevieve knew about the debt and did not tell Ophelia. Genevieve feels guilty that Tessie put so much pressure and responsibility on Ophelia to learn about their magic and uphold their family legacy, so she didn’t want to add more stress to Ophelia’s life. As they leave the bank, the sisters fight, and Genevieve storms off.

Walking home alone, Ophelia stops by the old cathedral and speaks with an Apparition she cannot see: A sultry male voice tells her he’s trapped in Phantasma and can only be freed with a heart and a key. Ophelia realizes that she has found the manor housing Phantasma, but the Shadow Voice demands that she rush home. At home, Ophelia cannot find Genevieve anywhere. When she searches her room, she finds evidence that she went to Phantasma in search of a way to fix their finances and find a man named Gabriel.

Ophelia returns to Phantasma and enters the competition. To enter, she must reveal her worst fear. She meets the contestants that she’ll compete against until the final two levels, then goes to her room, where a ghostly cat leads her down strange corridors. She also meets the owner of the strange voice she heard when she first discovered Phantasma. He introduces himself as Blackwell, a Phantom trapped in Phantasma. He has no memory of meeting Ophelia the previous night, as his memories are erased between each game. He offers Ophelia a blood bargain to help keep her safe during the competition in exchange for her helping him find the heart and key. If she fails to free him, he will take a decade of her life. She rejects his offer, then enters the first competition. The nine levels are based on the Nine Circles of Hell detailed in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, so the first is Limbo. Ophelia and her group must navigate a maze using only their sense of sight, then avoid a Hellhound to exit. Ophelia passes the challenge, but another contestant named Cade wakes the Hellhound. She berates Cade for his carelessness, and he attacks her with a knife. Her body turns translucent, and the knife passes through her harmlessly, leading Cade to accuse her of being a Devil. A large serpent attacks and interrupts them, wounding Ophelia.

When Blackwell offers Ophelia the blood bargain again, she accepts. He heals her, and they begin searching the house for clues. Ophelia and the others then compete in the Lust level, during which she is nearly eaten by vampires before Blackwell helps her escape. They search the manor further, and Ophelia finds a secret passageway. After they narrowly dodge an acid attack, they acknowledge their mutual attraction and share a moment of sexual intimacy. She then sees “And Gabriel Forever” scratched into the stone of the passageway (180). Blackwell steals the contestant logs and searches for all contestants named Gabriel. Ophelia completes the third level, Greed, then has sex with Blackwell. A Devil named Sinclair then barges in and taunts Ophelia and tells her Blackwell is hiding something from her. Sinclair also tells her about Phantasma’s mysterious creator, Salemaestrus, the Prince of Devils. When she questions Blackwell about his secret, he reveals that Gabriel White, Ophelia and Genevieve’s father, was the last contestant he made a bargain with. Tessie and Gabriel met in Phantasma years ago. Blackwell was initially drawn to Ophelia because of her connection to Gabriel. Gabriel was a Specter, a type of paranormal being, which is why Ophelia can turn translucent. Ophelia is distraught, but still manages to pass the fourth level, Gluttony.

Blackwell continues to train Ophelia to use her necromancy and Specter abilities as their relationship deepens. However, those who fall in love during Phantasma are cursed, so Ophelia stifles her feelings for Blackwell. They get into conflict over whether to distance themselves from each other, and Ophelia falls for one of Sinclair’s illusions. Blackwell rescues her in time for her to complete the fifth level, Wrath. Ophelia rescues another contestant from Cade’s violence, but the other contestant forfeits anyway, leaving Cade in the competition. Ophelia talks to her mother Tessie through the Whispering Gate, and Tessie apologizes for being too harsh with Ophelia but warns her to stay away from Blackwell.

Ophelia and Blackwell are intimate again, but later decide again to distance themselves from each other to avoid the curse. Mistakenly believing that Blackwell has slept with another Devil, Ophelia kisses Sinclair and lets him touch her, though she does not enjoy it and stops Sinclair from continuing. She completes the sixth challenge, Deceit, though her friend Luci admits her feelings for another contestant and is cursed, forfeiting the competition. Blackwell confronts Ophelia for being intimate with Sinclair and tells her that he was not intimate with the other Devil. They confess their feelings for each other but still avoid intimacy.

Ophelia completes the Violence level, killing Cade, though he nearly kills her by ripping off her locket, which almost stops her heart. The manor then terrorizes her with a physical manifestation of the Shadow Voice. The Shadow Voice physically attacks her, leading her to tear at her own flesh, wounding herself. She breaks free of the illusion by telling the Shadow Voice she is not alone, as she has Blackwell. Blackwell heals Ophelia’s the wounds, and they have sex until they are interrupted by Genevieve. The sisters catch up, and Genevieve reveals that she is also a Specter. The sisters plan to win Phantasma, but Ophelia insists that Genevieve leave before the next challenge. She does, and Ophelia successfully completes the Fraud level. She then summons the door to Salemaestrus, the Prince of Devils.

When she enters the room, she discovers that Blackwell is Salemaestrus Erasmus Blackwell, the Prince of Devils. Five hundred years ago, he committed a grave transgression by falling in love with a mortal. To punish him, his father, the King of Devils, killed the mortal woman and trapped Blackwell inside Phantasma. The King of Devils then placed the mortal woman’s soul inside the locket to be reborn later. The locket was then given to the Grimm family.

Ophelia realizes that she can free Blackwell by confessing her love for him and giving him the locket. She does, and his tether to Phantasma breaks. As Ophelia’s heart starts to slow, Blackwell tells her that he can give her a working heart as a reward for freeing him. She agrees and survives. Without his tether to Phantasma, Blackwell will be pulled back to the Other Side. He tells Ophelia that he loves her, and she can serve as his tether, but she will live as long as he lives, likely for eternity. Ophelia agrees, and they live happily together in Grimm Manor, as Blackwell uses his Devil magic to fix their financial problems. The Shadow Voice has less of a hold on Ophelia. Ophelia dedicates herself to helping other paranormal beings, forging her own legacy. She also begins to research the Grimm family locket. She, Blackwell, and Genevieve plan to travel the world together.