Phantasma
Kaylie Smith, 2024
A young woman enters a haunted-house competition to save her sister, and the house — and its phantom — want something back. The haunted house presses in with gothic dread, while the romance pulls with longing and a sharp, lyrical voice.
Feels like longing and dread. About love, power and death.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy gothic fantasy romance with horror undertones and a haunted-house contest at its center. The dread and dark romantic tension are constant, so it may not suit you if you want a light, cozy read.
Why read it
It offers a gothic haunted-house story where romance and horror keep pressure on each other, and the prose has a lyrical, edged pull.
A page from the book
What tenderness looks like after it has learned to bite back.
Soft hearts don’t survive here.” “What kinds of hearts do?” He leaned down until their eyes were level. “Hearts with teeth.” He reached out and gently gripped her chin in his hand, rubbing the pad of his thumb across her full, bottom lip. She was frozen in place. “C’mon, angel, show me your teeth. Kaylie Smith.The title comes from the Greek phantasma, 'apparition', from phainein, 'to make visible' — the same root as 'fantasy' and 'fancy'.
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Questions readers ask
- Is Phantasma for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy gothic fantasy romance with horror undertones and a haunted-house contest at its center. The dread and dark romantic tension are constant, so it may not suit you if you want a light, cozy read.
- What is Phantasma like?
- The haunted house presses in with gothic dread, while the romance pulls with longing and a sharp, lyrical voice. Feels like longing and dread. About love, power and death.
- What should I read after Phantasma?
- If you liked Phantasma, try Hunting Adeline (H.D. Carlton), Midnight Sun (Stephenie Meyer) and One Dark Window (Rachel Gillig).
A taste of the feed
The difference between owning someone and being owned by them.
I may own every breath in your body, but make no mistake, Adeline, you own mine, too. I am yours to command. To bend and break. To mold and manipulate. Do you think that makes me weak? Or do you think I’m strong enough to admit that even though my body can physically live on without you, I would never get my fucking soul back?
Hunting Adeline · H.D. Carlton
The old story that turns a lover into a god of the underworld.
For just a second, I saw Persephone, pomegranate in hand. Dooming herself to the underworld. Is that who I was? Hades himself, coveting springtime, stealing it, condemning it to endless night.
Midnight Sun · Stephenie Meyer
The answer to a private question, given in front of everyone.
Are you still pretending?” I said, reveling in his gaze. Ravyn gave a surprised laugh and, in front of everyone, leaned in and kissed me. “I never was,” he whispered into my lips.
One Dark Window · Rachel Gillig
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