I’d been in the mood for some over the top obsessive fictional men and Play With The Phantom by Amanda Richardson absolutely delivered. I’m looking forward to the third book in the Midnight series, even if I’m not super thrilled about the MMC because Amanda has a way of making red flags turn green.
Play with the Phantom by Amanda Richardson
Play with the Phantom by Amanda Richardson is book two in the Midnight series. It is a dark stalker romance with 306 pages and was published on April 29th, 2025. You can find the book on Amazon, Kindle Unlimited, and the author’s website here.
Premise
Ari is an eldest daughter, and compelled to do the right thing, be with the correct man, and always stay in control. Except, her boyfriend is boring, she’s tired of living the life expected of her, and she doesn’t want to follow the rules. But obligation has a way of overpowering desire. That is until she meets Maddox Cross, her boyfriends twin brother, and he’s a dangerous man who looks at her like she is his.
Triggers
Triggers found in Play with the Phantom by Amanda Richardson include:
- Dubious/coerced consent
- Stalking
- Sexually Explicit Scenes
- And a questionable scene concerning a release being mixed into a perfume bottle.
- Cheating
My Thoughts
First off, we know I love me a stalker romance so grabbing this book was a must after finishing Dance With The Devil. I was excited to see Frankie’s BFF take the FMC role with her own story, and for it to include stalking? I was sold.
And I was not disappointed. First off, Ari is a badass. This isn’t a helpless FMC being stalked and eventually seduced by a walking red flag. No, this is a very much in control of her life woman, who’s trying to do what is right, but craves adventure and even a bit of darkness in her life.
“You’re fucking starving. For more. For someone to see you. For someone to take you seriously when you stop pretending you want this kind of life.” – Play with the Phantom by Amanda Richardson
We don’t get a Maddox POV for a while, but when we do, we see into the obsessive, protective, and possessive side to him. And we love to see it.
Part of why so many women love this trope is because we actually get to dive into the head of the stalker. We see their intentions, and realize pretty quickly that while stalking is bad, these MMC’s typically don’t actually want to cause any type of harm. And don’t we all want a bit of adoring obsession sometimes?
“You don’t run from this, Ari. Not when I’ve been starving for you. Not when I need you more than my next fucking breath.” – Play with the Phantom by Amanda Richardson
I will forewarn you there is absolute dubious consent within this book. Our MMC is the twin of Ari’s boyfriend, so… there might be a moment in which Ari doesn’t realize it’s not her boyfriend. To make it additionally dubious, Ari has insomnia and does take medicine that leaves her extremely groggy and potentially causes hallucinations.
If those triggers aren’t your thing, you might want to skip this one. However, if you read that and started screaming, “Sign me up,” then let’s dive into the spicy bits.
There are quite a few spice scenes in this book, but the plot is plotting. So you’re going to get kink, and a woman getting exactly what she’s been craving sexually, and a whole lot of heart.
“Angel, the only way I’d ever hurt you is if you begged me for it. If you got on your knees, looked up at me with those pretty, desperate eyes, and asked me nicely.” – Play with the Phantom by Amanda Richardson
I personally loved seeing the way Ari started prioritizing her own needs above the expectations she feels had been set on her. She’s also dealing with a lot of childhood traumas that while not necessarily triggering are absolutely common among a lot of eldest daughters.
Frankie appears in this book, along with Dante and we love seeing them. Dante takes on a sort of older brother protector vibe and it just made me all sorts of happy to see how close they all had become.
I’m calling this book dark romance due to the dubious consent and stalking aspects, but it’s on the lighter side of dark romance in the story itself with a few darker aspects within the romance.
Who Would Like Play with the Phantom by Amanda Richardson?
Tropes in Play with the Phantom by Amanda Richardson include:
- Stalker
- Ex’s brother
- Age Gap
- Vacation
Make sure you check out my recommendations of the other books in the Midnight series:
- Dance with the Devil
- Kneel with the King (Coming August 26th, 2025)
If you enjoyed To Have and To Hold by Alina Comsa, Darkest Sins by Neva Altaj, or Such a Good Guy by Kate Raven you will probably love this book.