When Rebecca decides she has finally had enough of her dead-end waitressing job in New York, she follows her dreams and finds a job opening at a museum in Ireland. However, her arrival in Belfast triggers a series of events she never could have predicted. 

Overall I enjoyed this new take on urban fantasy, especially the allusions to classical mythology and Arthurian legend. Full of faeries, mythological creatures, partying, intrigue, and romance, this book fits well under the title of modern YA fantasy. Shadow Play is crowded with interesting characters and unusual creatures, all of which lead me to compare the world of Fae Games with a mix of The Mortal Instruments, ACOTAR and Grimm. The story itself was inventive and interesting enough not to feel derivative, and the setting in modern day Ireland made a very nice backdrop. 

The main character Rebecca is not your typical YA heroine, which is in itself refreshing, however I found that I didn't actually like her as a person, and some of her story-line was closer to a wish-fulfillment scenario than a realistic (I obviously use the word within the realism of the fantasy world) set of events. The love triangle is in my opinion very over done, and although I like the characters of Ronan and Lochlan in themselves, I can't help but see them as a new version of the already used up Damon vs Stephan stereotype. Having said that, I think that Lochlan especially has the potential to be a very different type of character than we often see in books of this type, and I look forward to seeing how his character develops in the second and final installment.
My final thought is that it feels too short to me, and the end didn't really feel like the end of a book, even part one of a two part series. I wonder if the two books would make more sense to see as part one and part two of one larger volume.
Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really liked this first book in a duet. Becca gets her dream job at a museum in Belfast Ireland and almost immediately strange things begin to happen. She starts seeing strange creatures and has chance meeting with Irish men acting strangely. Becca’s world is evolving and it turns out a lot of myths are actually distorted versions of truthful events. Merlin, a true fae,  has his hand in stirring up trouble and Becca has learned she has a role to play as the only half fae that may become full fae if she cannot stop her transformation. I’m looking forward to the next book.

"'Don't be afraid of the unknown merely because it's unknown. I have no doubt your strengths will see you through this.'"



Rebecca Peterson has been a waitress for two years, and after a gruelling night slogging away table after table, she receives a job offer for the job of her dreams. After moving from New York City to Ireland, Rebecca steps off the plane, and comes face to face with her living nightmares rather than her dreams. Equipped with her strange necklace that seems to hold magical properties, and her best friend Ashley, Rebecca realises that all her answers are held by Lochlan, utterly gorgeous but rude, demanding complete honesty yet providing no answers of his own, and Ronan, charming but mysterious, more willing to give up information, but perhaps not entirely trustworthy. Who will Rebecca trust when her life depends on it?

I actually loved this book. Shadow Play by Jill Ramsower is the kind of book that sticks in your mind days after you've read it. It has romance, contemporary, fantasy, did I mention romance? All that good stuff that makes a book really tick. 

I found that Shadow Play seemed very inspired by the Grimm Brothers, which is such a gripping aspect for me, I adore the fairy tale/folklore concepts that are twisted into this novel and given a new lease of life next to the modernism of the language and references used. Also, the mixture of Arthurian legends thrown into this was a pleasure, it's not often that different myths are combined respectively and done well. 

The normality interweaved with fanatical elements makes for an irresistibly compelling narrative. The story falls together really neatly, the author ties up all loose ends yet still leaves some enigmatic aspects which act as a segue to the sequel. (Not yet finished, or published.) Although the plot was interesting, and the world building equally as intriguing, there was a certain predictability in the direction the story was heading, usually, that would be a bad thing, but with Shadow Play it was a satisfaction to have the novel go the way I wanted it to.

Rebecca's character development is written nicely, as well, it was a pleasure reading about how her 'changes' (no, that's not a puberty reference.) as she discovers who she really is. The only thing that bothered me with Becca was that I would have preferred her to be a powerful person within her own right, and not rely on the necklace's abilities. I also thought that the author oversold on both Lochlan and Ronan, they felt very... done before. Broody, but handsome. Good looking, but mysterious. Generic character traits in powerful, dominating males that are competing. Disappointing, but I wasn't bored.

The one thing that hindered this story from being a five star was the ending, arguably the most important part to a book; the ending to Shadow Play did not sit right with me. It was weird, and uncomfortable, to put it nicely. It made me feel uneasy and for that reason I dropped a whole star. But I will not let it influence the rest of the story. 

Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It starts with Becca finding her dream job and moving to Ireland. She starts seeing things that go bump in the night. Runs into some interesting men, and discovering a work that few knew existed. This book had a lot of descriptions in every chapter so it was kike you were really there. I read it in one night, and will look for the second book.

I received a free copy of Shadow Play (Book 1 of the Fae Games) by Jill Ramsower in exchange for an honest review.  Insofar as the book is marketed as fantasy, the main character is Rebecca Peterson.  When she moves to Ireland for work, she becomes entangled with the Wild Hunt.  Most of the book is spent trying to figure out what’s going on.  Insofar as the book was marketed as a romance, there was no romance, just sex.  Rebecca has two “suitors.”  One man treats her incredibly badly/roughly/abusively throughout but is fantastically beautiful; Rebecca appears to be a kinky little thing who thinks this is sexy, so she falls in love with him.  The other is also attractive and treats her well except for one incident involving an admittedly aggressive attempt to bed her.  Apparently, he was not handsome enough to make up for the one faux pas.  (She came off a bit shallow).  Also, though Rebecca has no problems with being treated like a dirty whore (if you’re handsome enough, anyway); she thinks it’s just awful when someone calls her a whore.  Yeah, not going to look for the sequel.

#ShadowPlay #NetGalley

This is an urban fae fantasy. The premise and the fact that the story is set in Ireland really intrigued me. Rebecca is an ordinary girl and comes to Ireland to work in a museum and from day one she starts encountering fantastical creatures. She has this necklace around her neck that she has been wearing since she was 3 and suddenly in Ireland this necklace seems to give her the ability to see the Fae. I love Rebecca and the fact that she didn’t wait for anyone to rescue her but started looking for answers herself even though it got her into trouble most of the time. I loved her friendship dynamic with Ashley. I loved Ash and she’s such a book nerd. There are also two love interests. It’s not so much a romance but more of Rebecca trying to find out how she has these abilities and why the Fae are after her. I also liked how the author integrated Arthurian legend in her story. This being the authors debut novel I really enjoyed the book and liked her writing style. I’m looking forward to reading the Twilight Seige.