Shadow Play

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.

"'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.

The title of the book is a bit low key, but the story is definitely not! This fast paced urban fantasy story of fae, mythology and a kick ass girl Rebecca is awesome.
She lands her dreamjob in Ireland working in a museum after working as a waitress for two years. After arriving in Ireland, she starts seeing strange creatures and some strange accidents are happening. When she starts thinking she is going crazy a handsome stranger comes to her rescue. Ronan is kind, hot and a bit strange. Because soon Rebecca finds out that there is more to Ireland than she thinks. Fae running around, myths that are not really myths and a boss who is part of a secret society...
And of course: one hot and brooding fae: Lochlan.
After part one, I was really looking forward to part two, to see how this story will end. You definitely want to read both parts in order to get the story straight. But this is certainly no hardship! Five out of five stars from me. And a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.