AshleyAll my childhood fantasies have come true, but reality is never as simple as we would like. I dreamed of living in a wondrous world of the supernatural and having magical powers of my own. Now, I have all of that, but it comes with a caveat—a six-foot brute who is supposed to train me on all things Fae. He is a dauntless warrior of the Wild Hunt. A beautiful bastard. He is my lover and my … bastard.
He is my lover and my burden, my savior and my curse.
Michael
There’s a monster loose in the city, leaving a trail of bodies in its wake. Ashley thinks she’s going to help us find the killer, but there’s no way I’m letting that happen. Not long ago, I carried her lifeless body out of a dirty alley. Ever since, my carefully constructed world has been leveled, despite my endless efforts at damage control. Ashley Moore is a force of nature—courageous and brash like the heroes she reads about. She has no business being involved with the Hunt, and I’m not about to let her sultry lips and perfect curves change my opinion.
**This is the third book in The Fae Games Series but can be read as a stand alone novel.
Warning: This is NOT a Young Adult novel! It contains scenes with graphic violence and mature sexual content.
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Okay. Honestly? I LOVED this book. I loved how I got insight into both Michael’s and Ashley’s minds and thought processes. I was a little confused with how the book started, just because I was thinking it would start right after Twilight Siege (The Fae Games #2) ended, but it started sort of in the middle and maybe more towards the end of Twilight Siege. I also had to get it into my head to have a certain mindset with each chapter since it switched perspectives each chapter – so at the beginning of Ashley’s chapters I had to get back into her shoes and vice versa with Michael’s. I didn’t have too much trouble with this, though, since I have read books with this setup before, but if you haven’t read multiple-perspective books before, prepare yourself for two perspectives/story lines.
Overall, I really really enjoyed this book and look forward to another one. I love how intricate Jill makes her characters and plots. I was honestly super shocked at the twist – no spoilers; read it for yourself! All are worth reading for sure, but read The Fae Games 1 & 2 books first!
Shades of Betrayal follows Michael who we met in the original Fae Games series, and I couldn’t be more happy that Michael got his own book. You don’t have to have read the original Fae Games to follow this, but you do get to meet some characters from Shades of Betrayal more intimately.
Michael isn’t an easy man to love, heck he’s not an easy person to befriend but Ashley sees something in him, even if most of the time she wants to just walk away from him. Michael works for the Hunt, and he doesn’t want Ashley anywhere near it, it’s not safe for her. But someone is out there killing women, and Michael needs to keep Ashley safe.
Ashley, newly formed Fae, wants to discover her powers so she can be more useful. A very strong and assertive main character, she’s having problems pulling her powers, and it’s making her more frustrated by the day. It doesn’t help that the man she is supposed to be training with is so pig-headed. But she can’t deny their attraction and no matter how crabby Michael gets, she’s still drawn to him.
There are a few wonderful quotes from the book that I loved, but I can’t share most of them as it might spoil the book, but this one I think encapsulates their feelings well “Some things in life are beyond understanding-beyond logic and reason-and those are the things we’ll do anything to protect.” Shades of Betrayal has so many elements to love about it, I would classify it as a paranormal romantic suspense.
I loved how Ramsower switched back and forth between the characters in each chapter, it helps to tell the complete storyline and it’s so well-written. I absolutely love Ashley because she is a strong heroine, she knows what she wants and she lets you know. She isn’t one to back down from a challenge and she knows to get down to the truth of things before reacting. She’s fun and at times sassy, I love her personality.
The entire storyline is so nicely done. I love Ramsower’s writing style and ability to tell a great story. This was such a fun book to read, it’s got the perfect amount of action and suspense while blending in the *steamy* romance we’ve come to expect from the author. Very nicely done!