The Queen of Paranormal Romance, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Gena Showalter, stuns with SHADOW AND ICE, the first title in her scorching new paranormal romance Gods of War Series. Check out the tour stop below and get your copy of SHADOW AND ICE today!
Author: Gena ShowalterSeries: Gods of War #1
Audience: +18
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: HQN
Release Date: October 23rd 2018
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
*Disclaimer: I received an eARC from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
Gena Showalter, the New York Times bestselling author who brought you the Lords of the Underworld, introduces a scorching new paranormal romance series… Gods of War.
Knox of Iviland has spent his life competing in the All Wars, where vicious warriors with supernatural powers fight to the death to claim new realms. One winner takes everything—and all losers die. Enslaved as a child for his ability to control shadows, the most ruthless champion in history will stop at nothing to kill his king. But first he must win the battle for Earth. When a fearsome weapon imprisons every combatant in ice, centuries pass without progress…until she walks in.
Vale London craves a fun arctic getaway with her foster sister before settling down to open a bakery. Street-tough but vulnerable, she is unprepared to find ancient gods escaping a frozen cave—merciless beings who target her when she inadvertently enters their war.
Though Vale is now his enemy, Knox is consumed with lust and a fierce need to protect her. But only one combatant can prove victorious, and he will have to choose: live for freedom, or die for love.
**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.
When I first read about Shadow and Ice I was excited about the premise. A new take on ancient gods, how they came to be, who were they really, what were they doing on Earth, is always going to grab my attention. Pair that with the Showalter name and I was ready to read this book as fast as possible. The book starts with a formal document detailing the rules of an All War, the competition that decides which realm will rule the new planet discovered, Earth. I love the idea of multiple realms searching for new planets, and the idea of them competing for it is really interesting.
The story moves to present times shortly after that, and we get to meet Vale. Vale is an intriguing character. She has a condition I've never heard of before, called synesthesia, which in her case it means she can taste sounds. Once she enters the war, this particular ability proves to be an asset for her. Vale is very stubborn. Even though Knox does everything in his power to teach her how to be a good combatant, therefore not trust anyone, Vale wants to believe there's a chance for them all if only they can find trustworthy allies. Vale and Knox had a very interesting dynamic. Beyond the sexual attraction between the two, I could feel the way Knox really wanted to trust her, even though his brain was telling him to kill her and be done with it. Vale, on the other hand, has had a rough life, but she was willing to trust Knox to be a real team player and not come at her when she was at her most vulnerable. Which, when you hear about her childhood, is really amazing and inspiring. She's also a fighter. She might not like the fact that she has unwittingly entered this war and she might have doubts and moments in which she hates what she has to do in order to stay alive, but she's willing to fight and she's not going to give up living. I liked that about her.
Knox is kind of a morally ambiguous character and I loved that about him. He's not a team player, he's not the kind of guy you can or should trust, and he is willing to do anything in order to win. He is driven by his need for revenge, and the reader finds out why later on in the story, so I found it easy to accept why he does what he does, why he betrays alliances, why he tries to distance himself from everyone. I couldn't help but root for him, even when he did some pretty shady things, things I probably wouldn't have been okay with from some other character, but his reasons, his pain really, makes it all almost acceptable. I really felt sorry for him, and at times he managed to break my heart. I also loved the fact that even though he could have betrayed Vale when she was at her most vulnerable, he didn't, in fact he went above and beyond to keep her safe and make sure she wouldn't die.
I have to say that, unlike the previous Gena Showalter books I've read, I had a little bit of a hard time following the entire mythology of this new series. It's a big world, there were a lot of names and realms to discover and remember, so at times I found it difficult to follow the story because of that. I also found the ending a bit too abrupt. I guess it matches the story, in a way, and I'm hoping the repercussions of what Knox had to do at the end of the book will be explored in the sequel.
That aside, I had a lot of fun reading this book. I'm impatiently waiting for the next book in the series, especially since towards the end of this book some things were revealed to the main characters that might change the course of the All War. I can't wait for more!
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EXCERPT
Vale wasn’t closed off to relationships, per se, but she wasn’t open, either. People were intrinsically flawed. At some point, they were going to disappoint you—leave you. So, she lived by a code. Always be the leaver, never be the leavee. And yes, she knew her code had roots in childhood abandonment. So what? Issues were issues for a reason. Intrinsically flawed, remember? Most people sucked a nut.
Nola and Carrie were exceptions. Her mom and baby bro were as well…until they’d died in a tragic accident that forever altered the course of her life. Her dad would have been wonderful, too, if he hadn’t taken off, leaving her to bounce from home to home and wonder what was wrong with her, why no one wanted to keep her.
Avoid, avoid! That thought train had only one station: Depressionville.
So, moving on. Vale had a low tolerance for BS, and she believed happily-ever-afters were an illusion because—let’s be honest—the longer couples were together, the more time they had to get to know each other, dig deeper, dig past all the pretty smiles and lies they told to make their choices seem okay, to finally see the garbage heap inside. More time to deceive each other, lash out and inflict pain.
Get in, get out.
Fact was, something was going to get broken or stolen if you let down your guard and finally trusted someone. Most often you were left bleeding internally.
Vale had dated around for a while, but she’d never spend an enormous amount of energy pretending to be something she wasn’t: sweet and gentle. It had stressed her out, which had made her even more prickly, blunt and abrasive, and ultimately she’d given up.
At least, that was the reason she embraced. Otherwise she’d have to admit there wasn’t a man alive willing to put in the work and fight to be with her.
“Lately, my love life has been exactly like a private jet,” Nola said, pulling Vale from her wayward thoughts.
“Oh, yeah? How so?”
“I don’t have a private jet.”
She laughed. Funny girl. “Come on. Let’s travel a little farther before we settle in for the night.” Their bodies needed heat, and movement would add logs to the fire.
Nola lumbered to her feet. They helped each other strap on the packs before marching forward. Vale hauled the bulk of supplies while her sis had blankets and medications, but even still, guilt robbed her of breath every time Nola grunted or groaned from exertion.
Another distraction, coming up. “I miss Carrie,” she said.
At thirteen years old, both Vale and Nola were assigned to the woman who handled “difficult” cases—young girls with a disability of some sort. Carrie had done more than open her home and heart; she’d taught her charges how to love themselves, and how to thrive.
Vale, honey, do you think a twenty-dollar bill is worth any less if it’s dirty and wrinkled? No way in heck! You might be a little rough around the edges, but you are still priceless.
Carrie and her words of wisdom. She’d loved the adage about the potato, egg and coffee beans most of all
In boiling water, the potato softens, the egg hardens, but the mighty coffee beans change the water. Don’t let difficult times weaken or harden you, girls. Get up and change the situation!
Eyes gleaming with fondness, Nola nodded. “If she were here, she’d cook up a feast. Snowcakes. Slush omelets. Ice bacon. Hail biscuits and blizzard gravy.”
Vale grinned, even as hunger gnawed her empty stomach. But the grin was quickly shaken off by a trembling chin. Last year, Carrie had suffered a massive heart attack and, over the ensuing weeks, she’d only weakened. Finally, she’d slipped away.
Her death left a hole in Vale’s heart. “I vividly remember the day I moved in. Back then, I lived by prison rules. You know, show them who’s boss on day one. So of course I destroyed Carrie’s living room, toppling furniture and breaking anything glass. When I finished, she calmly asked if I’d like my sweet tea iced or steaming.”
Mimicking the prim and proper Carrie, Nola said, “Always be a lady, until you need to be a land mine.”
Carrie had only ever exploded when it came to the protection of her girls.
A sense of homesickness tightened Vale’s chest, which flattened her lungs. Great! Now she needed a distraction from the distraction..
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“I love this world…this is Gena Showalter at her best!”—J.R. Ward, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“The Gods of War series is my new obsession.”—Christine Feehan, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Gena Showalter’s SHADOW AND ICE – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:
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October 24th
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Bambi Unbridled – Review
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Jen's Reading Obsession – Excerpt
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Reese's Reviews – Excerpt
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Cinta Garcia de la Rosa – Excerpt
Feeling Fictional – Review & Excerpt
Incidental Inspiration – Review & Excerpt
My Book Filled Life – Review & Excerpt
Nicole's Book Musings – Review
Sip Read Love – Review
The Ink Spell – Review
October 27th
Another Book Hangover – Excerpt
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October 28th
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October 29th
3 degrees of fiction – Review & Excerpt
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Books 2 Blog – Review & Excerpt
Just Reading Book Blog – Excerpt
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October 30th
Dirty Girl Romance – Review
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October 31st
Book Lovers Hangout – Review & Excerpt
KDRBCK – Review & Excerpt
Mean Girls Luv Books – Review & Excerpt
Movies, Shows, & Books – Excerpt
Reviews from the Heart – Review & Excerpt
Shameless Book Club – Review & Excerpt
November 1st
Book Nook Nuts – Review & Excerpt
Busy Bumble Bee Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Dreamer's Book Blog – Excerpt
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Romance Schmomance – Review & Excerpt
Smut Book Junkie Book Reviews – Excerpt
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November 2nd
Book Addict – Excerpt
Fundinmental – Review
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About Gena Showalter:
Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding Lords of the Underworld and Angels of the Dark series, two young adult series--Everlife and the White Rabbit Chronicles--and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series. In addition to being a National Reader's Choice and two time RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan (Red Hot Read) and Seventeen magazine, she's appeared on Nightline and been mentioned in Orange is the New Black--if you ask her about it, she'll talk for hours…hours! Her books have been translated in multiple languages.
She’s hard at work on her next novel, a tale featuring an alpha male with a dark side and the strong woman who brings him to his knees. You can learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com or Facebook.com/genashowalterfans
Thank you so much for sharing! ~Jessica,InkSlinger PR
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