Shadow and Ice (Gods of War #1) by Gena Showalter- Review & Excerpt Tour
SHADOW AND ICE
Gods of War #1
by Gena Showalter
Release Date: October 23, 2018
Genre: adult paranormal, romance
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 23, 2018
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.
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REVIEW: I couldn’t wait to read this new series by Gena.
It sounded like a really good read. So I eagerly sat and opened my kindle …..
I have to say, I was a little disappointed ☹️ the world was described in Gena’s usual style (you could easily imagine the ice caves) but the characters lacked their usual luster.
But I persevered and I love the concept, I’m just hoping the next book is an improvement.
Knox is an unbeatable warrior, and knowing he could win his freedom, he is determined that NOTHING will get in his way. He is arrogant, over confident and his kings “greatest asset”, rings and tattoos bind him to his “king” not loyalty and not love, in fact when Knox gets free he is going to kill the king, and we also find out why Knox is the way he is, he hides a vulnerable heart that broke and has never healed.
Vale can only be described as “street wise”but there hides a soft heart, she doesn’t like most people, but she adores her foster sister Nola, who is poorly, so Vale does all she can to makes her sisters life fun and full of adventure.
They find the tourist attraction (a cave full of gorgeous looking statues frozen in ice) and congratulate each other on surviving the cold, and hope to be rescued. But things take a different turn of events …… one of the ice covered statues breaks free…. and he’s not a statue ?
And after killing an ancient, she is now “defending” earth. And it’s not as easy as you think.
The hate/love relationship between Knox and Vale, certainly kept it interesting. The copious amount of sex, I did think a little O.T.T, and the violence and gore won’t be to everyone’s liking. But the new world we are entering is unlike anything I’ve read so far. And i can’t wait to read more.
The secondary characters (and there are a few) are great, well rounded and most are welcome (but keeping track, I needed pen and paper) ? I think we already have a clue as to who will feature in the next book ?
The first meeting between the two main characters is interesting to say the least.
Their interaction does consist of fighting then sex ? They can’t work together, they both need to kill each other, but as there is a certain attraction between them, it’s going to cause a problem.
So, I’m hoping book 2 will be better, I will continue with the series and hope that it improves, the first book is sometimes the hardest, as you have to set the scene for a new world and new characters, but maybe next time, a few less characters and more world building.
? Julie B
Copy supplied for review
Somehow, their little trio had veered off of a path and ended up in this icy wasteland. In a blink!
Backtracking hadn’t helped. The ice had remained, and stretched on. A single set of footprints had led them to a cabin…where they’d spent every day of the past two weeks. Well, Vale and Nola had spent every day of the past two weeks inside the cabin. Before the end of day one, their guide had taken off to scout the pe¬rimeter, hoping to stumble upon the cabin’s owner, he’d said, but he’d never returned, and there’d been no sign of him since.
This morning, the sisters were forced to make a choice: remain in the warmth of the cabin and slowly starve to death, or set out to try to find help, and quickly freeze to death.
As Carrie—aka Care Bear, aka best foster momma ever—used to say, If you want to experience the mira¬cle of walking on water, you gotta get out of the boat.
Better to try and fail than to never try at all.
In desperate need of a miracle, Vale and Nola had strapped on snow gear they’d unearthed in a trunk only a few days before. Oddly enough, the garments had fit perfectly, as if tailor-made for them. The coinci¬dence had roused her suspicions, sure, but in the end she hadn’t cared about how or why, only survival. They’d set out bright and early that morning, trudging through mile after mile of snow.
Now sunset approached. So far, no luck. They’d found no hint of life, and Vale was getting worried.
Getting? Please. She’d been worried every second of every day since the nightmare had started. She wasn’t ready to die.
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
Links:
Website: www.genashowalter.com
Twitter: @genashowalter
Facebook: Facebook.com/genashowalterfans
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/48192.Gena_Showalter
Great and honest review, Looks like an interesting concept, hopefully the next book will explain more.
Terrific review, Julie. Thanks for the update. I did not know about this new series by Showalter.
Very nice review, thanks Julie.
Thanks for your honesty Julie. Too many authors ‘info dump’ to try and introduce characters and back stories but it is overwhelming on so many levels.
Another nice review Julie. I love Gena’s Lord of the Underworld series. It is always a slipper slope when introducing a new series.
I am a big fan of LOTU. Congrats to Gena on the new series.
Thanks for the review Julie. Can’t wait to read it.
very nice review, julie. looks like a very interesting and different read for me.
Thanks for the review and excerpt.
Great review, Julie. Thanks.
Good review, Julie! I love the honesty. We all love Gena’s writing, but as you say, the first book in a new series is hard to balance.
Thanks for the honest review.