Shadow & Ice
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!
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.
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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
Excerpt:
As they continued trudging through the snow, she asked, “What are we going to call our donut shop, anyway?”
Nola had suggested The Donut Bar and Drunkin’ Donuts, since their sweet treats paid homage to different alcoholic beverages, but both names had been taken already.
“What about Tricks and Treats? Oh! I’ve got it.” Nola clapped her gloved hands. “Happy Hour Donuts.”
“Cute, but neither one says high end. Or revs my motor. I’m sorry!”
“Well, frick.”
Frick—Carrie’s favorite “curse” word. “We could simplify and go with Lee and London,” Vale said.
“I love it, but no one will know what we’re selling.”
“Maybe not at first, but we can leverage social media to spread the word.”
“True. What about Lady Carrie’s.”
Excitement instantly sparked. “Duuuude. Lady Carrie’s is perfect.”
“Well sprinkle sugar on my butt and call me a gourmet donut. Did we just name our shop?”
Vale was just about to reply—Our timing is impeccable, as always—when she spotted an ice hill up ahead. There was something about it… something odd. But what, exactly? Her eyes and brain said Nothing’s out of place.
Heart and legs picking up speed, she crossed the distance, gasped. A perfect six-foot hole had been cut into the side, leading to a perfect hollowed-out tunnel with a perfect upward tilt. Definitely man-made. What was inside? Or better yet, who was inside?
A whimper of anticipation broke free. If the tunnel led to a cavern—occupied or unoccupied, it didn’t matter—she could get Nola out of the elements sooner rather than later.
“Wait here,” she said when her sister reached the hill. “I’ll check out—”
“Nope, sorry. We go in together.”
“If there’s a wild animal squatting inside, only one of us should be its dinner.” Mmm. Dinner.
“You’re right. The other one will be dessert.”
Stubborn girl. “Fine.” Vale withdrew a long coil of rope from her pack, knotted one end around her sister’s waist and the other around her own. Nola isn’t falling to her death on my watch. Next, she withdrew ice axes. Two for each of them. “We’ll find a cavern, or drop. Whichever comes first.”
After zipping and adjusting her bag, she swung an ax, walked her spiked boots up several jagged steps, then swung the other ax. Rinse, repeat. Again and again. Nola did the same, below and to the right of her.
The higher they climbed, the darker the enclosure became, and the more her muscles protested.
Drip, drip. Drip, drip.
Ironically enough, the steady chorus of water drops tasted like melted vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day. Like hope. Hope gave her strength. Up, up. Higher still.
“I’m not sure… I can go…much farther,” Nola said heaving from exertion.
“You can. You will.” If they stopped now, they’d end up right back where they’d started. When a soft, warm—well, warmer—breeze caressed a patch of exposed skin, she gasped. “There’s something ahead, so move your butt!”
The tunnel curved to the right and—
A small pinprick of light caught her attention. “I see something!” Vale climbed faster, closing in.
The light expanded, the tunnel leveling out, opening into…a cavern! Massive ice pillars propped up a domed ceiling at least eight feet high. There was enough space between each pillar to stretch out and get comfortable.
Trembling with relief, Vale crawled out of the tunnel, dropped her tools and bag, and helped her sister over the ledge.
As Nola sank to the ground, panting, Vale pulled the logs and kindling from her pack, and used a match to start a fire. Instant heat. Oh, such glorious heat. Smoke billowed, curling upward, and she removed her goggles and face mask.
“Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you.” Nola removed each piece of headgear, as well, revealing a face so perfect she looked airbrushed. Dark eyes, a delicate nose, and model-plump lips, all surrounded by flawless brown skin and a fall of straight black hair.
Nola had no idea who her parents were. As an infant, someone left her near a Dumpster, with a note pinned to her shirt. All the note had said? “My name is Magnolia Lee and I need a home.”
Frowning, Nola pointed to one of the walls. “Is that…ice graffiti?”
Vale used the axes and rope to create a hanging line to dry her hat and coat before approaching the wall. Hello. Images had been carved throughout, like ancient hieroglyphs or something, and depicted some kind of battle. Twenty giant men and four women held various types of weapons, and surrounded a taller cloaked figure—the grim reaper, maybe? He clutched a scythe.
In front of the group was a headless body. She shuddered.
Review:
Gena Showalter has always been gifted in creating paranormal worlds combined with a modern setting. Her new Gods of War series has a very similar feel to Lords of the Underworld series. The immortals were larger than life and locked in a centuries long battle with the victor claiming Earth. The heroine, Vale, accidentally unlocks the immortal warriors from their frozen cage and gets pulled into the middle of this battle. She and one of the warriors, Knox, are forced to depend on each other as she navigates the War and he learns about the modern world. It took me a while to warm up to Knox and Vale as a couple. Their relationship grew through the trials of the war but it took them a long time to trust each other. I think this book suffered from first book series as Gena tried to set up a new world and introduce new characters. But at the same time, it felt very similar to Lords of the Underworld and I kept expecting William the Ever Randy to show up. I’m still looking forward to the next book and I’m hopefully Gena will sort out the kinks of this new world.
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
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Somewhere Lost In Books 
So excited to read this!!
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