Gena Showalter

From Gena Showalter, the New York Times bestselling author who brought you the Lords of the Underworld series, comes an all-new, sizzling paranormal romance series, Gods of War. The epic saga begins with book one, Shadow and Ice... After being trapped in an ice prison for centuries, a group of otherworldly immortals have finally broken free. In a bid to rule the earth, their fight to the death resumes, and the whole world becomes a gladiator arena. But this time, these savage warriors will risk more than their lives and the survival of their realms; they'll also risk their hearts.

Shadow and Ice

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

Shadow and Ice was a book I was SUPER stoked to read. After listening to an interview with Gena Showalter about this upcoming series, I just was really eager to grab this up. So I jumped over to B&N and bought this one in print. I did have this on my nightstand for quite a while before actually grabbing it up. I think I was really NERVOUS, because of how many mixed reviews of this book that there is out there and I just was not wanting to hate a book that I bought in print. But seriously....why oh why did I wait so long to read this because I have three words: It KICKED ASS!! I had so much fun with this book, and I honestly knew that I would because this authors writing always works for me no matter how crazy her stories gets, her writing sucks me right into the story and doesn't let go.

Shadow and Ice isn't an easy book though and its NOT for the faint of heart, and you have to know that its get really brutal and boy this author knows how to kill off people and not easily either. But from the first chapter, I was addicted to this new world that Showalter has created for us and even though it did take two days to read (it is close to 500 pages) so its not a small book, it was highly engaging and keeps your brain and body on the edge all the way through. I think you need to warned beforehand how intense this book can be because if I hadn't known beforehand I might have had a different opinion. But I know this author, and love her writing style. I was captivated by this pair and the world building and the teaser that leads us to the second book and man I want it NOW!!

This story begins with our hero, who is a slave to his king and has to do his bidding. But he has been promised his freedom and the freedom of his people if he wins the third all war he has participated in. He has many tough exteriors, but deep down he has vulnerabilties including losing his daughter because of the all war. He is know at the third All War, which takes place on Terra (aka Earth) and is frozen in time and centuries have gone by. He is discovered by our delightful heroine. Vale and her sister Nola, are celebrating finishing college and accomplishing something no one ever thought that they would. Vale grew up on the streets, going from foster homes and surviving as best as she knew. She is tough and resilient but also loves fiercely. When they go exploring caves, and discover a man frozen in ice, she is drawn to this gorgeous male specimen and wants him in a sexual way even if he is frozen in ice. But then before she knows it, she is pulled into the all war and she and Knox join forces to defeat their enemies and even though she unknowingly becomes a participant, she doesn't know if she can trust Knox not to kill her but what she doesn't realize is that Knox is falling for her just as hard as she is falling for him and they will have to make a difficult choice and who will win and who will die? or will they have the HEA they deserve?

This book is like Hunger Games but for adults. Now I have never read Hunger Games, but I have watched the movies and yeah you won't get me to read those books, I would rather have my teeth extracted. However, this book totally worked for me in many ways. It is heartbreaking though to see certain characters being killed though and seeing all these combatants who at the heart are good immortals, but they each have something to fight for and they are all enslaved to the whims of their masters. So it is heartbreaking at times to read this book because of seeing this horrible situation and seeing some of them FIGHT back against those that are enslaving them.
“Yes. Me. I'm an immortal made for war, and killing is what I do. What I'm good at. I do not live by the same rules as other people, those who do not have to fight to retain their liberties, those who let others do the fighting for them, then scoff at the results."
We see Knox and Vale go through some difficult challenges in this book and seeing them overcome what they face is epic in many ways. Their love story ISNT easy or light hearted and it will rock your core in good ways and bad ways. We see how much they care for each other before they become enemies, and seeing them try to overcome the circumstances to be together is truly what makes this book an incredible experience. There are so many emotional moments that are going to break your heart but you also see the strength these two have together and seeing them fight for each other and for a future full of love and peace is so worth all the pain. Their journey isn't an easy one but unforgettable in many ways. This book will be sticking with me for a long while and I just can't wait for book two because I have a feeling that book is going to be kick ass as well!!

Overall I found Shadow and Ice to be packed with adventure, intensity, brutal at times and poignant in all the right moments.....A TREASURE TO DEVOUR!!

Shadow and Ice

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