This book really blew my mind. I'm a huge fan of action packed books, and this one was full of it. I'm also a romance junky, and this book was full of sexual tention between the two characters. I adored every moment of this book, and I NEEEED more!

Gena Showalter really impressed me with SHADOW AND ICE, the first book in her Gods of War series. I say this because I didn't much like her Lords of the Underworld series, and this just goes to prove that readers shouldn't write an author off based on a book or two. Also, authors improve with age…er, I mean, with the number of books written and published.

First of all, the concept of the entire story/series astounded me. Where oh where did Ms. Showalter get such ideas? I'd so love to pick her brain. Anyway, the gist of the story is that there are these combatants from different realms fighting to the death for their king/queen for possession of this newly discovered realm--Terra or Earth. I love how, even though some of the combatants didn't make it past the first or second chapter, Ms. Showalter gave each one of them distinct and unique characteristics whether it's the realm where they come from, their weapon or natural ability. Everyone stands out to some degree, and it is this, including the incredible hero and heroine, that fleshed out the story, making everything seem three-dimensional and larger than life. Also, I've got the feeling that what we've seen so far is only the tip of the iceberg and there's more that the author hasn't revealed about each realm, the enforcers and especially the High Council.

Vale is simply wonderful, strong and badass with a core of vulnerability due to insecurities cultivated by her past. Meanwhile, Knox has the body of a Greek god, is a sexpot and more, as described by Vale, and originally, he's cold as ice with nothing in his heart but revenge, but he also couldn't help but be attracted to Vale and slowly come to develop feelings for her. Knox's growth over the course of the book is delightful to read, although toward the end, the two of them are so mushy I actually rushed through that part. Although maybe it's understandable, as they had literally been through life and death to be with each other.

I seriously cannot wait to see how the series will go. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

***Note: This is the review by Ashia

While it has been a while since I have read anything by Showalter, I was excited to see a new series by her and was really looking forward to learning about the world that she would build for this story. I just couldn't though. It did not hold my interest and I struggled to finish it. Maybe it had just been too long since I had read her and the premise just wasn't my cup of tea. That being said, it doesn't mean I will not read something else by her. She is a good writer.

This was a stunning and beautiful read, I couldn’t be more happy with every event and character development I read in this new title. I’ve persobally been forever in love with Showalters storytelling techniques and charters, this was another one of her amazing five star reads and now I can’t wait to devour her new titles from this upcoming series.

An evil Council made up of leaders from several warring planets finds new lands and stages an All War, wherein one chosen warrior from their homeland competes to win the new land for his or her ruler. Knox of Iviland has won 4 All Wars to date. His ruler has promised if he wins 5 his slave bands will be removed and he’ll be free. Knox is skeptical that his ruler will truly go through with removing the bands – when he’s wearing them he can’t refuse a direct order from his King – but he has to try so he can exact revenge for the loss of his greatest love.

Vale and her sister are on an Arctic Adventure when they stumble up on a cave filled with life-like statues frozen in ice. Fascinated, they started exploring until the ice unexpectedly melted and the statues came to life.

Casee: I hate to say it because I love Gena Showalter, but I was not a huge fan of this book. I had an extraordinarily hard time getting into it. It only took me a day and a half to read it, but I had to force myself to continue it. It was just a disappointment because I love GS and because this is the start to a new series.

What did you two think?

Holly: Like you, I had a really hard time getting into it. It took me almost 3 days to read. The pacing during the first half of the book was really slow. I liked the premise a lot. The prologue really drew me in. But the next 15 or so chapters were bogged down with a lot of nothing.

Rowena: I was really bored with this one. For too long, I was waiting for something to happen and because I could not connect with any of the characters, even when things started to happen, I was kind of over it and just reading it to finish. I think because it took over half of the book to pick up, and it took me about three days to get to the part where things got interesting, I was a lost cause.

Casee: I really liked the premise too. I found it to be very interesting. Then I realized that it was very similar to Kresley Cole’s Immortal After Dark series where immortals are fighting to the death. After that, I skimmed until something interesting started happening.

What did you think of the characters?

Holly: Vale drove me crazy. Right from the beginning she made all the questionable decisions and acted in a way I didn’t understand. As the book went on I thought she got better, but in the beginning I really struggled with her. I liked Knox a lot more. He was ruthless and cold, but I understood why he had to be that way. I’m curious about some of the secondary characters, but the majority of the book was focused on Vale and Knox, so I’m not as interested as I could have been, if that makes sense.

Rowena: This is the first book that I read by Showalter and at first Knox’s cold attitude turned me off but as the book continued, my feelings toward him changed. I liked the growth we saw in his character and my heart for what his life had become. For all that he lost.

Like Holly, Vale was annoying to me too. Oy.

Casee: I really liked Vale at first. It was after that thing happened that she really became almost unbearable to me.

I agree with Rowena about Knox’s cold attitude. It was hard to deal with. In my mind I kept comparing it to her Lords of the Underworld series and it just fell short. One character that interested me was Erik the Viking.

I feel bad that it was your first time reading Gena Showalter. If it was mine, I doubt I would try another one of her books.

Holly: I think she was unbearable right from the start. Well, from the second she found the ice cave anyway.

I didn’t read the Lords of the Underworld series, so I can’t speak to how it compares, but his attitude was hard to take in the beginning. I warmed up to him, though.

I’m mildly curious about Erik, but he seems like a villain rather than a good guy. I wish we’d gotten more information about the other warriors. The bits and pieces weren’t enough to make me excited for the rest of the series.

Casee: Bottom line, the book was boring af. I really don’t intend to read the rest of the series as it comes out but you know me.

Holly: Thinking about the book the past couple days, I am kind of interested in seeing what happens in the next book. I want to know what’s going on between Vale’s sister and the two other guys, and I want to know what’s going to happen with the All War. But I might let one of you read it first.

I’m giving this a 3 out of 5.

Casee: I forgot about her sister. That is a book that I would read.

I am giving it a 3 out of 5.

Rowena: I’m curious about her sister and why she ended up with the one guy and not the original guy that took her. But aside from that story, I’m just not moved to read anything else. shrugs

For me, this was a 2.5 out of 5. I did enjoy the second half of the book more than the first half and I did sympathize with Knox and want him to find a way to be free but outside of that, I thought the romance was lacking, the world was too gloom and doom without being tough, I just felt that all of those warriors were silly. I do enjoy these kinds of books but this one just missed me with a lot of stuff.

Final Grades

Casee: 3 out of 5
Holly: 3 out of 5
Rowena: 2.5 out of 5

Good read! I think PNR lovers will really enjoy this one. Lots of action & banter between the characters. Look forward to the supporting characters books.

I was excited to get started on a new series by Gena Showalter. One of my favorite authors. Shadow and Ice is book one in the Gods of War series. I was torn on my opinion of this book. There was a lot of world building which was definitely needed. I found there were a lot of characters to keep track of, all with different powers and abilities.

Despite there being so many characters, we are to focus on Vale and Knox. All the others are either allies, potential enemies or true enemies. While reading, I found I was focused most on the relationship between our two main characters and all the peripheral activity was just points where I would have to pause. Whenever Vale and Knox had to come across others, I had to struggle to place the character as well as what they were capable of. It really caused a slow down in my reading of the book.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Vale and Knox. Vale made such an impact on Knox. Her wit and survival skills showed Knox a different way to look at the realm he is on as well as the other combatants. The couple really built something that I became invested in. There were emotional moments that really hit me. Their relationship was my main focus of the story.

I believe I had book one syndrome with Shadow and Ice. There was a lot of world and character building that I needed to wrap my head around. By the end of the book, enough of the characters were eliminated that it was starting to clear up a bit for me. We definitely see the path of the next book, both in the world and with a potential relationship. What worries me is the upcoming joining of two other armies that were sent for the All War. That is going to bring a whole new slew of characters we’ll have to get to know. It brings the potential of a very long series, but it also promises a lot of little facts we’ll have to keep straight.

We are left with an HEA for our couple, but the world and the struggles that our main couple will face are left wide open. I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of Vale and Knox as the series moves on. I got the HEA and romance that I wanted with the kind of spunky characters I expect from Gena Showalter, but was left with a bit of uncertainty on the world. I hope that book two will help me understand a bit more of what parts of the world are what I need to focus on.

Ms. Showalter has been a long time favorite and I couldn't wait to read this book in a new and exciting series from her. While I've read a lot of fabulous reviews on this book from other reviewers for some reason I couldn't get on board with the story line or the characters.

I ended up reading the story in bits and pieces by dipping into different sections of the book but it does not look like this is going to be a series that I'm going to be able to embrace.

This is first book by Gena Showalter I have read and it wont be my last. She has a way with words, a way that slowly draws you into the story then gets hooked.
I do have to say that it took me ages to get into the story because of it being a new series, with a brand new world, so there was a lot of world building going on. But once I got past it I has hooked.
After finishing the book I was still slightly confused with some of the characters. I got who most of them were and their abilities but some of the distant ones confused me. But hopefully that will become clearer with the ongoing books.
I have to say I LOVED Knox, he's all alpha, sexy god. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
I also loved Vale, she's the kind of female characters I love to read about. She's strong and over comes everything that comes her way. She was also really funny, with her witty comebacks. I loved their chemistry and not just the sexual chemistry. They clicked on more then a sexual level, the were able to joke with each other as well, well when they weren't at each others throats lol I lived for their interactions and I really enjoyed their fighting scenes together.
The story kept me on the edge of my seat for the most part and I loved where the author was taking it. There were some twists and turns thrown in.
I can't wait for more of this series!

The Story in 4 Sentences or Less: Enslaved as a child for his shadow controlling abilities, Knox of Iviland has spent his life fighting in the All Wars, a fight to the death competition to claim new realms for their masters. While battling for the right to claim Earth, every combatant is imprisoned in ice by a powerful weapon and centuries pass until Vale London walks in, finds ancient gods escaping an ice cave, and becomes their target because she inadvertently entered their war. Technically she’s Knox’s enemy but his fierce need to protect her overrides what he should do. But he can’t have his freedom AND Vale.




Like It? Hate it? Love it? Why? On the one hand, I’m so glad that Gena Showalter is writing a new paranormal series. It really is her strength. But on the other, Shadow and Ice had A LOT going on. Like, massive amounts of info was dumped on me throughout the whole book and it had my head spinning. I get that this is the first book in a new series and that it has a daunting task of establishing a believable world, mythology, and characters but man there are a lot of characters here and I honestly couldn’t keep up. Combine that with a significant amount of inner monologue from Knox and Vale, and characters who I felt were just brought in to die gory deaths and Shadow and Ice becomes pretty overwhelming pretty quick.

I’m not saying the book was a total fail though, it’s a fascinating set up, gods who use their unwilling slaves to battle to the death in order for said gods to claim realms? It’s like the movie Gladiator got together with Clash of the Titans and went on a drunken bender. There’s battles, death, blood, glory, and sexy times. Lots of sexy times. At the end of it all I felt like there was too much extra and not enough time spend establishing a connection between Knox and Vale and between them and the reader. I found that while I liked them, I wasn’t necessarily invested in their journey because they were two characters against a backdrop of many secondary characters. I need to spend time with just the main characters, learn about them, bond with them as a reader and there was too much chaos for that to happen. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the premise, I just think there could have been a better balance between setting up the series, and telling Knox and Vale’s story.


However, I am invested in this series and hope that the second book does a better job of separating the main characters from the rest of the bigger plot and gives readers a fair shot at getting to know them.


Click It or Skip It? Click It. There’s an info dump through most of the book but it isn’t a total lost cause. It’s great that Showalter is back in the PNR game and I am loyal enough to try again with book 2.

A brand new series from Gena, and I have to say I really enjoyed it!! An epic fantasy adventure mixed with sci-fi / paranormal / horror / mythology - there's a lot of world building, a lot of characters and a lot to take in, but that's to be expected with a new series like this one, but once I got into the story I was sucked right in and really enjoyed it.

Earth had become the latest target for the High Council to try and claim and take over in the All War, where different planets from the universe / different dimensions get to send in one combatant to represent that world. Each combatant has innate skills but are only allowed to take one item with them. The idea is a fight to the death, the winner getting Earth and its commodities for the winning ruler of that planet. Knox is from Iviland and is enslaved by its King to do his biding, like other competitors if they fail in the All War they not only die but their family is put to death also, ensuring the combatants will fight to the death. Knox is a 4 time winner of the All War already and knows what to expect as a rule, except he didn't expect to be frozen in the ice along with the other combatants and left there for hundreds of years!!

Vale is the heroine, who along with her sister stumbles on the frozen cave where the combatants are, unbeknownst to her of what they've stumbled upon, until the ice cracks and they are set free. She unwittingly manages to kill one of the combatants and ends up taking her place in the All War and becoming an immortal. She must now fight as one of them.

Knox when he is released from the ice is absolutely drawn to Vale in a way he has never felt in his entire life, nothing matters but the fight and winning, until Vale comes along. Their chemistry is outstanding, its very powerful throughout the story as their relationship evolves, but its not insta-love, its an evolving animal along with the bickering and fighting and pushing of buttons!! I loved how Knox starts feeling a whole range of emotions, something he is completely clueless about when he meets Vale but she brings something out of him and he has to learn how to handle these unknown feelings. Vale is a strong and sassy character, not used to having a family except for her sister who she would do anything for, again something that is alien to Knox. She has to teach him all the things about the modern age and how this could help with the All War, except she is now one of the players, and there can be only one winner!!

A really good start to this series, there is a lot going on but the story is well written and its exciting with lots happening, its quite bloody and gory in places also so be warned. I really enjoy a good and different PNR read, for me this has the makings of an excellent series and I can't wait to read more.

Knox of Iviland has been forced to participate in the All Wars ever since his cruel king found out he had the ability to control shadows. Bound as a slave, he does his ruler's biding without questions. But times are about to change. As soon as he wins the war of Terra aka Earth, he'll destroy his king and finally gain true freedom.

Vale London only wanted an arctic vacation with her foster sister before they settled down and opened their own bakery. What she got was a cave full of ancient immortal warriors and suddenly she is a part of their All Wars. With more than a dozen deathly immortals after her life she has no other option to fight back.

As a first time Gena Showalter reader I am in awe of and frankly in love with Gena's writing. The world she created in this story is spectacular and I can't stop wanting more of it.

Vale is one of my most favourite female leads. She is strong, funny, smart as a whip and lord she is an absolute icon because of the way she loves her sister. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better heroine. She took her role of a fighter so readily and I KNOW she was born to fight and win this war.

Knox, my sweet sweet killer. I love him so much and he is too precious for this and every other realm. His reactions to Vale?? PERFECT AF PURE GOLD! He can kill an immortal in the blink of an eye but he is also so easily vulnerable when it comes to Vale. This duality of his made my heart full of rainbows.

I cannot wait to read more about this universe. I NEED MORE specially more about hulkish Bane. He just seems like someone who could easily kill me and I dig that.

La storia, di per sé, è piuttosto originale. Pescando qua e là da varie mitologie, soprattutto quella norrena, la Showalter crea un multiverso in cui gli antichi dèi sono, in realtà, immortali provenienti da altri piani dimensionali - non alieni - che si trovano sulla Terra per combattere una battaglia e decidere a quale popolo ne spetterà la conquista. Tra questi guerrieri c'è anche Knox, il protagonista maschile.
La narrazione, in seguito ad un evento particolare, si sposta poi nell'era contemporanea dove entra in gioco Vale, la nostra co-protagonista.

I due personaggi principali mi sono piaciuti molto. Sì, non sono niente di mai visto, ma mi è piaciuto come l'autrice sia riuscita a farli incontrare a metà strada delle loro personalità.
Altra cosa super positiva sono i riferimenti alla cultura popolare odierna e lo scambio di battute fra Vale e Knox che quest'ultimo si ritrova a non capire perché, porello, ha passato due millenni sotto ghiaccio e non ha proprio idea di chi possa essere un Dothraki.

A livello di intreccio sono rimasta sorpresa. Essendo un paranormal romance mi aspettavo un sacco di scene hot e poca sostanza, invece ci sono tantissime scene di azione - combattimenti corpo a corpo e con le armi -, c'è un sacco di sangue, di organi esposti e teste mozzate. C'è anche una certa vena di romanticismo a cui sono abbinate scene di una tenerezza che non ci si aspetta e a cui fanno da contorno le famose scene hot che, ad un certo punto, mi chiedevo dove fossero.

Tra l'altro, ci sono pure rimasta male perché pur sapendo che si tratta di una serie, sapevo anche che il libro successivo parlerà di una coppia diversa, quindi mi aspettavo una certa piega per la storia di base (quella che non ha a che fare con la coppia) e invece cliffhanger. CLIFFHANGER.

Il libro mi è evidentemente piaciuto, però non sono riuscita ad apprezzarlo. Non so se l'ostacolo è stata la difficoltà della lingua (livello medio) o se semplicemente non era il momento per leggerlo, però mi ha lasciato poco, non mi sono affezionata. Beh, non ai protagonisti, però voglio sapere degli altri tre che ho conosciuto, perciò, per il momento, resta un titoli in bilico.

I’ll start by saying I absolutely loved Gena Showalter’s Lord of the Underworld series! Shadow and Ice is Showalter’s new series, and seems to have a similar feel to LotU. The relationship that seems impossible, the strong female lead, and the ridiculously protective male. There are also a lot of current references, which are comical because Knox, being from another time and world, just doesn’t get them. All that being said, for me, this book fell short compared to the Lord of the Underworld series. But I think that it’s really just a personal preference thing, and that romance/fantasy readers will like this book. And I love the idea behind series, so I’ll definitely check out the next book!

Vale and her sister take a trip and end up in a cave. The cave has ancient Gods escaping and targeting her. Knox is one of the Gods and considers Vale his enemy. He still wants to protect her and feels lust. This is the first book in a new series.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and am leaving a review.

This is the first in Gena Showalter’s Gods of War series. It has given me hope for a resurgence of paranormal romance. The world, although complex especially at first, is innovative and unique. Immortal warriors (and maybe a token human) compete in an “All War” to win for their dimension ruler (who in exchange for them winning in a Hunger Games-style scenario with only one winner who kills everyone else will release the winner’s family...and if they lose said family dies). This complexity necessitated so so much description in the first chapters. It took a few chapters to catch on and get the hang of this world. Although, just when I thought I understood, the rules would subtly shift. If you persevere there’s enough gore, fighting, power struggles, steamy sexy times and egos to keep the story hopping. If you’re not into explicit gory details of fights, then this isn’t the one for you. I found the author’s descriptions of such scenes masterful and much like a train wreck you don’t want to watch but can seem to stop staring.

Then the characters...Knox and Vale. Each interesting with characterizations that were rich but sometimes conflicting in goals and objectives. When they first met I felt her being into him—like almost crazy into him even though she didn’t want to be. Yet, we didn’t get any information he had enthrallment magic. So, I tried to figure out why she would be so needy for this guy after he abducts her to his alternate dimension secret hidey-hole after a bloody, terrifying battle (not even abducted to “save” her but because he thinks he can use her for something). And, she was upset that her sister had been taken by a different warrior. Yet, she was almost instantly miss hot-to-get-naked with him. That had moments that came off awkward, although the heat between the characters literally steams off the page. Knox seemed to toy with her crush on him at first, but didn't seem that into her (his interest did develop which was necessary to the story but not right away). Now, Vale wasn’t a pushover and that I adored about the character. She’s mouthy and sometimes badass. We do learn to understand how Knox became consciously isolated and hard after centuries of battles.
Interesting and fascinating start to a new series.

I have given this one star and that is only because I managed to finish the entire story.

I have long heard so many wonderful things about Gena Showalter that when it was announced she was starting a new series, I knew I just had to read it.

It has a rather interesting blurb that pulls you in but for me, the story never actually delivered.

I had such high hopes for this story and there was so much potential but it just never seemed to get off the ground. There were too many characters with too much going on that I was often left a bit
confused and couldn't seem to connect with the story. The story itself seemed to be all over the place and the world building left much to be desired. The characters were all a bit too much and I had a hard time believing Knox and Vale's relationship, their chemistry was forced and I found myself eventually skimming much of their interactions, in particular their sexy scenes.

I really wanted to love it, I really did but it just didn't float my boat.

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.

Shadow & Ice opens at the start of an epic All War, a sort of multiplayer killing spree held among the gods with unsuspecting worlds the eventual reward. Amid the mayhem, Knox, four-time All War victor, kidnaps Vale and spends the rest of the book alternating between wanting to kill her or having her in his bed. Vale is all sassy heroine, while Knox fills the alpha male anti-hero role to bursting.

The story offers an interesting take on the enemies-to-lovers trope, but there’s a lot of info-dumping to support the immense world building. It’s easy to get lost in the numerous cast of characters who seem to meet their demise shortly after they’re introduced. The uneven pace shifts from either blood-soaked action scenes with violent dismemberment to slow-moving sexy time with not much happening in-between. All combined, it asks a lot of the reader’s patience to hang in there with not much reward at the end. Fans of Showalter’s books may want to give it a go (or a pass), but this is a tough entry for anyone.

I tried hard to like this book but unfortunately it never happened.For some reason I couldn't connect to the story even though I liked the characters.Hope everyone love it more than me.I'm sure the next book will be much better !