I loved the way the writer handled the romance between the characters. The approach is different from everything I have read so far. Looking forward to reading the second book of this wonderful adventure.. The LGBTQ characters have brought more color to the story. The LGBTQ universe was normalized in the narrative. Amazing world-building.Could not put this book down, I read it in one sitting.

This is a fun high fantasy that I wish had been around when I was growing up. LGBTQ relationships are normalized and I really loved that. The book was beautifully written. Every word is so well-picked and sets a perfect mood that lets you fall into the world. It is book two in a series. I will be going back to read book one, I would happily spend more time in this world. This had everything I wanted in a book: magic, ghosts, murder, pirates, and a great romance. This book is so worth reading. I loved everything about it. I really hope it does well. As always, thanks to NetGally for this great ARC opportunity.

Have you ever wondered what would happen in the Pirates of the Caribbean had mages and dark magic? Shepherd of Souls is the answer to that question. It follows the story of Etienne D'Etoiles, a mage with a vaguely mysterious and largely fascinating past of fighting gods and magical quests, as he embarks on what might be the hardest and most fulfilling quest of his life.
It all begins when he agrees to help a lost spirit.
Things quickly spiral out of his control and he finds himself falling fast, being a wanted criminal, and in a larger mess than he expected.

I loved the characters in this story and the relationships they develop with each other are incredibly well done. I was squealing with delight half the time and the other half I was breathlessly waiting for them to figure out who the villain was. I had figured it out quite quickly, but in my personal opinion, it only added to the drama of the whole work, since none of the characters knew what I did and I yelled at them through my tablet screen to stop being so dense.

Magic, great LGBTQIA+ rep, PIRATES and ghosts. I’m so glad I picked up this book and can’t wait for the next one. I haven't read the previous series but will definitely be going back and giving them a go.

Thanks to NetGalley and L&S Fables for a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Shepherd of Souls
By: Liv Savell, Sterling D’Este
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I had never heard of this series before I started reading it, and have never read the prequel series that was written before this, but I still loved this book.
The writing was beautiful, the world building was descriptive and easy to learn, and I loved the magic. This is the best high fantasy I’ve read this year.
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Etienne is a Mage that was given a tattoo of silence when he learned too much about blood magic in his schooling.
During one of his travels he finds the spirit of a distraught noblewoman named Zuri. He promises to try and help her find her body when she convinces him that she is not dead.
When they set off together to find Zuri’s body, Etienne is captured by Pirates and forced to help the Pirate Queen solve why her men are disappearing.
Can Zuri and Etienne find Zuri’s body and stop the disappearance of so many others with Ryou, their pirate overseer watching their every move?
☽
Anyone who likes High Fantasy should read this.
The love scenes are Fade to black but there are gay romances and a trans God.
Check Trigger warnings as there is violence, gore, and mentions of rape and murder.
I received a free copy of this book from @netgalley for an honest review.
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Rating: 4.5/5
Smut: 0/5
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Thanks, Netgalley, and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
All in all very intriguing read. I need to read the first series because this book is the first of the second series following the vents of the first. Interesting main trio and supporting cast. I liked the narrative style. But I really need to read the first series so I can get a better sense of world-building because something is always lacking when you haven't followed from the very beginning.

DNF 45%
It started out ok, a little slow plot wise but interesting enough characters. The writing was not my favorite but I kept reading because I was interested to see where the romance and plot went. As I got closer to the half way mark I was loosing momentum and any interest I had previously in this book was fizzling out. The romance was developing in a way I found unsatisfying and the plot itself was becoming more muddled and it was hard to discern what was going on. Don’t think i’ll be finishing this one.

it was an exciting and overwhelming and beautiful read. the story is really good and I really liked the ending. it's a good book that I would gladly recommend.

Rating 3.5 stars

Etienne is a mage on his way to visit his sister. He stops in Port Carcarac in an attempt to do some odd jobs for money to continue his journey. Here he meets the spirit of a young noble lady, Zuri, who unfortunately doesn't want to believe she is dead. In an attempt to help her Etienne is thrown into a mystery involving dark magic, missing people, the walking dead, and pirates. In Fact the Queen of pirates has decided that Etienne is to find out what had happened to her people, who have gone missing by boatloads. She sends her most loyal pirate Ryou to help Etienne find her missing people. Now it's up to Etienne, Ryou, and Zuri to unravel the mystery.

This is the first of a new series that is set 15 years after the Calamity series. I had not read those books but it didn't really detract from the story for me. There were some parts that seemed to reference the older series but they weren’t important enough that your knowledge, or lack thereof, of those events affected this book. I feel like if I had read the previous series I would have been more informed of the world, the old and new gods, and maybe even the mage school Moxous more. But on the other hand my lack of knowledge didn't make the book any harder to read and enjoy. It did end on a major cliffhanger though so I'm definitely gonna need to read the next one to see how the trio’s story ends.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of Shepherd of Souls by Live Savell and Sterling D'Este. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and L&S Fables for providing an ARC to review.

Shepherd of Souls was an impulse read for me, having known nothing about the authors or their previous work. Thank goodness I did because this book was so enjoyable. The writing style drew me in, and the characters kept me invested. While I had guessed the bad guy early on, it didn't at all detract from my enjoyment of the three main character's journey. Shepherd of Souls was a refreshing read and I give it a solid 4.5/5 stars.

Honestly, this wasn't for me and I had to DNF it at about 35%. Giving it 3* because I didn't read enough to really know if I hated it or if it got better. The writing style and pacing just put me off. Really interesting plot and world though.

This book just wasn't for me so I'm not going to give it a review as I ended up DNFing it and don't believe in giving reviews to books I didn't finish.

(I wasn't able to access the Downloadable file provided by Netgalley so I read this book via Kindle Unlimited)

When I found out this book is a spinoff of another series, I was worried I wouldn't understand the characters / world in Shepherd of Souls but that wasn't a problem at all! I really enjoyed this story. My only complaint is the "villain" was a bit obvious; I couldn't understand why it took Etienne and Zuri so long to figure it out.

Holy shit this was so good.

I had no idea this was a companion/sequel series to another series from the author, which is the thid time it has happened to me so I should probably start checking. But I'm so happy I requested it, because it was such an enjoyable read. I loved the characters, specially Etienne, and the romance. There were so many moments that had me holding my breath, bc the good writing really helped make the scenes engaging (I was going to say realistic in the sense that I felt like I was right there but I feel like it's not the right word lol). I'm going to be thinking about that ending for a few days now, I can't wait for book 2.

The authors have brilliantly constructed a thrilling, often hilarious, and charming voyage through the mythical world. Etienne is now 15 years older than he was in the Calamity books timeframe. In this volume, you get to see his actual self more clearly, and the extra characters of Zuri and Ryou only add to the plot. Throughout the first half of the book, Zuri will have you laughing nonstop! Ryou is a character who you will both like and dislike. However, the three of them team together to take you on another exciting and difficult "hunt" for...... There aren't any spoilers here. Read the book for yourself! It is totally worth the effort!