Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Shami
Stovall and her new book, “Ethereal Squadron”!
For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click
on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Shami
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Ethereal Squadron
by Shami Stovall
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GENRE: Fantasy
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BLURB:
It’s 1916, and the world is on fire.
The
Great War has already consumed much of the globe, but a second, secret war
between sorcerers threatens to crack it in two. The ruling families of Germany
and Austria-Hungary, those with the chill of magic in their blood, will stop at
nothing in their quest for power, and they’ve drawn the entire world into a
bloody war because of it.
But
Florence Cavell—codename Geist—means to stop them. She had to defy her family,
cut her hair, and disguise herself as a man to join the legendary Ethereal
Squadron: a joint US-UK division of the allied powers’ mightiest sorcerers.
Armed with her powerful specter sorcery, which allows her to “ghost” through
bullets and barbed wire alike, Geist fights a tireless battle to end the war
once and for all.
Fans
of Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, Shadow Ops: Control
Point by Myke Cole, and The Roar by Emma Clayton will love this book.
This book is for anyone who likes reading
about:
Strong
female protagonists
Military
fantasy
Historical
fantasy
World War
I
Adventure
stories
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EXCERPT THREE:
The
clack of the train wheels over the steel rails rang out a consistent ka-kak
rhythm. The incessant noise was muffled by the thick polished redwood walls and
deep green carpeting. Geist relaxed in her reclining chair, amused by the heavy
curtains tied at the side of the train car windows. The posh and gaudy design
reminded her of home.
They
had a car all to themselves. The car behind them was full of socialite
women—debutantes, the lot of them. Although Geist could steal glances of them
through the windows of the cars, sound didn’t penetrate. Instead, she focused
on her team and Victory’s advice.
Get
them talking.
Victory
and Blick shared small talk over a local newspaper. Battery stayed close,
absorbed in organizing and reorganizing his rucksack. Dreamer and Vergess sat
on the opposite side of the car, dead silent.
Even
though discussing strategy had been the original excuse for acquiring the
first-class car, there wasn’t much to discuss. Even Victory’s future sight
couldn’t help them until they got closer to the OHL—and until then, they were
flying blind.
“We
have eight hours until we reach Le Havre,” Geist said. “Let’s use our time
wisely.”
The
others turned to her.
Blick
smiled. “I know exactly what you’re trying say.”
“You
do?”
“Yes.”
“We
need to discuss our experience with the ladies.”
“Wait,
what?” Geist asked. “We don’t need to discuss women.” Anything but that. “But I
was going to suggest we get to know each other a little more by—”
“Nothing
is more revealing than how you handle yourself with the fairer sex,” Blick
interjected with a snap of his fingers. “As veteran soldiers, it’s our sworn
duty to teach new recruits how.” Blick raised an eyebrow and swirled an
imaginary wine glass, speaking with all the class and sophistication he could
muster.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY BOOK REVIEW:
This book was a captivating, entertaining, historical and
fantasy adventure read!
I was very intrigued to find a book filled with historical and
fantasy content on the same page. This
definitely made the book thought-provoking, compelling, and fascinating!
One
of the best features of this book is the significant amount of accurate,
intriguing World War I time-period detail that the author weaved into this book. It is no wonder Ms. Stovall has a degree in
history and is well-versed in the culture and customs that she was able to provide
such cohesive knowledge and references in her writing.
I love books with strong female leads and I
would have to say that this book fits that bill. The main character, Florence, leaves home to
join the Ethereal Squad and fight in the war.
Unfortunately, they, like as it was back then, only accepted men enlistees. So, Florence changes her name to Geist and
her appearance to reflect a man. Only
the team’s doctor, who is also a woman, knows her secret identity. Geist clearly defines a strong female lead as
she is fierce, powerful, and determined while she continues to fight in these
intense, violent battles trying to end the war once and for all.
I was
also intrigued by the author’s world-building and the creation of the magical abilities
structure, like how the bloodlines worked by passing down abilities, and so on. I felt the author did a skillful job at
making sure all her bases were covered and that everything seemed to sync
up. Although this was a fantasy-based
genre, for every out-there scenario the author seemed to have a way to explain
her reasoning, how it was possible, or how it came about. This is a huge factor for me with fantasy
books. I need to be told why the sky is
purple instead of the sky is purple period.
This made the world-building that much stronger and easier to follow.
I
really enjoyed the exciting, adventurous, kick-butt, magical, fighting scenes! They were entertaining and spellbinding! There was a lot going on during those scenes
and some moments were a bit dark, but shockingly at times it was hard to look
away. I think the end of the real WWI might
have turned out differently had there been sorcerers and magic involved and we
all could be speaking a different language lol!!
There are some predictable scenes. However, there are still a few very
unexpected twists and turns that you won’t see coming!
This book is book one of The Sorcerers of Verdun Book Series. This book can absolutely be read as a
standalone.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would
absolutely recommend it! I think all historical,
fantasy readers will like this book too!
So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be
disappointed!
If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R3BWMFYOCIQ5G7
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AUTHOR BIO:
Shami Stovall relies
on her BA in History and Juris Doctorate to make her living as an author and
history professor in the central valley of California. She writes in a wide
range of fiction, from crime thrillers to fantasy to science-fiction. Stovall
loves reading, playing video games, entertaining others with stories, and
writing about herself in the third person.
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CONNECT WITH SHAMI:
Website:
Blog:
Newsletter:
Email:
s.adelle.s@gmail.com
Facebook:
Twitter:
BookBub Author Page:
BookBub Book Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Shami will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Shami ~ Good morning! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I really enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)
ReplyDeleteAlly - Thank you so much for hosting! I really appreciate you taking the time to read and review my novel! :3
DeleteWould you ever like to see your book turned into a movie?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your book with us. I think we all enjoy hearing about new books we previously didn't know about. Also, thank you for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteWhich book would you like to see a sequel to?
ReplyDeleteWhat books are you looking forward to reading in 2019?
ReplyDeleteI just love your cover.
ReplyDelete