Fabulous and Brunette: The Nexus Games by Shami Stovall - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway

Hey, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Shami Stovall and her new book, “The Nexus Games,” here on FAB!! 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!!

The Nexus Games

by Shami Stovall

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GENRE: Fantasy

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BLURB:

Special Forces Soldier Alex Kellan has three problems. He’s on forced medical leave, he’s alone on Christmas, and two men are actively stalking his every step.

Things get worse when Kellan wakes up in a twisted world where people have magical abilities and high-tech weaponry. It turns out, Kellan’s stalkers want him to participate in a deadly competition—whether or not Kellan agrees.

Forced to compete in the infamous Nexus Games, Kellan must risk everything to survive the competition and save the other members of his ragtag team. Their new motto quickly becomes: Situation Normal: All Fouled Up.

A litRPG thriller with high-tech magic, set in a game for the ultimate prize.

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EXCERPT ONE:

Alex Kellan wasn’t the type of person who stalkers typically targeted. He carried a loaded .45 handgun in his shoulder holster and regularly bench-pressed two hundred pounds. Most thugs could do the math—he wasn’t worth the inevitable hospital bill.

Yet, for some unknown reason, a pair of men had been following Kellan wherever he went. For the last four days, his stalkers had watched his every movement from the safety of distant shadows. But each day they grew a little bolder. Each day they moved a little closer.

Curiosity was getting the better of Kellan. He had called in the suspicious behavior, and his contacts were investigating, but there wasn’t much to go on.

Kellan took a swig of beer, content, for the moment, with the seedy bar atmosphere. Nino’s Place was a rinky-dink location stuck between a Japanese restaurant and a UPS store, both of which had been closed for years.

Despite the grit and grime, there were four others seated around the establishment. One man, heavy set and bearded, sat with a trucker’s posture. Another man, his hair silver and his naked ring finger permanently indented, likely drank to escape the memories that lingered.

Two others sat in the corner booth, hidden by the shadows of a burnt-out light, as silent as the broken jukebox.

There they were. Kellan’s stalkers.

He decided he’d wait them out. Perhaps once he stepped outside, he could get a word with them.

A bartender walked over and offered Kellan a quizzical lift of her eyebrow. All the hair on her head had been dyed dark purple—a flashy statement that didn’t match the woman’s plain black shirt and unassuming jeans.

“It’s Christmas Eve, ya know,” she said.

“Seriously?” Kellan replied. He finished his beer with one last swig. “Huh. That explains the holiday music on the radio.”

Obviously unimpressed by the sarcasm, the bartender frowned. “Don’t get cute. Shouldn’t you be with family? What’s someone like you doing in Nino’s Place?”

“Clearly, I’m here for the company,” Kellan quipped.

The trucker belched.

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MY BOOK REVIEW:

This book is an intriguing, thrilling, suspenseful, and entertaining read!!

A brilliant start to a promising new book series!!

This is the fourth book that I have had the pleasure and privilege of reading and reviewing from Shami Stovall. When I saw she had an exciting new book series out I pounced on the opportunity to read and review Book One, “The Nexus Games,” and it did not disappoint!!

While some of this book’s story lines and themes reminded me of familiar favorites like the Hunger Games, Ready Player One, Nerve, Dungeons and Dragons, and the new Jumanji’s, Stovall cleverly placed her own spin on these fantasy masterpieces, creating a refreshingly new and uniquely tailored concept.

This book follows the main character, Kellan, a Special Forces war hero who has been recently and reluctantly placed on mandatory leave. Kellan is still recovering from a traumatic incident in Syria, three months ago, where Kellan lost his two best friends and fellow Delta Force teammates, which then was quickly followed up by reoccurring nightmares while he cycled through the five stages of grief, further putting him in an “at-risk,” category and in need of a time-out to avoid an impending mental break. Kellan comes across as a stubborn, sarcastic, paranoid, heartbroken, damaged, emotionally distant solider who is still healing physically, mentally, and emotionally. While his persona seems pretty straightforward, his character does grow by portraying compassionate, caring, honorable, and chivalrous acts as he displays these redeeming qualities over the course of the book.

While I did enjoy this book, I was a bit disappointed by the slower paced, drawn-out beginning. It’s not until you’re almost halfway through the book do the games begin and the excitement factor really kicks off. Of course, I understand, this is a fantasy book, which requires an extensive amount of worldbuilding details to be established and promptly implemented into the story. Plus, then there’s characters to introduce, mythical creatures to unveil, supernatural powers and abilities to divulge, protocols and formalities to disclose, and a whole slew of new terms to be defined. While all of this is absolutely needed to give readers a clear understanding of this alternative world; I just felt that maybe a few of the more overly detailed (and occasionally repetitive) passages could be cut down a bit to reach a more suitable balance between the worldbuilding and an infodump.

Regardless, having said that, one thing that I always love about Stovall’s books, including this one, is the author’s ability to create exceptionally strong worldbuilding elements that capture the reader’s imagination and keeps them fully immersed in the story. Stovall knows it’s the little things that can make or break a successful worldbuilding scene as plot holes, inconsistencies, and neglected fundamentals are sure to leave a reader confused and frustrated. So, I truly appreciate the author consistently going above and beyond to make sure her worldbuilding is complex, but understandable; approachable, but unique; and thoroughly complete.

This book certainly falls on the longer side as it is spans 56 chapters across 591 eBook pages!!! It’s been a while since I’ve read such a lengthy book and while it did keep my attention for the most part, this book had to be broken up into multiple reading sessions due to the extensive amount of time needed to finish this book.

This book is Book One of Stovall’s new Book Series, “The Nexus Games.” I can’t advise this book to be read as a stand-alone, because I think the reader would be quite disappointed as this book ends with a huge cliffhanger and more questions than answers. Honestly, this book is more of an introduction and set up for book two. So, I would definitely recommend that you’re going to want to commit to reading the whole series so you can actually enjoy the complete experience and hopefully have a satisfying series ending. However, I’m not quite sure about the book two details as the author’s information in Book One and Goodreads have conflicting info. Book Two, “The Nexus Knight,” as listed on Goodreads is scheduled to be released June 28^th, 2022; while Book Two, “The Void Knight,” as listed at the end of Book One, is set to be released soon. Regardless, of the title, Book Two sounds like an exciting follow-up and I look forward to checking it out!!

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it!! I think all fantasy, adventure, gaming, and sci-fi book fans – especially readers that fall into the YA, NA, and adult fiction genres will like this book too!! So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be disappointed!!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**

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AUTHOR BIO:

Shami Stovall is a multi-award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction. Before that, she taught history and criminal law at the college level, and loved every second. When she’s not reading fascinating articles and books about ancient China or the Byzantine Empire, Stovall can be found playing way too many video games, especially RPGs and tactics simulators, or hugging John.

If you want to contact her, you can do so at the following locations listed below.

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CONNECT WITH SHAMI:

Website:

https://sastovallauthor.com

Newsletter:

https://sastovallauthor.com/newsletter

Email:

s.adelle.s@gmail.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SAStovall

Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/GameOverStation

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/shami-stovall

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-nexus-games-a-litrpg-thriller-adventure-by-shami-stovall

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18665934.Shami_Stovall

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60405008-the-nexus-games

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/2PDNhm4

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3LWbxMD

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/39QRRM9

Amazon US Audiobook:

https://amzn.to/3P6JxaW

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Nexus-Games-litRPG-Thriller-Adventure-ebook/dp/B09NY9FKSJ

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Nexus-Games-litRPG-Thriller-Adventure/dp/1957613041

Amazon CA Audiobook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Audible-The-Nexus-Games/dp/B09TWKT9B4

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Shami will be awarding a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**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 fabulous community outreach projects and 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.