Shadow Call – Review + GIVEAWAY

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WARNING!!! There will be minor spoilers for Shadow Run. If you haven’t read it, PLEASE DO!!! Take a look at my review for it!

Be sure to check out Rockstar Book Tours by clicking the photo above or HERE! I am always thrilled to be a part of their tours, and this one is no exception.

“I know what you sound like when you’re afraid. I know what you look like when you think you’re about to die.” Before everything could get too serious, he added, “What I don’t know is what your favorite color is.”

The crew of the Kaitan Heritage are back and they aren’t taking prisoners! Harboring fugitives maybe, but definitely not prisoners.

Even though they’ve managed to escape with their lives, things aren’t exactly back to normal. Nev is hiding on Alaxak, pretending to be a Shadow fisherman with the rest of the crew, exiled and disinherited, he is simply trying to figure out his new life. It isn’t easy with Arjan, still angry at Nev for what his family inflicted on him. Or with Eton, still holding a grudge and willing to throw him out of an airlock, even though Nev saved his life. Only Telu and Basra seem to be willing to accept Nev for who he is. Not even Qole knows how to sort out her feelings for the ex-royal.

Before anyone has time to figure out how they feel, the Dracorte family pays Alaxak a visit. In an afternoon, the crew once again find themselves in the heart of turmoil. Nev accused of murder. Alaxak attacked. The Kaitan crew facing insurmountable odds at survival. Nev and Qole have to figure out how to stay one step ahead in order to stay alive. Even if it means surrendering themselves to the destinies they desperately fear.

“Loving someone didn’t mean protecting them. It meant being willing to risk your life for something you believed to be greater.”

Strickland and Miller do a fantastic job holding their cards close. The twists and turns in Shadow Call are surprising and well placed. Just when you think you understand a character, a motivation, or where you think the plot is going, they turn around and punch you in the face.

I loved how we got a deeper look into these characters in this sequel. Motivations are revealed, and the true nature of who they are begins to get clearer for everyone. We don’t get all the answers we want, but we do get a better understanding of what secrets from the past cause the hurts of the present. Both in the specific instance of character development, but also in the history of the galaxy. While we are still left with plenty of questions unanswered, we get a solid glimpse of the path ahead. And holy hell is this ride far from over!

“The look that said, Someday, this lid will open, and then the screaming all commence in earnest.”

The action is once again breathtaking, heart pounding, and intense. The stakes are raised in their fight for survival, and the battles are scaled up in tandem. Before this was one crew fighting to survive. We move to the larger galactic battle field in Shadow Call and it’s spectacular! Nev has to face his true calling as King, and face everything that really means about who he is and what he wants. While Qole has to face the Shadow that lives in her body, with all it’s lethal consequences.

Again I was struck with how well balanced this book is. The plot hangs perfectly between character driven momentum and action packed pacing. We get to see not just the fights and explosions but the reality of how that impacts the people behind them. Decisions on any scale have consequences, and Strickland and Miller give us the entire picture of what that burden feels like on all levels. How to find the strength to lead. How to do the right thing, especially when it’s the hard thing. How to figure out what the greater good really is.

“Power is always dangerous to those who have none, and you cannot effect change without power.”

Shadow Call is a solid sequel. We get more of everything. More of the characters. More action. More to lose. We meet new allies and face new villains. It’s satisfying while simultaneously making you desperate for more. I do love how Strickland and Miller manage to write endings that feel like endings while leaving plenty of room for the next book.

This is fast-paced, non-stop space action. Even the slower moments are filled with tension as schemes unfold all around. If you loved Shadow Run, you’ll devour Shadow Call. The perfect blend of action, intrigue, and a dash of slow-burn romance. I loved every minute!

Thank you Rockstar Book tours for including me on this awesome tour! Shadow Call comes out April 17. Check out the details below, including links to all your favorite retailers. Don’t forget to enter the GIVEAWAY!!! And please go visit the rest of the blogs on tour!

Shadow Call Cover Art

 

Title: SHADOW CALL (Kaitan Chronicles #2)

Author: AdriAnne Strickland & Michael Miller

Pub. Date: April 17, 2018

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 432

Find it: AmazonB&NiBooksTBDGoodreads

 

 

His throne. Her rebellion. Their war.

Qole is the youngest starship captain in living memory on her homeworld of Alaxak and has spent her life hunting a dangerous energy source called Shadow. Alaxans distrust and evade the galaxy’s royalty as a rule, but Qole is now harboring the exiled Prince Nevarian Dracorte, along with some very conflicting feelings about it—and him.

Nev’s feelings are just as complicated, but not towards her. When it comes to Qole, he knows one thing: he’d do anything to stay with her. But when Alaxak is attacked and Nev finds himself framed for murder, he realizes the only way to help Qole and her people is to fight for the throne that should be his. To become the royal she might hate.

As for Qole, she would never have imagined herself as the leader of a rebellion. Despite that, she soon realizes that hiding from her power is no longer an option. It’s time to answer the call, even if it kills her.

 

AdriAnne Strickland and Michael Miller Coauthor photo credit Lukas StricklandADRIANNE STRICKLAND and MICHAEL MILLER met in their hometown of Palmer, Alaska, where they agreed on 99% of book taste and thus decided to write together. Adri spends her summers as a commercial fisherwoman in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and the rest of the year writing. Michael grew up off the grid in a homestead in Alaska and now works in IT and tech. This is their second book together.

Find AdriAnne:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Find Michael:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

 

GIVEAWAY

3 winners will receive a finished copy of SHADOW CALL, US Only.

Ends on May 4th at Midnight EST!

giveaway_1_

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/2/2018- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review

4/3/2018- Wonder Struck– Review

4/4/2018- Rhythmicbooktrovert – Review

4/5/2018- Jena Brown Writes– Review

4/6/2018- YA Obsessed– Review

Week Two:

4/9/2018- Emily Reads Everything– Review

4/10/2018- laura’s bookish corner– Review

4/11/2018- Literary Meanderings– Excerpt

4/12/2018- Two Chicks on Books– Excerpt

4/13/2018- Good Choice Reading– Review

Week Three:

4/16/2018- Rachel’s Book Reviews– Review

4/17/2018- Skye’s Scribblings– Review

4/18/2018- BookHounds YA– Excerpt

4/19/2018- The Desert Bibliophile– Review

4/20/2018- Seeing Double in Neverland– Excerpt

Week Four:

4/23/2018- Book-Keeping– Review

4/24/2018- lori’s little house of reviews– Review

4/25/2018- Books at Dawn– Excerpt

4/26/2018- Read. Eat. Love.– Review

4/27/2018- MNBernard Books– Excerpt

Week Five:

4/30/2018- Smada’s Book Smack– Review

 

 

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