Monday, June 6, 2022

Release Blitz for Sawyer Bennett's The Shadow Princess




The Shadow Princess: A Chronicles of the Stone Veil Novel Sawyer Bennett Release Date: June 7, 2022




Read the first THREE chapters of The Shadow Princess

Synopsis:

Living an idyllic life in Wyoming, Thalia Clairmont is completely unaware that her world is about to be turned upside down. Step into the next dimension with The Shadow Princess, the newest story in The Chronicles of the Stone Veil series from New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett. My name is Thalia Clairmont and I am heir to the throne of Vyronas. A title that was unknown to me after the love of my life, Bastien Dunne, had me stripped of my memories and sent me through the veil into another dimension. He maintains it was for my protection after my parents were killed and our kingdom was overthrown, but I see it as a betrayal. Overwhelmed by my feelings of both love and anger for Bastien, I quickly understand that things aren’t what they once were. Vyronas is at war and an evil sorceress has claimed my throne by casting her blood magic to subjugate my people. With my memories returned, I realize Bastien isn’t the man I once loved and has instead become a distant, hardened warrior whose heart is as cold as ice. My magic alone cannot defeat the blood sorcery, so I delve into the deepest shadows to find a way to regain control of my kingdom. Can I defeat evil without succumbing to the darkness? And will Bastien and I be able to reclaim the love we once shared? I am the Shadow Princess and it’s time for me to reclaim my throne. The Shadow Princess is a standalone second chance romance with a fantastical flourish within The Chronicles of the Stone Veil series.

Download The Shadow Princess: A Chronicles of the Stone Veil Novel Amazon | Nook | Apple | Kobo | Google | Print

Buy the digital and signed paperback direct from Sawyer Bennett: https://bit.ly/Store_TSP ** Digital files must be read within the BookFunnel app **

  

About the Author:



 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone. A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs. If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter (sawyerbennett.com/signup).

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Trinette Dungee's 4 Star Review!

Thalia Clairmont lives happily on her ranch in Wyoming. Her parents are no longer with her, but she wants to continue to grow their legacy on the ranch they left to her. While she’s happy, she admits to sometimes feeling like something is missing. Thalia’s life is soon turned upside down when she is attacked by creatures in her barn one night and is then rescued by two brothers Bastien and Kieran Dunne who are just as unbelievable as the creatures attacking her. 

The brothers inform her that they are there to not only rescue her but return her to their realm to help save their home, Vyronas, where she just happens to be the heir to the throne. Although everything they tell Thalia sounds completely crazy to her, deep down she believes them and somewhat reluctantly follows them. When she returns to the other realm things come back to her like the fact that she and Bastien not only have a past, but they were deeply in love and engaged. She discovers that it was Bastien who made the decision to send her away and not only erase her memories of her home and him, but he opted to erase her from his heart with no memory of what it was like to love her. 

Thalia is also relearning her powerful magic, but at the same time learns that her magic is not enough to defeat Ferelith, the sorceress who is using blood magic to take over Vyronas and that she herself may have to learn this forbidden magic to defeat Ferelith. 

Seven years ago, Bastien Dunne made two very difficult decisions. The first was to send Thalia to the First Dimension known as Earth with no memories of her old life to protect her, and the second was to have the love he felt for her removed from his heart. The day has come for Thalia to return to home to take her throne and help defeat the evil Sorceress Ferelith. Bastien’s main goal is to keep Princess Thalia protected at any cost, but he’s finding that his heart may not be completely empty of his feelings for her. 

This is book number 6 in a series, so if you haven’t read the previous books, I’d suggest reading those first. I’m not saying it’s one hundred percent necessary to read them, but it will help in understanding the dynamics of Thalia and Bastien’s world better. I don’t dislike paranormal books, but I don’t necessarily flock to them either. Admittedly I picked up this series because it’s a work of Sawyer Bennett and this series is a departure from her typical books, but once again I am not disappointed. 

There wasn’t much I didn’t like about this story. There was just the right balance of reality and fantasy. Although some of the descriptions were heavy on the mystical and I had to reread a few sections, it wasn’t so much that it overpowered the basis of the story which was second chance love/romance. I liked every character, which is odd, because they were so well written that even the worst of the worst had some type of appeal to them. 

I immediately connected with Bastien from page one. I don’t know what it was, but I knew from the moment I read the first words about him, I’d like him. Like the story itself, Bastien was well balanced. He was dark and broody at times, but his vulnerability was very present. He openly expressed his mixed emotions about Thalia. There was something about the way he was written that made him more “real”. I really felt this when Bastien visits Merrilyn. Typically, the Hero’s past is glossed over. It’s known that he had past relationships, but no real details are given. 

Bastien’s past is directly dealt with, it’s made clear that it’s been sever years since Thalia has been ripped from his life and he hasn’t been living the life of a monk. It’s also made very clear that there was a constant in his life during that time, Merrilyn. It’s here where I felt like I got the first glimpse of his vulnerability because he makes it clear that while he cared for Merrilyn, their relationship will only ever be physical. You could see that somewhere deep down, Thalia was still in his heart. 

Thalia has a lot going on. On top of reacclimating herself to her old life and dealing with what she considers the ultimate betrayal for Bastien; she’s still in love with him. She also learns that she she’s not exactly who she thought she was and she has a direct link to the very blood magic that she fears. Sometimes in stories when the heroine learns she’s not who she initially thought she was, their “acceptance” of their role can be a little annoying, but I didn’t get that with Thalia. It took her a minute to get her footing but once she did, I enjoyed her growth. I liked how she was determined to get Bastien to allow himself to feel again, but she didn’t come off as needy or whiney. 

There is always that one character, aside from the main characters, who kind of steals the show and/or your heart and in this story, it was Kieran, Bastien’s brother. I adored him! He was Bastien’s “Jiminy Cricket”, as well as Thalia’s shoulder to lean on, and the comic relief when needed. I don’t know if he needs his own story, but I’d definitely like to see more of him in the future. 

There are other characters that are introduced who had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out if they would be friend or foe- like Thalia’s uncle who was banned from Vyronas for using “blood magic”, Thalia’s cousin Archer, and Bastien’s ex-lover Merrilyn. The biggest question mark being the powerful dark fae Amell, who was Zora’s guardian in the previous books of this series. He plays a major role in Thalia accepting who she truly is and learning to use what is deep inside of her to defeat Ferelith. There’s also a visit or two from Maddox (swoon). 

If you read the other books in the series, you know the majority were cliffhangers. I AM NOT a fan of cliffhangers but thankfully there wasn’t a long wait for the next books. Going into The Shadow Princess I assumed it too would be a cliffhanger, so I prepared myself. I happy to report that it is not a cliffhanger, and you’ll get your HEA at the end of the book, but the ride there has some angsty moments. 

This is a quick read and would be a nice poolside or beach day read. If you haven’t read the series, I’d suggest adding it to your summer reading list. 

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