Cover Reveal! -- Son of the Shield by Mary Shlegel

Hello, everyone! Today we have a cover reveal of Mary Shlegel's book, Son of the Shield!

(Isn't the cover gorgeous?!!😍)

 

A kingdom at war. A diplomat desperate for peace. A defector who holds both in his hands.

Diplomat Orienne Verasi has spent the last five years trying to help her homeland of Farindel end the war with its neighbor, Cytharoc, so she can finally have a life of peace. But when negotiations go badly, she despairs of the war ending. A chance encounter with her childhood friend Sorek restores her hope for a new life…or it might pull her even deeper into the war and force her to choose between everything she wants, and everything she believes.

Sorek Ronarres only wanted a cause to fight for and a country to serve. Leaving Farindel to join Cytharoc was simply a quest for the purposeful life his homeland denied him. But his failed plan to end the war brands him a traitor and costs him the woman he loves, leaving him caught between a life of deadly conspiracy and court intrigue, and a kingdom where everyone wants him dead.

Farindel’s greatest natural defense has been breached, their enemies driven by a terrifying magical madness. As the kingdom braces for siege, the loyal and the traitorous have one last chance to choose sides…though either choice could cost them everything.

Son of the Shield comes out Wednesday, March 30th, 2022, so be sure to mark your calendars!

Genre: Epic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery

Content Information:

Overall Rating: PG-13, for violence and thematic elements

Language: Very Mild. One use of the word “damn” as a swear word; three uses of “damn” in literal context (e.g. “the fate to which he had damned himself”). A few scattered instances of narrated swear words that are not transcribed (e.g. “He swore.”).

Sexual Content: Very Mild. One instance of a character remembering his deceased wife, specifically “her skin against his lips.” One instance of a character indirectly asking another character if they are planning to seduce someone; she responds that the character in question would rather sleep with a corpse than with her. In one instance a character is trying to figure out what the connection is between two other characters (a man and a teenaged boy) and wonders briefly if they are lovers (they aren’t).

Violence: Moderate. Several descriptions of large-scale battles. One description of a blade protruding from a dying character’s cut throat. Several descriptions (not graphic) of injuries. Several descriptions of one-on-one combat. One description of a character using magic to choke another character. One instance of soldiers on horseback attacking a group of unarmed civilians.

Other: A village burns to the ground; no bodies are shown, but it is known that all of the village inhabitants are trapped inside and killed. A character locks themselves in their room with a bottle of wine with the expressed intent of “escape.” Later the character is seen by other characters to be hung over. Sorcery is used by the villains for various purposes, including imbuing their army with madness in battle. A character briefly contemplates suicide, but decides against it.

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