A warrior. A runaway. A kingdom on the brink of war. When heresy rises, who will survive the power shift? Life is meant to be simple in Amadea: worship Verus, obey her prophet, and serve the king. But heresy is taking root in the kingdom, sprung from the writings of a mad prophet. It threatens to inflame tensions with neighouring Pyrie, whose border attacks and slave uprisings continue to rob the kingdom of peace. Tristan has no interest in heresies. But when the warrior finds Sabine on the side of the road – starving, beaten and all too ready to resort to violence – his life becomes increasingly complicated. In the capital, the Thirteenth Prophet has sensed a change in the sacred flame, the source of his prophetic power, and he engages an ambitious warrior to help find the heretics. Sabine and Tristan find themselves allied with heretics out of loyalty, not belief. Their bonds to those they love, and their growing attraction to each other, will be tested in ways neither of them sees coming. Perfect for fans of fast-paced epic fantasy with slow-burn romance . The Shadow of the Eagle is the first book in The Children of Verus Trilogy, a new epic fantasy series that explores how dehumanising an enemy corrupts the soul of a society, and the ways in which those involved justify their hatred. It’s also about the nature of loyalty, love, faith and friendship. 'I highly recommend this book. It is a well-written, well-edited, engaging and exciting page turner. I find myself with what I call 'the character hangover': days after reading a book, I'm still carrying the characters with me, wondering what they're doing now. That's my measure of a great story.' - Annemarie 'I think this has the potential to be one of the next hit trilogies...It was also refreshing to have an FMC and MMC who are reluctant allies, both with each other and their heretical families. It made the slow burn of their romance have more of a push-pull feel. And the hesitancy to "do the right thing" is something I don't see often in books.' - Christen 'The world building in this book is nothing short of breathtaking-so vivid and immersive that I could see every detail play out in my mind as if I were right there beside the characters. It's the kind of storytelling that makes you lose track of time and forget the real world exists.' - Renae 'Overall, this was a captivating start to the series, with great characters, a compelling world, and a slow-burn romance that kept me turning the pages. I can't wait to see where the story goes next in the sequel!' - Sarah 'I was hooked from the first page. This book is dark, jam packed with mystery, slow burning romance and also a fair bit of blood and burning alive!' - Holly 'Set in a high fantasy world, I loved everything about this new story. It is such a unique world happening in the middle of a war that is based on a highly religious system where the prophet in this faith even surpasses the king and I though that was really cool! There is not an extreme amount of magic but what magic there is is so different! An immortal flame gifted by their god, Verus, centuries ago... This was absolutely brilliant and I cannot wait for the rest of the series!' - Shelves by Sim 'This sword and sorcery fantasy novel captured me with its characters, immersion in the world and fast paced action, plus the romantic tension between the characters. I thought the tension in the world was created very effectively by the prophet's abilities and manipulation, and by the economic and political deterioration in the background.' - Sean 'I was hooked from the cover and description and enjoyed getting into to the world and how the epic fantasy elements worked in this universe. I was invested in what was going on with the characters and enjoyed getting to know Sabine and Tristan and the rest of the characters in this world. Paula Weston was able to weave a strong storyline and was glad I was able to read this and look forward to more in this series.' - Kat 'This book is phenomenal! The political intrigue is out of this world. It has a nice slow burn romance, and it's very believable. You get hooked in from the very beginning, and it's just action packed all throughout the book. There is a plot twist at the end that I did not see coming, I cannot wait to finish this series. I cannot recommend this book enough!' - Brittney 'Another amazing book from Paula - everything you want a fantasy book to have. The world building was incredible and well written. I loved Sabines character -a runaway who finds solace with a warrior by the name of Tristan (cue the slow burn romance we all love) 🥹 Highly recommended...' - Winnie 'The Shadow of the Eagle was fantastic! It has bit of everything! A unique magic system including a sacred flame, corruptness, heresy, political intrigue, tension and the slooooow burn... definitely one to add to your tbr!' - Danielle