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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Book Review: The Day of First Sun by Sheryl Steines

This is a fast and engaging read.
The Day of First Sun
by Sheryl Steines

  • Paperback: 378 pages
  • Publisher: CreateSpace (February 2, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1469990474
  • ISBN-13: 978-1469990477
Genre:  Fantasy
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Product Description
When Princess Amelie of Amborix is murdered by magical means, Annie Pearce and Bobby “Cham” Chamsky of the Wizard’s Guard are called in by the FBI. Their job is to help solve the crime while keeping the non-magical world from discovering the existence of the Wizard Council.

During their investigation, Annie and Cham discover that Princess Amelie’s death is connected to a series of other crimes in the Chicago area. A larger plot involving, a vampire, a rogue wizard and an army of soul-less zombies is revealed, but can Annie and Cham discover who is responsible before The Day of First Sun? 


Review:
There is a lot of imagination in this magical world. Annie and Cham are part of a complete magical community in Chicago that remains hidden from the non-magical world. They are trained and well respected members of the Wizard’s Guard who have been called in to investigate the murder of a Princess from a foreign country. Princess Amelie’s boyfriend, Jordon, is the prime suspect. As they begin to investigate they realize there were several magical traces at the crime scene, indicating that magic had been used for a spell, curse, hex, jinx or other magical action.

Annie and Cham have also been trying to capture a vampire, Sturtagaard, who is believed to be involved in a plot to create zombies. Soon their investigation into the murder crosses paths with their hunt for Sturtagaard. They discover that a special magical orb, a necessary element to create the zombies, has been stolen.  As Annie and Cham search the evidence and interrogate the witnesses and suspects they learn that a special knife has been taken from the Wizard archives. It appears that there is a mole in the Wizard’s Guard who is betraying the Council.

Annie and Cham are a nice couple who have been friends since childhood and Annie just realizes that they are good companions and can be more. The light romance is hesitant in writing but sweet as Ms. Steines stretches each encounter from holding hands to kissing to slightly passionate kissing. Annie and Cham may be good at their jobs but they make mistakes and let Sturtagaard escape. Annie also manages to trap herself in a bad spot with a villain. 

There are several other characters who are developed nicely with unique personalities. I liked the magical packs that they shrink to carry. The story moves along at a quick pace with continual action towards solving the mystery and capturing the culprits. There is a nice mix of emotions, action and adventure. I was engaged by the story even though the writing seemed a bit immature. It’s not childish but seems aimed at a younger age even though the characters are in their twenties.  I’d like to see this author improve her writing technique a bit. I would enjoy another story with such an imaginative plot and lots of action. [Note: After reading the author's Blog Post I am wondering if she didn't deliberately downplay the language in this novel. So perhaps what I commented on is just an effort to reach a younger audience by keeping the writing light.]

Thank you to the author and Novel Publicity for the opportunity to read and review this book.
This story takes place in Chicago so I will note that in Where Are You Reading Challenge. I will also add this to my ARC and New Author challenge lists.  
CHECK THE EXCERPT NEXT.
Check out A CHANCE TO WIN and a CHANCE TO VOTE TO HELP ME WIN. (Thanks!)
As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Day of First Sun eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book. All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win! To win the prizes:
  1. Purchase your copy of The Day of First Sun for just 99 cents
  2. Fill-out the simple form on Novel Publicity
  3. Visit today’s featured social media event
Help my blog win: The tour blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card. When you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to VOTE FOR ME on the Blogger Traffic-Breaker Poll.  

About the book: A vampire, a rogue wizard and an army of soulless zombies are par for the course for Annie Pearce and Bobby “Cham” Chamsky of the Wizard’s Guard. But when the non-magical princess, Amelie of Amborix, is murdered by magical means, a deeper plot unfolds. Get it on Amazon.  

About the author: Behind the wheel of her ’66 Mustang Convertible, Sheryl is a constant surprise, using her sense of humor and relatable style make her books something everyone can enjoy. Visit Sheryl on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Martha. Thanks so much for hosting The Day of First Sun on your blog this week. I actually did write this book orginally as an adult novel, but I found a lot of younger kids wanting to read it. I decided re-issue the book as YA, or at least more appropriate.

    Thanks again. I'm glad you liked the book. This has been a great week for me and I so appreciate all of the bloggers who have made it possible.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great review! I'm so glad you enjoyed The Day of First Sun. I'm always pleased when our bloggers like the touring books; that makes it an all-around success :-D And, yup, Sheryl was hoping to reach a YA audience with this novel even though the characters are a tad older. Your feedback is awesome though. It always helps new authors figure out what their audience wants, and that's such a good thing.

    When you have a moment, would you kindly cross-post this review to Amazon and GoodReads? Thanks so much!

    Emlyn

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are always appreciated!

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