Review: Bloodmaiden - Christine Schulze

Where I got it: E-galley for review from author

Rating: 3 stars

Cover Rating: 3 stars (It's fitting for the novel.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: May 12, 2010
Publisher: Old Line Publishing, LLC
Page Count: 208 p.

Set in the world of Sulaimon, four dragon dynasties border one another. In one such dynasty is Crisilin, the Quelda, faces a certain death along with her husband Chalom. They are to be sacrificed by and for the dragons. This is not what Crisilin wishes her life to be. She knows that for the love of her own life and the love of Chalom, they must escape. None have ever escaped, and Crisilin doesn't know if they will make it or only quicken their deaths. If she does manage to escape, she'll need to find a way to put an end to the Quelda sacrifice, so no one else has to die.

So I am quite certain that this is my first dragon tale and I was not disappointed. I loved the dragons that Christine created. Honestly, I loved all the characters she created. Some were fun, all were determined. I do wish that some of the romance was better developed, especially between Crisilin and Chalom. We were told that they had always loved each other, and they seemed to usually act like they had always been together but it didn't have strong roots in the story itself. There was quite a bit of showing instead of telling, especially in the beginning. Once the flow of the story got going it wasn't too bad. When we first learned about the Quelda, the story seemed to take on some Rumpelstiltskin qualities (spinning straw into gold). The quest was very intriguing and I'm glad we got to visit each of the four dynasties. Each of the empires, were starkly different from the one before it. People were different, the weather was different and most of all the dragons were different. I enjoyed seeing these difference all living quite close together. One of the first extra characters we meet is Pan, a sprite, who seems to talk with a Southern accent some of the time. We also encounter Mokuolu, who I though sounded Jamaican, but she occasionally through in some Southern turns of phrase. All in all, while there were some things I disliked from this novel it was throughly enjoyable. I recommend this to lovers of fantasy, or even those who want to dip a toe into the genre.

First Line:
"In  Sulaimon, four kingdoms stretch to the four corners of that vast land, each ruled and guarded by four dragon dynasties."


Favorite Line:
"Now the gold, our lives, everything, is marred by the rubies."