Bloodmaiden - Christine E. Schulze - Blog Tour Review & Giveaway

Zale. Gauthier. Varden. These three dynasties... They all sound like something out of an ancient, oriental myth or fairy tale. The concept of humans and dragons helping and living in harmony with one another, without fear. To me, that's exactly what they are. A distant dream only read of, whispered secretly, quietly yearned for. For, you see, I am the new Quelda of Tynan. These words echo the mystery, horror, and romance found within Schulze's fantasy novel. Along with her new husband, Chalom, Crislin must choose to embrace cruel tradition, run from it, or stand against it. The young couple's only hope is to rally the help of the three peaceful dragon dynasties of Sulaimon-but tradition is not on their side, even outside the realm of Tynan. The dragons outside Tynan's borders have been rumored as too stubborn and proud to believe their Tynanian brothers would commit such horrors as inflicted upon the Quelda. Gaining their aid is not a likely hope. Yet, any hope at all is valued in Tynan... If they are to stand a chance of bringing cruel tradition to a permanent end, Crisilin and Chalom must brave the constant, consuming blizzards of the Ever-white. They must brave the three dynasties and the challenges awaiting there. Together, they must convince the dragon emperors to allow them access to the shrines which house the sacred Aria - protective strands of music which may be able to disperse the evil from Tynan and unite the four dynasties of Sulaimon as a whole once again. Their only aid stems from a sprite whose moods are as unstable as her magic, a young minstrel, and a mysterious fox. Despite the odds, such plans are daring, dangerous, unprecedented, but fully possible - if they can escape the Wall first.

(Synopsis taken from goodreads.)

Title: Bloodmaiden

Author: Christine E. Schulze

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: Old Line Publishing, LLC

Publication Date: May 28, 2010

Format: E-book

Source: Won. Review is courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for Christine Schulze. You can follow along with the tour here.
Look for it: Amazon, Book Depository.
My rating: 4/5


Crislin is the Quelda of Tynan. 70 years ago, dragons and human alike lived together in harmony, carrying out the long upheld tradition that would tie their two races together. Within the last 60 years or so, the dragons have implemented a cruel tradition, one that horrifies the people of Tynan. One with a price that they must pay if they are to live in Tynan. Crislin, and her new husband, Chalom, must decide if they are going to uphold the tradition, or if they are strong enough to defy it and find help to return the dynasty to the way it once was. 
Crislin and Chalom are easy characters to like. With their future ahead of them, one would think that nothing could go wrong, but as the new Quelda for her people, Crislin and Chalom's future together isn't that bright. They need to defy the dragons, and escape if they are ever going to consider a long and happy future together. With their escape, the future remains unclear, as they need to petition the other dragon dynasties to help return their homeland to its previous state of harmony. Along the way, more parties are added to the quest, and they will help determine the future of Tynan. 
Bloodmaiden is a character-driven plot, and a good one at that. However, I would have loved to see their quest fleshed out even more. The interactions between the characters is excellent, and I loved the riddles used in the one dynasty. Though this is a short read, it is a good one, and I enjoyed it. I think fantasy fans will enjoy it as well. 
All in all, a unique and haunting storyline that will have you on the edge of your seat hoping that things work out for Crislin, Chalom and their new-found friends. Young adults and teens will enjoy it, and I think those that like riddles will appreciate the riddles included as well. I can't wait to read more from Schulze.

Giveaway

Christine has graciously provided a paperback copy of Bloodmaiden to giveaway. 

Thank you, Christine! 

This giveaway is open to US/Canada only. (Sorry to those of you who are international!

Giveaway will end February 21, 2011. 
Giveaway has ENDED. Thank you to those who participated!

Please fill out this form to enter. Comments, while appreciated, will not be counted as entries. 

Thank you!

Blog Tour: Bloodmaiden - Christine Schulze - Guest Post

Christine Shulze is here today, courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her book, Bloodmaiden. Look for my review of Bloodmaiden coming up on Monday. You can follow along with the tour here.

What books were your favourites growing up, and what authors have inspired you?

These days, I sadly don’t have much time for reading, as I am ever writing, promoting, and such.

However, as a child, some favorites included classic fantasies like The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, The Little House series, Dr. Suess, Stardust, and Diana Wynne Jones’ works. I tend towards both the epic and the quirky, so if you know these authors, you know what I mean! I revel in creating deep, intricate worlds, and especially deep characters and plots which intertwine into a vast whole. All of my books connect in some way, whether big or small, though all can be read as individual works as well. The Narnia books really helped inspire me as a Christian fantasy author, while I truly love the fresh ideas found in Diana Wynne Jones’ books, such as Howl’s Moving Castle and Castle in the Air.

Another big inspiration for me, from childhood through now, has been the video game series, The Legend of Zelda. Awed as an eight-year-old watching Ocarina of Time at a birthday party, I rushed home the same night to make a comic of everything I could remember—the gorgeous fantasy world and creatures, the epic and unique story-line, the wonderfully quirky characters—never had I seen such a game! It spurred the concepts for many future books, especially once I finally got to play and own it myself at the age of twelve.

I suppose you could say the Bible is a great inspiration as well, more by proxy. I consider a lot of my books to be not just fantasy but Christian fantasy. I have a couple which are definitely Christian, but the rest are not “preachy”; I aim for them to be reader-friendly to Christians and non alike, and a couple reviewers have said the books are not preachy and the Christian elements are subtle enough to be reader-friendly. Mainly, I have an allegorical God whom the characters refer to, talk about, sometimes even meet on occasion in certain stories. I also include values like friendship, forgiveness, and such, which are present in many young adult or middle grade works to begin with. Even Harry Potter speaks of self-sacrificial love—speaking of which, that series inspired my own called The Hero Chronicles. Available as both ebooks and print, the series follows a group of fairy and elf students on their ventures, and while they start out at a magical school, their world and its ventures greatly expand, crossing time and space, before the series’ end. Receiving a few good reviews, I highly recommend checking it out—along with Bloodmaiden, of course.

Well, hopefully this gives you a glimpse into some of the inspirations behind my works. Thanks so much for stopping by to read and to Corrine for having me. To you all, God bless, happy reading, and may you someday be inspired by my stories!

Thank you for being here today, Christine! I enjoyed reading about your inspirations, and love the fact that Harry Potter is one of them. I'll have to check out your "Hero Chronicles" series, it sounds great!