Books: The Cheapest Vacation You Can Buy











{August 4, 2011}   Golden Healer, Dark Enchantress, by Christine E. Schulze

From Goodreads: He leaned his head close to my ear and whispered, “Are you afraid?”

Chrystine had had more reason than any other time of her life, even when facing one of the rampages of her drunken father. But she wasn’t afraid. And that was odd, because although Aaryn, the person asking her that question, was her best friend, he was also a vampire.

In fact, she was surrounded by hundreds of vampires. But they weren’t your typical vampires. They were Stregoni Benefici, the good kind. Nor was Chrystine your typical fairy. She was the Golden Healer, and she alone could save the Stregoni Benefici from the Dark Enchantress.

But can Chrystine figure out the Dark Enchantress’ secret and defeat the evil vampires without destroying the good ones as well, without destroying Aaryn?
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This novel was completely different from anything I’ve ever read.  Yes, there are vampires and fairies, but they aren’t the traditional type we are all used to.  These characters are Christian, praying to God for guidance in the war against the dark enchantress.  This was a really interesting concept, but to have vampires—traditionally dark, damned entities—praying to God was a bit jarring.  The first time references were made to God and Christianity, I did a double take.  While the story itself is completely original, especially the religious aspect, I still find myself struggling to pull away from tradition.  I have always loved the idea of good vampires versus evil vampires, but I’ve never thought of them as religious by any means, so this novel presented some interesting concepts for me to think about.

I really enjoyed the romance portion of this novel.  Aaryn and Chrystine are a wonderful couple and I found myself rooting for them from the very beginning.  Schulze has creating an entire cast of endearing characters and I found this aspect of the story quite enticing.  I also highly enjoyed the lore that Schulze created surrounding the vampires, including skin color changes, their abilities, and how they came to be created.  It is apparent that Schulze spent much time perfecting her characters and I think this is a great read for all ages.  Three stars. 

 

I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.



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