I wasn't sure about the stories in the first few pages. But it quickly grabbed by attention as I was introduced to the cast of characters both human and dragon. The diversity of the personalities kept it lively and engaging.

A sign of a good book for me is if I can see the scenes play out on the little movie screen in my mind and this one was a "two thumbs up". Hope to maybe see more about these characters one day.

Probably my favorite Christine E. Schuzle novel!

I loved Bloodmaiden. The characters, the storyline, and the best one of all, the writing style, was absolutely incredible!

Not one moment did I not enjoy reading Bloodmaiden. I wanted to finish it early, but I've been busy with school and things, but I've finished it, and it was incredible.

Please go pick this up! I'm POSITIVE you will love it!

Bloodmaiden
by Christine E. Schulze

Dragons. Adventure. Discovery. Emotions. Christine has written a story of vitality and amazingly described characters. You feel the emotions that they are feeling. Crisilin and Chalom, our heroine & hero, begin their jouney as young adults thrown to early into adulthood. What they overcome, survive and partake in will sweep you away as easily as a spring rain sweeps the dust off the leaves of trees.

I received Bloodmaiden (Review Copy) directly from the author not knowing exactly what to expect. I am pleasantly living in her land of wonder and wishing I could experience the land of Zale myself.

Bloodmaiden is a romantic adventure that will leave you breathless, and hoping for more. It's not just another romantic read....it's a powerful experience!

First impression on this book when I started reading it was the length. Honestly I questioned how the story could be told in only about 200 pages. During my reading there were parts where I felt that author should have maybe expanded it because I felt the scene happened to quick. However putting that aside though I enjoyed the book greatly. The setting of the 4 different regions rules by dragons and the urge for the main characters to escape from the wickedness placed upon them. Just loved it.

Let me premise with the fact that I once was a hardcore fantasy book follower. My shelves were filled with Tor books and I had mastered the art of remembering the names, lineages and personalities of multiple characters. Yes my friends, reading a fantasy book is like stepping into a brand new world. You start by feeling your way around to see if you can get acclimated, but once you do you're hooked. I missed that. So I was excited to read Bloodmaiden as soon as I opened it!

The book opens with a suspenseful first chapter, drawing you in almost instantly. We are introduced to Crislin, the new Qelda of Tynan, and her new husband. What follows is a gorgeous romp through beautiful dynasties, roving countrysides and an all around vividly painted world. My absolute favorite part of stories like these is falling in love with the world that is created within. Christine Schulze does a fabulous job of providing enough description to paint a mental picture for the reader, while still allowing them to add in certain details on their own. It was fantastic!

Characters. Characters are an extremely important part of any fantasy story. I think that is why I ended up with such an affinity for strong characters at all. It fuels my reading. I can happily say that the characters in Bloodmaiden, all the way down to the smallest supporting one, were excellently written and completely intriguing. I was hooked into the story with the setting, and brought further into it by the character development. My one qualm with the characters, however, was the lack of conversation between Crislin and her husband. Although I feel like it may have taken away from the story somehow, I would have liked to see them interact more. I felt their love, but part of me wanted to see it as well.

As for the story itself, my one difficulty while reading was the quick pace at which the story moves. It isn't that the story isn't engrossing. It is in fact so engrossing that I was a little thrown off by how quickly things were happening. By the time I would figure out exactly what the important events in the chapter were and how they tied into what I had previously read, a new plot twist was thrown at me. I'll admit that it definitely kept the story fresh! It kept me at the edge of my seat for sure. However I would have liked a little more time to slowly revel in the beauty of the world and the words on the page.

Overall Bloodmaiden is a very solid and well-written story! I haven't even begun to delve into the delicious dragon-fueled dynasties, or any of the other epic parts of the storyline. I'll leave that up to you to discover as you dive into this beautifully written book. I happily recommend this book to all fantasy lovers out there! Enjoy!

Bloodmaiden is the story of a newly married young lady named Crislin and her husband, the unfortunate victims and offerings to the dragon dynasties to keep the humans and dragons living in safe harmony. Desperate to live and unwilling to simply accent their fate, the young couple is searching for allies, protectors, saviours...anything, but it's soon clear that hope is trumped by tradition and fear. Do they even stand a chance against this long-standing tribute, or is their fate sealed?

When I was contacted to review Bloodmaiden, I'll admit I had a brief moment of hesitation because, while I hate excessive hype, when there is no hype around a book, I worry about the content of the story. I was pleasantly rewarded by my decision to read Christine Schulze's novel. The author has a very distinct voice - perfectly capturing the tedious first-person tone and merging it with vivid details and descriptions that bring this otherworldly environment alive for the reader.

Bloodmaiden is a very visual story that sweeps you along despite and exorbitant amount of details in the first two chapters. Somehow, the story keeps moving at a good pace, and the fearless and endearing nature of the MC, Crislin, pops through, giving the reader a reason to become invested in the story. That was all extremely well-done. If I may admit one small qualm though, I felt that (at times) the amount of detail later in the story was a bit excessive only because the world had been established, and it only pulled me out of the story a wee bit later on.

I give Bloodmaiden a very strong 4 out of 5, and I'd highly recommend it to YA fans of fantasy and Christian fiction (the morals are very strong). Those who enjoy Eragon and The Sword of Truth series will likely truly enjoy Bloodmaiden.

Fantasy is a new genre for me and if all the fantasy books are written as beautifully as this one is...I'm hooked!

The imagery was spectacular and vivid. The words formed pictures of stunning far-away lands and mythical dragons who rule these kingdoms.

Christine demonstrates a command of the written word and the artistry to paint pictures with words.

I really enjoyed this book.

Special thanks to Christine E Schulze and Goodreads for providing this book through Goodreads' Firstreads giveaway.

From thebookpixie.com

"Full of action, adventure, and exquisite writing, Bloodmaiden is an enchanting, heart-wrenching fantasy novel that perfectly balances the darker and lighter elements that are delicately woven throughout the story...........
In the end, I think Bloodmaiden deserves far more exposure and attention than it has received. For one so young, only 22, Schulze has managed to fashion a dazzling fantasy full of both good and evil, humor and sadness, action and adventure. The characters may not have been quite as developed as they could have been but Bloodmaiden is more than worth people's time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to everyone. I feel this is a book that would easily appeal to middle graders, young adults, and adults. Bloodmaiden should not be overlooked."

Like a good and well seasoned writer, the author begins with a suspenseful yet informative first chapter. She sets the stage without telling the reader everything. The next few chapters consist of revelations, carefully crafted, of Crisilin and her fate. Four dynasties protected/ruled by dragons. Each dynasty has a symbiotic relationship. The dragons protect the humans, the humans provide a yearly tax, consisting of whatever the dragons dictate. Three lands have peaceful interactions consisting of homage paid to the dragons based on the industries. One land, Crisilin's kingdom, happens to pay the dragons in a rather disturbing manner.

Told first person, the new Qelda of Tynan (Crisilin), reveals the fate of herself and her new husband. Although somewhat of a spoiler, I'm going to go ahead and tell you that the protagonist and her husband begin a quest to prevent any more of these horrific shows of force by the dragons. They escape, meet new creatures/people, endear the reader to each of them, and travel to some incredibly well developed places. The author provides enough description to paint a mental picture without overburdening the reader with more than is necessary. She also provides descriptions of the different kingdoms with detail many would not think to include.

This is a talented writer with a vivid imagination. With that imagination, Christine uses her gift of writing to provide a different reality much like book, "Eldest." Chances are good that when she secures a good literary agent and editor, and publicist, Christine Schulze will be well known in the 8-14 age crowd.

This book was beautifully written and I really enjoyed reading it.

Bloodmaiden is set in the mystical land of Sulaimon. It’s four kingdoms are ruled and guarded by four dragon dynasties. The humans and dragons all live in harmony and help one another, all except the kingdom of Tynan. It’s dragon rulers require a human sacrifice to be made to them each year. This year, Crislin and her new husband, Chalom, have been chosen for sacrifice. Rather than face their impending doom, they decide to flee and seek help from the other kingdoms. Crislin and Chalom meet friends along the way to help them on their quest.

This book was truly amazing. This was beautifully written from start to finish. The author doesn't use tricky language that's hard to understand. She doesn't go on and on with the details like a lot of fantasy writers out there, which by the way drives me insane.

The characters have cool names and they can do cool stuff ( magical stuff). This is a lot different than Twilight, which I know most kids are hooked on right now. The author was very creative. Good books like this come out every so often. I never got bored through the entire thing.

The author makes Crisilin and Chalom heroes in a since. They save the future Queldas in Tynan. Like every hero they go through a journey. They follow the steps that heroes go on to become a hero. They lose somebody they love. They hurt in some way or fashion. The characters pretty much have everything happen to them.

Bloodmaiden is set in a world filled with dragons. In this world, three of the four kingdoms live in harmony with these creatures. However, the fourth kingdom, Tynan, relies on human sacrific. Enter our characters: Crislin and her husband Chalom. Sadly, they have been selected to be this year's sacrific. But rather than facing this horrific end, they flee all that they know in hopes of finding assistance in one of the neighboring kingdoms.

Bloodmaiden was not the novel that I was expecting it to be. Which, in this case, is a great thing. Usually, fantasy books are a hit or miss reading experience for me since most are either are too over the top, or too dry / slow for my liking. Bloodmaiden, surprisingly, fit into neither category. Schulze does a fantastic job with creating a evenly paced story that held my attention practically from page one.

As it is, Bloodmaiden is a beautifully written novel. The characters were interesting, and I actually found myself caring about what happens to them. The world was familiar, yet unique. The only downfall to the novel as a whole was its shortness. While the plot and action occurred at an even pace, most everything else about the novel felt like an overload. Just when I was absorbing one detail.. bam.. a new one is introduced. I believe that if Schulze could go back and give the reader a little breathing room, then Bloodmaiden would truly be the fantasy novel that I have been hunting for.

The story follows a young girl who has been chosen to take part in the sacred ritual of her native kingdom. Other kingdoms, each ruled by its own dragon dynasty, have their own version of this ritual (there are four in all), but none seem as sinister or horrifying as the one in which our young heroine finds herself trapped. Faced with the looming threat of ruthless, unquestioned tradition, our heroine must find the courage of her own convictions to challenge the dark and twisted customs of her people in the hope that she might somehow bring their hearts back into the light.

As the book begins, the reader finds herself (or himself) very much inside the head of Crisilin. The main character of the story, Crisilin is an every-girl, an avatar through which the reader can experience this strange new world. Perhaps, then, it is good that Crisilin is so perceptive to the things around her, though she perceives these things not only through sight and sound, but also through feeling. To the author, the world she creates is as rich with vibrant emotion as it is with color, and there is no better character to help us traverse this world than Crisilin. Maybe it should come as no surprise, then, when it oftentimes seems as though the main character does more feeling than anything else.

If Crisilin is, at heart, an avatar for the reader, then it is the characters making up the rest of the cast who are the heart of the adventure. It is not far into the book that you meet Crisilin's first and most faithful companion for her journey, her husband, Chalom. Each subsequent character has his or her own magical abilities and, from this point on, the author relies mainly on these characters to propel the plot and provide intrigue, comic relief, or just a convenient way out of a sticky situation. If the first two chapters fooled you, make no mistake: This journey is about friends--without them, Crisilin would long since have succumbed to her fate, leaving readers to wonder why they had ever bothered with a protagonist as timid as she is.

This is not to say that timidness is a bad thing. On the contrary, it is refreshing to see a character as shy and childlike as Crisilin take center stage. Especially for a book that seems geared toward teens and younger girls, it is easy to imagine readers slipping comfortably into her role, already feeling caught up and swept away by traditions and forces much larger than themselves in their own lives. In such times, what teenage girl doesn't band together with her friends, both old and new, or rely on the aunt who might go against others' wishes to help her achieve a sense of self-determination, or find herself seeking guidance from the more benign of her paternal figures? What girl doesn't wish she was married with a husband to snuggle up to so she can forget all those worries?

For this reviewer, it is a transitioning from innocent naïveté to painful carnal knowledge that can be the only analogy for the sometimes awkward lurches inherent within an adventure so full of quirky characters and lighthearted, silly banter, while trying to grapple with dark themes like human sacrifice, suicide, and mothers killing their own babies. It helps to know that the author is a Christian writing what is essentially a story about faith, believing fully that the world has clear boundaries between what is good and evil; once this balance has been tipped, the world can become a terrible and frightening place. The moral of the story? Pure hearts can prevail in even the most corrupt of times, and all things work together for good to those who hold steadfast in their faith--and rely on their friends.

Recommended for teens and younger readers, as well as young adults who are still pure of heart. (A+)