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Friday, September 21, 2012

BBReview: "Annie Loves Cham #1: Day of First Sun" By Sheryl Steines

Genre: Young Adult -Paranormal/Fantasy
Publishing Date: January 1st, 2011
Page Count: 308
Source: Sent to me by the author and publisher
Format: E-Book

Description from Goodreads.com:
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:
I was honestly a little surprised with how much I liked this novel. I have never been one who is very big into books about wizards. For example I loved the Harry Potter movies, but I have only read the first book. I plan to finish reading the Harry Potter series, but I am in no rush. So, when I started getting really into The Day of First Sun I was a bit stunned.

The Day of First Sun is about a girl named Annie and her partner Cham who work for the magical government. A non-magical girl gets murdered by magical means and they have to investigate who/why it happened and keep the non-magical world from finding out about how magic was involved. It doesn't help that the victim is a princess from another country visiting America to cause good relations between the countries.

I will admit that the beginning was a tad bit slow to me. I really didn't get into it until Jordan was brought into the story and that was when I got sucked in. The only other negative thing I can say about this book is there are (at least only in the copy I received) a few typos. Not a lot, but a couple here and there. Everything else, though, was great. I really loved Annie and Cham's characters. They really were the perfect partners and friends. They knew what each other needed without the other having to say so and they had this easy flow about them where they could work without having to tell the other what to do. Annie has had a little bit of a troubled past and isn't one to easily open up or care about others. She is extremely nice and caring, but not to everyone. She really has to trust you to let you in, even to let you in a little bit. Cham is just the perfect guy. He is so protective and caring, and perceptive. He is always there for Annie without questioning anything.

The Day of First Sun is also VERY action-packed. There are a lot of different creatures, people, and places in the magical world. It was so interesting to hear about a world SO different from my own. Although I do love romanticizing vampires, it was very cool to see them in their "true" light in this novel. They weren't friendly, handsome, sparkly things; They were pale, manipulative, mean killers. I don't know how to describe this novel without giving away anything about the book so I will finish by saying that it is a really great magical read. It has magic, romance, sadness, action, crime-fighting, and mystery. It is a well rounded novel and I highly suggest it to those who love magic.

Overall:
I really ended up liking this book. I have never been one who was extremely into the magic genre of novels, but this was really well done. There is honestly something for everyone in The Day of First Sun, because it was so well rounded with tons of different genre's packed in. There is romance, action, crime fighting, paranormal, fantasy, and mystery elements all weaved together. The beginning was a little slow to me, but only for a few pages. I would say about 15% of the way in tops is when it finally grabbed me. I really loved Annie and Cham's characters and really think they were very well done. I recommend this to those who are into magical books, or those who don't know if they are into magical books.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 4/5

*The cover image, book info, and book description are borrowed from Goodreads.com. Links to its appropriate Goodreads page have been provided. All other works and opinions are of my own creation. This novel was sent to me by the publishing company and the author in exchange for an honest review.*