Crime and Magic: The Day of First Sun by Sheryl Steines

Remember the world of Harry Potter? You know, the world of magic, wizards, muggles, wizard government, flying broomsticks, good and evil? Of course you do!

If you miss ‘ole Harry’s world and have already read your HP books to pieces, here’s an easy alternative, The Day of First Sun. It has all those fun things, too. This book feels like it was set in Harry Potter’s world, only it isn’t about Harry or any of his friends or any of the other characters we know. Obviously it’s about other people, wizards and non-magical folks alike, and non-human creatures, too. Oh, and it’s set in the U.S. not the U.K. so some of yous can give those British accents in your head a rest.  Well, you know, if you want.

Super short synopsis activate!

Annie and Cham are wizards working for the Wizard Guard, a.k.a. the FBI of magic folks. Their FBI liaison Jack asks them to help investigate the suspicious death of Princess Amelie, a non-magical very important person. In the course of their investigation, Annie and Cham uncover a greater plot involving a vampire (who has a thing for Annie and not in a romantic way), a powerful dark wizard (who happens to be the Don Corleone of the dark underworld), and zombies (who happen to like brains, er, but you knew that)! Aha, there are games afoot! Annie and Cham must now hold hands (you know, like platonic detective partners do) and get to the truth before something VERY BAD happens to the entire world.

My Non-Magical Review

This was an easy read! I breezed through it mainly because I just wanted to know how it ends. I absolutely loved the Harry Potter series so I really couldn’t help thinking about HP while reading this. Like I said at the start of this post, this book felt like a story set in the American version of Harry Potter’s world. You know, wizards exist in plain sight and are governed by a wizard government. There are otherworldly creatures like vampires and zombies. The good wizards must defeat the bad wizards.

For me the book felt like the first installment in a detective series set in Harry’s world.  If you want to know how the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or the Aurors do their thing, this book will give you an idea because to me it’s like a story about their agents. If Hermione was into detective books other than spellbooks and history books, THIS would be her favorite. I think a magical detective series isn’t bad at all. That means there are more Annie and Cham adventures to come! UNLESS they actually die in this book and their world has come to a sad sad end…

Oh Noes!!

Oh, c’mon. You know, nobody dies in these wizard books, right? Right?? You know, I’m kidding. People die. In this book, Princess Amelie was dead right at the start. Like they say, death is only the beginning… Wait, that’s from The Mummy. ANYWAY, this book has the usual elements that we, muggles, absolutely adore–family, friendship, life, death, love, etc.–so there are lots of stuff in it that people can relate to.  Plus, it was just a really fun read.

I received a review copy of this book at no cost and with no obligations. All opinions and views expressed here are my own.

You can win goodies! No magic required!

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Day of First Sun eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of The Day of First Sun for just 99 cents
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About the author: Behind the wheel of her ’66 Mustang Convertible, Sheryl is a constant surprise, using her sense of humor and relatable style make her books something everyone can enjoy. Visit Sheryl on her website, Twitter, Facebook,