Sword of Deaths by Christopher Mannino

Blurb:

Susan Sarnio made a choice, and will spend the rest of her life as the only female Death. Last year she was bullied and ostracized. Now, to her complete bewilderment, four Deaths vie for her affection. Yet, something is terribly wrong at the College of Deaths. When a ship carrying scythe metal is attacked, many blame the newly-freed Elementals, but Susan knows the Elementals are innocent.

Shadows from the distant past come to light. Dragons circle the horizon, blood spills, and nothing is what it seems. Susan and her friends struggle to stop a war. They search for the fabled First Scythe, hoping to sway the balance, but who is the true enemy?

About the Author:

Christopher Mannino’s life is best described as an unending creative outlet. He teaches high school theatre in Greenbelt, Maryland. In addition to his daily drama classes, he runs several after-school performance/production drama groups. He spends his summers writing and singing. Mannino holds a Master of Arts in Theatre Education from Catholic University, and has studied mythology and literature both in America and at Oxford University. His work with young people helped inspire him to write young adult fantasy, although it was his love of reading that truly brought his writing to life.

Mannino is currently working on a sequel to School of Deaths as well as an adult science fiction novel.

Review by Rochelle:

Sword of Deaths is book two in a trilogy. While School of Deaths ended with the villain escaping, I felt Mr. Mannino tied up the loose ends very nicely at the conclusion. It was so nice to see the first book in a series end without a cliff-hanger. I wish I could say the same for the second book. I’m afraid I’ve deducted a rose for that.

Otherwise, it was good to return to the Deaths’ school. Susan is still the object of suspicion and hatred, but in her second year at the school, she has more people defending her. In fact, four boys now have crushes on her. And, she has a girlfriend—an Elemental who can slip in and out of the school unnoticed now provides Susan with some much-needed female companionship.

Susan still wonders about her connection to the only other female death, Lovethar, and the Dragon Key, but now she has a shortage of scythe metal and another artifact to worry about—the First Scythe. What power does it hold and can it help the Death’s overcome their metal shortage? Unfortunately, those answers lie in the third book. Darn it! Mr. Mannino’s writing is otherwise excellent. His characters are layered, the books are fast-paced, and the reader cares enough about what happens next to come back for more without a cliff-hanger ending. Just one loose thread would have brought me back, anyway.

Author Website:  http://www.christophermannino.com/

Heat Rating:  PG

Length:  289 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $10.95

Digital:  $5.95

Buy Link:  https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/new-releases/series/sword-of-deaths-detail

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle

School of Deaths by Christopher Mannino

Blurb:

Thirteen-year-old Suzie Sarnio always believed the Grim Reaper was a fairy tale image of a skeleton with a scythe. Now, forced to enter the College of Deaths, she finds herself training to bring souls from the Living World to the Hereafter. The task is demanding enough, but as the only female in the all-male College, she quickly becomes a target. Attacked by both classmates and strangers, Suzie is alone in a world where even her teachers want her to fail.

Caught in the middle of a plot to overthrow the World of Deaths, Suzie must uncover the reason she’s been brought there: the first female Death in a million years.

Review by Rochelle:

The summer between eighth grade and high school is supposed to be fun, but Suzie Sarnio spends hers bouncing between nutritionists and shrinks while her family tries to get to the bottom of her “anorexia.” They don’t believe her protests that she’s eating more this summer than she ever has before as she wastes away before their eyes. Her older brother even stops teasing her about it. The answer comes when an old man arrives at the door wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe. He whisks her away to the College of Deaths. She has to remain there for one year. If she passes her final exam, she can return to her family. If not, she must remain and become a Death—a grim reaper. If she tries to return home, she will cease. Not only will she die; no one will remember she ever existed.

Suzie is certain she can pass whatever test they give her until she realizes she’s the only female in the school, and no one wants her there. Only one other female student has ever attended the Death School. It was a million years ago, and Lovethar was so evil she started a war between the Deaths and the Dragons, who have been mortal enemies ever since. Suzie is not only alone—she’s hated and feared.

Thus begins a young adult fantasy that will appeal to youth of all ages. School of Deaths is a page-burning mystery that kept me up at night and distracted me from “real” work. When I was on deadline, I didn’t dare even look at my Kindle while I was reading School of Deaths, and while I can’t wait for the next book in the series, Mr. Mannino tied up everything quite nicely and did not leave Suzie dangling from any cliffs. Bravo! By all means—buy the book and see for yourself. But do so when you have time to be mesmerized.

Length:  272 Pages

Price:  $5.95

Buy Link:  https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/now-available-in-ebook/school-of-deaths-detail

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive about 40-50% of the book price from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5-10%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their royalties from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-BookPublisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $0.83.

Downloading the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from a USB flash drive to your computer. You can download your books onto your computer using “Save As” to a “Books” folder you create and sort them into sub-folders by genre, author, or however you wish before transferring them to your e-reader. That way, if there’s a glitch with your e-reader, the books are on your computer. Once you’ve saved the book to your computer plug the larger USB end of your chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder you created to your E-Reader/Documents/Books directory. Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting. Julie, Donna, & Rochelle