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In Shunned, Jael leaves Nevada and her close friends, Brianna and Shadow, behind. She travels to the Loon Lake Amish community in Minnesota where she moves in with grandparents she’s never met and learns to live the plain and simple life... at least as plain and simple as she can handle. She may learn to milk a goat, but she is definitely NOT giving up her cell phone or crossbow!
While finishing out the school year at Loon Lake Public High School, she meets the guy of her dreams…someone to keep her company when she goes out staking vampires at night.
Her true purpose is to destroy the Bishop, the oldest and most powerful vampire of all. But first she must find out just what his diabolical plans are for the teenagers of the community, and put a stop to him and his undead followers before it’s too late.
While finishing out the school year at Loon Lake Public High School, she meets the guy of her dreams…someone to keep her company when she goes out staking vampires at night.
Her true purpose is to destroy the Bishop, the oldest and most powerful vampire of all. But first she must find out just what his diabolical plans are for the teenagers of the community, and put a stop to him and his undead followers before it’s too late.
207 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 23, 2012
3 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Ellen Brink
25 books120 followersBarbara is a multi-published author of mystery, suspense, and young adult. Her Fredrickson Winery Novels have been on the best-seller lists multiple times, and her Christian thriller, Split Sense, won the Grace Award in 2012. Again in 2016, she won the Grace Award with the 2nd book of her Double Barrel Mysteries, Much Ado About Murder.
Barbara grew up on a small farm in Washington State, but now lives in the mean "burbs" of Minnesota with her husband and their pups. With their adult kids now pushed out of the nest and encouraged to fly, she spends much time reading, writing, collecting books, riding motorcycles, and keeping one step ahead of AARP. She also really likes black licorice.
Barbara grew up on a small farm in Washington State, but now lives in the mean "burbs" of Minnesota with her husband and their pups. With their adult kids now pushed out of the nest and encouraged to fly, she spends much time reading, writing, collecting books, riding motorcycles, and keeping one step ahead of AARP. She also really likes black licorice.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 20, 2012
I’m still lovin the cover art for this series. Take your time and really look at it!
They’re back! Most of my favorite characters are back plus I got to meet some new ones. Not saying they’re all nice, but they’re definitely interesting.
Spoiler Alert
Shunned is Book Two in The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy and just wanted to gives you a heads up. I don’t believe I will be giving anything away. I’ve tried to make this entertaining and fun without revealing any of the really relevant points of the story line.
Shunned takes up right where Chosen left us and Jael, the Chosen one, is in for big changes. She’s going to Minnesota to stay with her Amish grandparents. Til now she’s lived a somewhat normal teen-age life, except for the daily training in slaying vampires and the fact that no one is allowed to visit her at her house. But now she’s going to be living in an Amish community, learning and living by their customs.
Until recently she didn’t even know she had grandparents and she’s worried about how they will receive her. After all, her parents left the community before she was born, sneaking off in the night in order to protect their child from the Bishop, the community leader and a vampire. Most of the folks who live at Loon Lake don’t know about the vampires in their midst or about the Chosen one. Jael will be playing this on the down-low.
Knowing that her best friends Shadow and Brianna, now a couple, will be coming to spend the summer in Minnesota at Bree’s grandmothers house, only 20 miles away, gives her the courage to go to Loon Lake and face her newly discovered family.
Upon her arrival:
Jael drew a deep breath and moved tentatively closer, grasping the handle of her book bag at her side. She paused a few feet from the porch and looked into blue eyes faded with time.
“Grandma? I’m Jael.”
The woman seemed to weave like a thick blade of grass in the wind and then she stepped off the porch and put out her hands.
“Jael?” Tears filled her eyes and she closed them for a second, before reaching out and taking Jael’s hands in hers. She pulled her close and kissed her cheek. She smelled of onions and cinnamon and her hands were worn and rough with calluses, but the joy in her eyes made everything right.
I love that her grandfather calls her little one. He is gruff and stern but also tender and giving. Jael’s fears evaporate and she begins to settle in.
I had plenty of laughs reading about her attempts to fit in. She learns to bake bread, of course, gathers the eggs, and milks Elsa the goat. She does all of this at the crack of dawn. And she finally consents to wearing Amish garb, long drab dress, prayer cap, and all.
The dress won’t help when she has to battle with a vampire. She gets in quite the fix then, but she improvises really well and manages to stay alive.
Jael has brought vengeance with her to Loon Lake and to the Bishop and his growing gang of vampires. She will not stop until his reins of leadership are broken and the vampires are all dead.
There is a story inside Jael’s story. One about another Jael from long ago, back in 1142 B.C. Present day Jael sees the other Chosen one in her dreams, like watching a moving picture. At first she’s confused by the dreams, but then I felt she drew strength from them. She came to accept what she was here for, what her purpose was.
She may have matured but she’s still a teen-ager, with all the angst, insecurity and rebellion. I love her even more.
Things start to get dangerous and messy in Loon Lake and the stakes get higher. Her uncle Seth reappears and along with Bree and Shadow, they are right in the thick of it.
There are some great reveals and surprises as you read Book Two and one heck of a cliffhanger ending. I am so hooked!
They’re back! Most of my favorite characters are back plus I got to meet some new ones. Not saying they’re all nice, but they’re definitely interesting.
Spoiler Alert
Shunned is Book Two in The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy and just wanted to gives you a heads up. I don’t believe I will be giving anything away. I’ve tried to make this entertaining and fun without revealing any of the really relevant points of the story line.
Shunned takes up right where Chosen left us and Jael, the Chosen one, is in for big changes. She’s going to Minnesota to stay with her Amish grandparents. Til now she’s lived a somewhat normal teen-age life, except for the daily training in slaying vampires and the fact that no one is allowed to visit her at her house. But now she’s going to be living in an Amish community, learning and living by their customs.
Until recently she didn’t even know she had grandparents and she’s worried about how they will receive her. After all, her parents left the community before she was born, sneaking off in the night in order to protect their child from the Bishop, the community leader and a vampire. Most of the folks who live at Loon Lake don’t know about the vampires in their midst or about the Chosen one. Jael will be playing this on the down-low.
Knowing that her best friends Shadow and Brianna, now a couple, will be coming to spend the summer in Minnesota at Bree’s grandmothers house, only 20 miles away, gives her the courage to go to Loon Lake and face her newly discovered family.
Upon her arrival:
Jael drew a deep breath and moved tentatively closer, grasping the handle of her book bag at her side. She paused a few feet from the porch and looked into blue eyes faded with time.
“Grandma? I’m Jael.”
The woman seemed to weave like a thick blade of grass in the wind and then she stepped off the porch and put out her hands.
“Jael?” Tears filled her eyes and she closed them for a second, before reaching out and taking Jael’s hands in hers. She pulled her close and kissed her cheek. She smelled of onions and cinnamon and her hands were worn and rough with calluses, but the joy in her eyes made everything right.
I love that her grandfather calls her little one. He is gruff and stern but also tender and giving. Jael’s fears evaporate and she begins to settle in.
I had plenty of laughs reading about her attempts to fit in. She learns to bake bread, of course, gathers the eggs, and milks Elsa the goat. She does all of this at the crack of dawn. And she finally consents to wearing Amish garb, long drab dress, prayer cap, and all.
The dress won’t help when she has to battle with a vampire. She gets in quite the fix then, but she improvises really well and manages to stay alive.
Jael has brought vengeance with her to Loon Lake and to the Bishop and his growing gang of vampires. She will not stop until his reins of leadership are broken and the vampires are all dead.
There is a story inside Jael’s story. One about another Jael from long ago, back in 1142 B.C. Present day Jael sees the other Chosen one in her dreams, like watching a moving picture. At first she’s confused by the dreams, but then I felt she drew strength from them. She came to accept what she was here for, what her purpose was.
She may have matured but she’s still a teen-ager, with all the angst, insecurity and rebellion. I love her even more.
Things start to get dangerous and messy in Loon Lake and the stakes get higher. Her uncle Seth reappears and along with Bree and Shadow, they are right in the thick of it.
There are some great reveals and surprises as you read Book Two and one heck of a cliffhanger ending. I am so hooked!
May 24, 2014
At first glimpse the premise of a gathering of undead vampires living off of a quiet and unsuspecting community away from the constructs of modern life intrigued me. The books are all well written with an active plot line that never left me waiting for what happens next. The story unfolded very naturally and the characters were human and familiar. I was a little nervous about how the character element would be presented before I began reading the books. I was curious how the author would make two very foreign groups, the Amish and the Vampires relate-able and approachable to readers like myself who have always been surrounded by a technological and fully alive selection of people to interact with. Brink pulled off the character element with style and grace. The protagonist, Jael was as vulnerable as any teenager would be, yet she found her inner strength and was able to preserver against forces and situations that placed her in a difficult situation at a very young age. Her peers were diverse and endearing. Her interactions with Amish world(out of her comfort zone) were refreshing. The Amish themselves, who are stigmatized in today’s world were painted with a brush of humanity that made them recognizable and believable despite their cultural differences from the world the main character was accustomed to.
All of that aside, these books were action packed reads that filled the promise for edge of your seat slaying action while remaining true to a moral and a clean portrayal of the life of a young woman. I also enjoyed the biblical elements that were skillfully woven in as an integral parts of the story line. They are a great choice for a fun summer (or any season) read!
All of that aside, these books were action packed reads that filled the promise for edge of your seat slaying action while remaining true to a moral and a clean portrayal of the life of a young woman. I also enjoyed the biblical elements that were skillfully woven in as an integral parts of the story line. They are a great choice for a fun summer (or any season) read!
February 3, 2013
This second installation in the Amish Bloodsucker Trilogy is just as appealing as the first. Teenage Jael is the "Chosen One", born to slay the vampires that have infiltrated an Amish community in Minnesota that was the home of her parents, but since Jael and her parents have been on the run while Jael grew up and honed her skills, Jael has never been there. With her parents now dead, Jael must leave behind her friends in Sunburn, Nevada to live with the Amish grandparents she hadn’t known existed and get on with her destiny.
The transition to Amish living isn’t easy, but fortunately her grandparents are thrilled to have her there and she’s allowed to attend the public high school for now, where she meets a boy she starts to fall for in spite of herself. Between farm chores, school, and hunting vampires Jael is busy from before sunrise to long after sundown. Named for a heroine from the Old Testament, Jael takes her vampire slaying mission seriously, but she has a humorous edge to her outlook and an occasionally flippant teenage attitude that add to the fun of reading these books and keep you rooting for her.
Barbara Ellen Brink does a good job conveying the sights and smells of simple country living and the pushes and pulls of Jael’s sometimes complicated priorities. There are Christian elements to the story, but they are multi-denominational and not heavy handed.
This is available as a paperback and an ebook, which can be purchased on Smashwords in all ebook formats.
The transition to Amish living isn’t easy, but fortunately her grandparents are thrilled to have her there and she’s allowed to attend the public high school for now, where she meets a boy she starts to fall for in spite of herself. Between farm chores, school, and hunting vampires Jael is busy from before sunrise to long after sundown. Named for a heroine from the Old Testament, Jael takes her vampire slaying mission seriously, but she has a humorous edge to her outlook and an occasionally flippant teenage attitude that add to the fun of reading these books and keep you rooting for her.
Barbara Ellen Brink does a good job conveying the sights and smells of simple country living and the pushes and pulls of Jael’s sometimes complicated priorities. There are Christian elements to the story, but they are multi-denominational and not heavy handed.
This is available as a paperback and an ebook, which can be purchased on Smashwords in all ebook formats.
May 17, 2013
I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. Jael Shetler has lost her parents in a horrible car accident. Now, she must leave Nevada, and live in Loon Lake Amish community with her grandparents. She had never met them before; learning to live a “plain” life has put her in culture shock. Her first day at Loon Lake High School, she meets Gabriel. He’s a sweet guy, an artist, an altar boy, someone that knows the truth but isn’t afraid of her. Can she give up the life she’s known to be Amish? Will she be able to save the community from the crazed Bishop?
This is book 2 of The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy. This was an amazing book. I was drawn in from page one! You could feel Jael’s pain dealing with her parents’ deaths. I loved Jael’s dreams of the biblical Jael. I think it reinforces her calling and she draws strength from it. This was a great fun read! One I truly enjoyed!
This is book 2 of The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy. This was an amazing book. I was drawn in from page one! You could feel Jael’s pain dealing with her parents’ deaths. I loved Jael’s dreams of the biblical Jael. I think it reinforces her calling and she draws strength from it. This was a great fun read! One I truly enjoyed!
October 28, 2012
The Amish Bloodsucker Trilogy continues in book two,SHUNNED. Jael leaves Nevada and moves to Minnesota to live with her Amish grandparents in the Loon Lake Amish community. Learning to live Amish is hard for a girl from the technologically right side of the tracks. No hot running water, electricity, or refrigerator? Are you kidding me?! Jael might have to milk a goat every morning but she is NOT giving up her cell phone or crossbow! And you think you've got it rough? Try fighting vamps in an Amish dress! On the bright side, Jael has met the man of her dreams...an altar boy with access to holy water. Watch out vampires, here comes fun!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews