Review: Tempest Rising

 Tempest Rising (Jane True, #1) by Nicole Peeler

Quick Take: It took a while for me to warm up to the characters and story of this book. But once it warmed up, it stayed that way. Wittiness aplenty made this a fun(ny) read.

Book Description:

Living in small town Rockabill, Maine, Jane True always knew she didn't quite fit in with so-called normal society. During her nightly, clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean, a grisly find leads Jane to startling revelations about her heritage: she is only half-human.
Now, Jane must enter a world filled with supernatural creatures alternatively terrifying, beautiful, and deadly- all of which perfectly describe her new "friend," Ryu, a gorgeous and powerful vampire.
It is a world where nothing can be taken for granted: a dog can heal with a lick; spirits bag your groceries; and whatever you do, never-ever-rub the genie's lamp.

Review:
So. Reading this book was something of a varied experience for me. It took me longer to finish than usual, and it's in part because it took a while for me to find a connection with the main character and her tale. The story starts by placing the reader into the daily life of Rockabill, Maine, as seen through the eyes of Jane True. Jane's musings were quite sentimental and tinged with sadness…but without much context it didn't resonate. Jane's voice was snappy and witty, her humor irreverent, but again not much was leaving an impression. There were a couple of characters that felt to me like "straw men" antagonists (read the book and then ask me who. ^_^). And overall, it felt rather slow…even with a number of occurrences that were intended to thrill. I really was having trouble putting my finger on what it was that precluded my enjoyment. (I still feel like perhaps rereading the book to try and figure it out.)

At some point, however, I started warming up to Jane. It might have been that, in getting to know her and experiencing her formal yet sudden introduction to the paranormal, her experiences carried more import. With many character introductions and initial world building out of the way, it became quite enjoyable getting to spend time in Jane's head.

I quite enjoyed the easy banter between Jane and Ryu. Some of their shared antics had me in stitches, and the presence of Ryu's character brought out so much of interest in Jane's, perhaps more so than any other device. Through him, we got to see many sides of Jane…including the saucy and flirtatious! ^_^

The mystical creatures that populated the story were so interesting and amusing. In many cases, they remain quite memorable and I look forward to some reappearances in subsequent installments.

There is a character that was involved with a life-altering experience that Jane suffered through as a youngster. Despite his having been long gone before the book's beginning (e.g., he's "dead" dead by page 1), his relationship with--and influence on--Jane ended up being pretty poignant.

Best of all, the story wrapped up in such a way that I was seriously eager to continue onto the next book. One can't ask for better than that!

Oh, and though the book's cover and the story are two separate entities, I have to give props to the artist or team that does the artwork for the Jane True series. It's so much fun, and the little visual clues about the book's content are a nice touch.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

DO Judge a Book by its Cover!

Okay, so there's the age-old adage warning us all not to judge books by their cover; advice which in both literal and figurative contexts is quite sound. But I must admit that book cover art can be satisfying in its own right. Hell, there are times when I'm just as excited for the release of book's cover art as I am for the book. Perhaps there's some way to judge a book cover by it's...well, book cover? ^_^

Yes, indeed there is! The wonderful ladies over at All Things Urban Fantasy are hosting the 2010 Urban Fantasy Cover Art Awards. The group of nominations was selected by over 50 experts (bloggers, reviewers, artists, authors, publishers etc.), who checked out hundreds of pieces from 2010. Anyone can vote on these final nominations, which are organized into 15 categories:

• Best Anthology Cover
• Best Foreign (non US) Cover
• Best Paranormal YA Cover
• Best Paranormal Steampunk Cover
• Best Object Cover
• Best Male Cover
• Best Female Cover
• Best Duo Cover
• Best Male w/ Animal Cover
• Best Female w/ Animal Cover
• Most Unique Cover
• Best Debut Cover
• Best Covers in a Series
• Best Sneak Peak Cover for 2011
• Cover of the Year 2010

Makes for lots of "pretty" to look at! What's more, the awards are tied to giveaways of a whole host of books. Much cooler than an "I Voted" sticker, if you ask me. ^_^ Voting is open until December 29: HERE.

Review: Night of the Vampires

Night of the Vampires by Heather Graham


Quick Take:
The setting and integration with actual historical events is quite riveting. However, the romance and character development felt a bit flat to me. All told, I'm not sorry to have read it.

Book Description:

     As a soldier, Cole Granger fights to restore peace to a world divided by war and evil. His extraordinary talents are enlisted to prevent the president's horrific premonition from becoming reality. Nothing—and no one—will stop him from fulfilling his duty. Especially the mysterious young woman who claims to be his comrade's sister. Enemy or ally, he can't yet determine. But one thing he knows for certain is that he must keep her close. Very close.
     Megan Fox's quest to uncover a family secret leads her to the center of vampire riots in West Virginia. To find the answers she needs—and clear herself of suspicion—she must join forces with Cole. They work undercover to bring justice, but they can't disguise the potent attraction and need that draw them together. Yet trust doesn't come easily for Cole…and when Megan unearths the grim, dark truth, can she trust him to believe her?

Review:
This book initially caught my eye when I saw the title (anything starting with "Night of the" is bound to be horror-rific!) and read the book's description, noted above. You'll notice that the blurb is not completely clear on the setting of the story. So I'll begin this review by noting that the book is a piece of historical fiction and urban fantasy. It takes place on the borderlands created by the American Civil War, and involves characters that have varying degrees of involvement with the conflict. Against this backdrop, a threat has secretly yet violently been appearing throughout the country: vampirism. Far from seductive and romantic, this affliction of frenzy and bloodthirst threatens to stretch and possibly break the already-delicate tensions of the war.

I found the choice of setting to be quite appealing for the insertion of a vampire tale. Think about it: what better time and place for vampirism to boom than during a bloody ground war? Ms. Graham has obviously done a boatload of research on the Civil War; it absolutely shows in her descriptions. One is thrown into the chaos of battle at recognizable locales and amidst historically significant political events. Having myself lived in Washington, DC I could clearly envision the city at that critical stage in time. The overcrowded medic tents on the mall green, the construction of museums, the lush forests on the edge of the town…it's all quite vivid.

Given the attention paid to the setting, I would say that one ought to have at least a passing interest in Civil War history. A basic familiarity with names, dates, battles or organizations of the era wouldn't hurt, either.  If one doesn't have either, however, I'd imagine they would by book's end. ^_^

As for the specific plot threads, I was less taken. The book centers on two characters, the stoic human sheriff Cole Granger (whom one will recognize if they've read Graham's Night of the Wolves, which is based in the same "world"), and the intense half-vamp Megan Fox (no relation to the actress ^_^). Theirs is a slow burn romance--there are no sensual or even romantic implications until well into the story. And the connection is quite subtle as compared to the plot thread involving the vampire threat. For a book billed as having "eternal passion" and "potent attraction," I was surprised by the fact. But I must admit, it was rather sweet.

I also didn't find the action scenes to be extremely visual or thrilling, though a fair amount of intrigue was infused into the plot. Indeed, the pace of the plot is not frenetic (even when it intends to be), but more temperate with a slowly building threat. All told, I wasn't gripped throughout, only mildly curious as to how the various threads would tie together. There was a series of attacks every so often, interspersed with anticipation of said attacks. Wasn't terribly thrilling, to me (with a couple of exceptions).

I did enjoy being in Megan's head. She's a strong willed yet vulnerable character, and I wish more was revealed and discussed about her. There was a plot element that was hinted as important, but didn't come to much in my opinion. I can only assume it will be used as a piece for a future book. Or perhaps it might have been more understandable had I read Night of the Wolves? I don't know.

Overall, I found this book to be worth reading. I was quite taken by the broader elements, though left wanting with the more specific ones. And whatever this book is officially billed as, I'd call it an historical urban fantasy with some romantic elements.

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

One Mo' Challenge! Vampires

Gah! As soon as I saw this challenge, I swear my hands clicked on the linky and signed me up of their own volition. I didn't do it! ^_^ But I wouldn't want to stray far away from my favorite paranormal creature, the vampire. So therefore...

Vampire Challenge

(hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View)

 

This challenge is pretty straightforward: read 20 books that have a vampire as a main character, either protag or antagonist. The challenge lasts from January 1 - December 31, 2011. Signups are open right up until the end-date of the challenge. If you're interested in this one, jump on over to this page at Parajunkee's View.

The listing of all of my 2011 challenges is located here. In the new year, I'll link it up to the main page. So excited!!!!!!!!!  ^_^

In Anticipation: Secrets of the Demon

As December has arrived to round out the year, I've found myself thinking about some of the books that I'm looking forward to in the new year. There are a number that are poised to be released right at the beginning of January, and of those here's one that I'm perhaps the most excited about. That'd be Secrets of the Demon, the third book in Diana Rowland's "Kara Gillian" series, which is urban fantasy and police procedural. Here's a partial book description (as the full description has a teensy spoiler of book 2):

Homicide detective Kara Gillian has a special talent: she can sense the "arcane" in our world, and there's quite a bit of it, even in Beaulac, Louisiana. She's also a summoner of demons, and works on a task force that deals with supernatural crimes. Her partners are attractive and smart FBI agents, but they're not summoners, and they're not telling Kara why they are on this special force with her... she's trying to solve a string of murders that are somehow tied together by money, sex, rock music and...mud. But how can she concentrate on the case when she's not even sure who-or what-her partners are?

I read both books preceding this one, and enjoyed both overall. The first I hadn't absolutely knocked me out (review's here if you're curious about what I mean), but the second book just hooked me, line and sinker. Ms. Rowland is really great at the art of the police procedural. This shouldn't come as a surprise as she's worked as a street cop, a detective, a computer forensics specialist, a crime scene investigator, and a morgue assistant before her books were published. The lady knows about crime, ya'll! ^_^ The scenes related to investigation are so exquisitely detailed, sometimes chillingly so. It integrates well with the paranormal aspect, which comes in the form of Kara and her crew. I'm looking forward to more of those combined elements in this next book, now that a fair bit of world-building has been done.

So, for anyone who's read the first and/or second books, you'll notice that the cover style has changed for this installment. This is actually not surprising, as Secrets of the Demon (and presumably, the books to follow) is being published by DAW, no longer Bantam. New publisher, new cover. While I did really like the original cover style, I LOVE me some Daniel dos Santos...and he's the one who did the artwork for this latest book. I swear, the man can do no wrong. He's rocked all sort of authors' work...and I'm pleased to see him add his touch to this series.
The depicted woman on the cover is a great visualization of Ms. Rowland's descriptions of Kara. I have to admit, she kind of reminds me of the actress Amanda Peet. ^_^ I think that's due to the dark features and striking eyebrows on both females. Pretty ladies, both!

The book is released on January 4, 2011 by DAW Books. Ms. Rowland has an excerpt of the book available on her website (here).