Thursday 22 October 2009

URBAN FANTASY REVIEW: Tempest Rising (Jane True 1) - Nicole Peeler


BOOK BLURB:

In the tiny village of Rockabill, Maine, Jane True—26-year-old bookstore clerk and secret night swimmer—has no idea that her absent mother’s legacy is entry into a world populated by the origins of human myths and legends. It is a world where nothing can be taken for granted: vampires are not quite what we think; dogs sometimes surprise us; and whatever you do, never—ever—rub the genie’s lamp. For Jane, everything kicks off when she comes across a murder victim during her nightly clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean. This grisly discovery leads to the revelation of why she has such freakish abilities in the water: her mother was a Selkie and Jane is only half human. With this knowledge, Jane soon finds herself mingling with supernatural creatures alternately terrifying, beautiful, and deadly—all adjectives that quite handily describe her new friend Ryu. When Ryu is sent to Rockabill to investigate the murder, he and Jane fall hard for each other even as they plummet into a world of intrigue threatening to engulf both supernatural and human societies. For someone is killing half-humans like Jane. The question is, are the murders the work of one rogue individual or part of a greater plot to purge the world of Halflings?


REVIEW:

Every time a new author lands it’s a pretty intense experience, you read the jacket text, you scrutinize the cover and then you prepare for that opening paragraph hoping that it will throw something out that just grabs you and drags you into the world beyond to enchant you for a few hours.

What Nicole does is present a world of supernatural’s that not only appeal to the reader but explain how they hide from modern society as well as rule themselves. It’s a Private Investagator type novel but one that as the character learns more about her heritage as well as the unseen world beyond that of normal ken draws a rich tapestry over the veil that really will keep you glued to the last page. Jane is pretty intense and a character that will instantly become a friend to many a reader, yep her bums big, she likes food and above all she admits to her failings. She’s not a combat nut, she has to persevere as well as survive in an alien world through wits alone along with a love interest.

It’s quirky, it’s well written and above all each of the characters adds a new layer or texture to the tale demonstrating that its extremely well planned. I’ll eagerly await future instalments of this series as well secretly hoping for bigger roles for some of the characters within as each lures you in with an interesting back story that you’ll just want to hear more of. Good stuff Nicole.

1 comment:

Selestial said...

I'd been waiting to hear what someone in the know had to say about this one. I'll definitely have to look into it further. THANKS :D