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51 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Beginning! Can't wait for more!, November 2, 2009
This review is from: Tempest Rising (Jane True) (Mass Market Paperback)
A entirely original yet familiar introduction to a new world of urban fantasy. Jane True is stuck in a ho-hum life in small-town Maine as the village pariah. Because of the nature of her parentage (child out of wed-lock, gasp!) and a freak accident that left her crippled by her own grief and the town's collective hatred she has little to look forward to. The death of another local thrusts her into a paranormal society she didn't know existed let alone was part of. In walks Mr. Steamy/Sexy vampire, Ryu, and out pops a host of unique, colorful, lovable, crazy, weird, and/or interesting characters. Jane True is somewhat reminiscent of Sookie Stackhouse as she tumbles down the rabbit hole and doesn't know who to trust. But she is her own character entirely. And I love her internal ramblings. They seriously made me laugh out loud. Nicole Peeler puts the mental ramblings we all have, but never admit to, on paper. Or at least I hope I'm that funny in my head. I especially love the whole devil on one shoulder and angel on the other inner dialogue. Only it's Jane's libido and her guilty common sense that battle. Especially when her libido was that carnivorous plant from Little Shop of Horrors. (Feed meeeeeeee!) I also love that while there are vampires in this book it is not a vampire book. Matter of fact, vampires aren't even the "ancient all powerful, apathetic to the workings of us puny humans" characters in this book. So while this is a paranormal book and the characters are similar to the myths of vampires, shapeshifters, ect, they are original but without being TOO off the beaten path. I love, love, love this series. Nicole Peeler has carved out the perfect little niche for her world and her characters and I can only hope it's long lasting. Plus, I can tell she could do side-stories on other characters because she sets this up so well. Tempest Rising fell in the same category as Halfway to the Grave, Some Girls Bite, Stray, and Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs: Books that started up an AWESOME series and that I couldn't put down.
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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can you see through the glamours?, November 24, 2009
This review is from: Tempest Rising (Jane True) (Mass Market Paperback)
They live among us. And who are they? Supernatural beings, of course. Gnomes. Vampires. Genies. Half this, half that. They're all here. The dog you walk day in and day out may not be just a dog. Of course, they don't want us to see their true nature, so we don't. This would, however, explain a lot about my cat -- I'm going to start watching her more closely. Perhaps her glamours will slip one day. Like all of us, Jane never saw any of these beings, despite being half one herself -- until one day they make themselves known to her. They'd watched her from afar and would have let themselves be known to her -- someday, if they felt it necessary. And then she stumbled upon a murder scene that affected their world. So, of course, they were forced to welcome her with open arms. Or some were, anyway. This turns Jane's otherwise boring life upside down. In good and bad ways both. The town outcast can always use some excitement, after all. There's a fair amount of pop culture references in this book, which typically makes me a little nervous. It makes me feel as though it might leave some readers out. Sure, my mom will get the MC Hammer reference, but some other the other songs or movies that were mentioned? Maybe not. Still it worked in this book, most are popular enough that almost anyone would have at least an idea of who/what they were -- that or the names alone gave you an idea of what they were about. So, my usual pet peeve when it comes to this, went right out the window and I ended up finding it charming -- That Jane was so often chatting with herself using books, movies, songs, etc as reference points to compare her own situations to. The cover explains to us that this book is a must for Sookie fans. I agree. It's written in the same fun spirit as the Southern Vampire Series. A totally different world though. The Sookie world really focuses on Vamps and shape shifters. This is a bit of wow who ISN'T here. 5/5. I'll be back for the next book.
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24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not good., February 11, 2010
This review is from: Tempest Rising (Jane True) (Mass Market Paperback)
I was a little skeptical going into this, mainly because I had an issue with the cover looking very YA and none too appealing. But I pushed my worries aside when I saw that Rachel Caine had leant her opinion to the back-cover, calling `Tempest Rising' a "fascinating, fast-paced, sexy storm of a book". Oh Ms. Caine, how you've led me astray... The plot isn't all that bad - it's a very slow wind-up and a hurried conclusion. Ms. Peeler also makes the mistake of telling, not showing - by including endless descriptions, scene summaries and internal monologues that make the book drag. But it is bearable. Even though, to be honest, I think a better book would have been based on the back-story of Jane's Selkie mother and human father. *That* story was more intriguing than the whole of 'Tempest Rising', complete with romance, tragedy and mystery. No, the biggest problem with Peeler's book is the protagonist, Jane True. When you find yourself wanting to give a fictional character a wedgie, you're in trouble. Jane is boring (hence the name?), weak-willed and all together awful. She is also thoroughly uncouth - at one point she hocks her gum out the window while her sexy vampire lover looks on. Ew! In another instance her vampire lover places a hand over her stomach, and her response is "are you checking for food babies?" `Food babies'? Are you serious? And it's made worse by the fact that Jane can't carry off these social faux pas' with the same zany grace as someone like Jane Jameson in Molly Harper's series could. Jane True just comes across as a hillbilly. Peeler tries to make up for Jane's lack of character by having her described as looking like a `young Selma Hayek' - which does nothing to endear her to me, especially when you consider the fact that for the entire book she keeps up a `woe is me' schtick that begins to grate to the point of antipathy. Her vampire lover, Ryu, isn't much better. He's a cardboard cutout gorgeous vampire with all the usual biting mojo. Nothing original here. The one character who intrigued me was relegated to secondary status, with hints that he'll have a bigger part in future books. Anyan is a shape-shifting `hell hound' who has been lurking on the periphery of Jane's life for some time now. His story reminded me a bit of Sam Merlotte from Charlaine Harris's `Southern Vampire: Sookie Stackhouse' series, for his unrequited love for the heroine. The one redeeming feature of `Tempest Rising' is the possible romance between Jane and Anyan - for that I *might* consider buying the e-book of the second novel, `Tracking the Tempest' (July 2010) but I highly doubt it.
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