Review – Tempest Rising (Jane True, Book 1) by Nicole Peeler (4/5 stars)

This is the first book in the Jane True series.  There are at least 6 books contracted for this series with the third book, Tempest’s Legacy, out in January of 2011.  This was a very good start to this new series.  It is a fun read with a great plot and interesting characters.

Jane lives in a small coastal town in Maine.  For the most part her life is fairly normal except that she loves to go swimming in the ocean, at night, in the cold.  When some bizarre murders take place in her town of Rockabill a super hot man, err vampire, named Ryu gets in contact with her as a paranormal investigator.  Ryu tells her that her mother was a selkie, so Jane is half selkie.  Sparks between Jane and Ryu fly, but when they find Jane’s name is next on the list of murder victims, Jane is drawn into the dangerous world of the supernatural faster than she ever wanted to be.

This was a fun read and a good story.  I enjoyed Jane’s down-to-earth attitude and her sharp sense of humor.  Jane is just your every day woman drawn into crazy circumstances and she tries to make the best of things.  She does know her limits though, and backs off if things get too hot for her to handle.  Ryu and Jane have a fun relationship, but it never seems totally serious.  It seems like him and Jane are together for the fun of it, and that is fine.

There are a lot of interesting characters in this book and you never know what new surprising creature awaits around the corner.  It was fun to read about selkies, I don’t think I have read a book featuring selkies before so that was very creative.  The author treats supernaturals as just a bunch of separate races, so it ends up being an interesting and refreshing take on vampires as well.

The book was easy to read, well written, and paced well.  The end is tied up nicely but leaves some threads hanging for the next book.  This book tends more towards paranormal romance than urban fantasy, although there is a lot of mystery and investigation here.

Overall a fun read, kind of a fluffy read, but well done overall.  If you are a fan of Molly Harper, the Aisling Grey series, or even the Sookie Stackhouse books you should enjoy this book.  It is interesting, light and fun.  The characters are never in too much danger and they all have pretty fun attitudes.  A great read and I look forward to reading the second book, Tracking the Tempest.