TEMPEST RISING by Nicole Peeler

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 that are 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.

First of all, I just have to say that I absolutely LOVE this cover. No, let me rephrase that: I absolutely LOVE all of the covers for this series so far. They all match, and they're absolutely gorgeous, don't you think? I do. So, so lovely.

This is the first book in The Jane True series, and boy, did it start things off with an awesome (resounding) bang. Seriously, I'm totally hooked already. 

Jane is twenty-something, single, and works in a bookstore called Read It and Weep in the small town of Rockabill, Maine. She might live in a very small and average place, but she's anything but average. Her life has been riddled with mystery and non-stop gossip. To start with, her mother appeared out of a storm one day and then disappeared during one, too. Leaving a very young Jane and her father with a loss they were never able to get over. Not to mention that Jane became the talk of the town for a lot of other things that had nothing to do with her MIA mother.

Still, she has a great friendship with her boss, Tracy, and her boss's girlfriend, Grizelda. Oh, and she loves to swim, so she spends a lot of time in 'her secret cove'. Actually, because of this cove and the Old Sow (one of the biggest whirlpools on earth) her whole life changes, and she finds herself thrust into the middle of a murder investigation. After finding the dead body of a tourist called Peter, she finds herself discovering that the world around her is not as it seems. And shortly after, she starts to meet supernatural creatures she never knew existed. Some of them she's even known for years.

According to this secret supernatural community, her mother was just like them. Actually, she was a selkie who couldn't resist the call of the sea, and therefore that makes Jane a halfling.

When the very alluring and attractive Ryu walks into the bookstore to start his investigation into the death of Peter the tourist (with a secret or two), she gets swept off her feet. Not just by Ryu, but also by the events that start unfolding, and the new world she now finds herself a part of. It happens to be a very dangerous world where none of the rules are set by human standards, and most of the inhabitants don't hold much respect for human life. And even less for those who happen to be half-human.

Tempest Rising was fantastic! Not only is the worldbuilding, mythology, creatures that inhabit this secret world, their rules, society, and the writing awesome, but the characters were charming, scary, dangerous, and all-round wonderful. Jane's voice was so engrossing and hilarious that it was an actual pleasure to spend time with her, discovering a whole new way to look at the world she thought she knew. Her personal story is both interesting and heartbreaking, riddled with a guilt she hasn't been able to overcome for years.

Oh, and I can't talk about the book without mentioning Ryu and Anyan. Ryu's her love interest in this installment and they instantly click, but I couldn't help but like Anyan even more. I mean, don't get me wrong, Ryu's smooth and nice, a sexy vampire, but there's something much deeper about Anyan that leads me to believe that he's actually the one who really, truly cares about Jane. Especially after we find out what he did for her during her time of need. Very sweet, indeed.

This book is a total winner!

I've said it before (probably a thousand times) but urban fantasy never lets me down. I love this genre so much. Luckily for me, I've got the next book in this awesome series already on my bookshelf. I can't wait to get to it! This book's a total keeper, and Jane and her world are already on their way to being one of my faves.

Tempest Rising: Jane True #1, August 2010, ISBN 9781841499666, Orbit Paperback