Tempest Rising

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1. 

   Brittany N. Mackey @ 9:19 pm

   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.

   
2. 

   DelusionalAngel @ 11:56 pm

   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.

   
3. 

   Megan Vasko @ 2:29 am

   I am new to the urban fansasy genre, but I’ll tell you now that I’m standing and saluting for it! I suppose I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this book but what I got was a story that I couldn’t get enough of–I flew through it in four days. I’ve never been addicted to any illegal substances but how I ached to read the book and my constant obsession with getting my next fix is the way I’d imagine it to be. It’s an easy read but also creative, intelligent and hilarious. I found Jane’s internal dialogue to be one of the highlights of the book and her witty, observational commentary allowed me to relate to her easily. It contains a few words that (at the risk of making myself sound dumb) made me go grab a dictionary. If I can have a laugh and expand my vocabulary at the same time, I am in!

   
4. 

   Rebecca Baumann @ 2:33 am

   Plot Summary: For a woman in the prime of life, Jane True has a pretty sorry existence. She lives in a tiny town on the coast of Maine working as a clerk in a bookstore, caring for her semi-sick father, and shunned by the townsfolk for something that happened eight years ago. One of her oddities is swimming in the frigid ocean at night, and one evening she finds a body. Suddenly the local supernaturals reveal themselves to her, and Jane finds that she’s only half-human. A handsome vampire named Ryu comes to town to investigate because the body was a halfling just like Jane. In order to find the murderer, Ryu will need Jane to fully immerse herself in the supernaturals’ way of life.

   I’m in shock right now, because I found Tempest Rising to be somewhat disappointing. I suppose after all the raves I read, I thought it would be a sure thing. I consume a lot of urban fantasies, and I’ve encountered all kinds of heroines, be they tough as nails, or angst-ridden souls, but I don’t think I’ve come across anyone as frustrating as Jane True.

   She is weak all over, in mind, body, and spirit, and even that I could forgive if this character had demonstrated just once that she could tough it out. Instead Jane spent her time fainting, barfing, or running when confronted with anything otherworldly. She also appears to have the mental capacity of a teenage girl, and if it weren’t for the crude language and sex (of which I approve), I would have thought this was a young adult novel.

   My other big disappointment was how the relationship between Jane and Ryu went down. I’m old-fashioned enough to prefer romances rather than flings. Or, if there’s going to be a fling, please let it be a temporary thing. This probably dates me horribly, because young women today think nothing of having a sexual relationship without any romance, but I find it uninspiring and mildly depressing.

   Despite how much I deplore Jane herself, I want to give this book an okay rating because there is promise here, and some series like to kick things off with a bubble-head who wanders around weak and clueless (I’m thinking of book one in Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series). I’ll definitely give the second book, Tracking the Tempest (Jane True), a try before passing judgement against this series, but I sincerely hope Jane does more than play the damsel in distress the next time around.

   
5. 

   Julia @ 3:13 am

   Tempest Rising is Nicole Peeler’s debut novel of the simply refreshing Jane True. I felt it was primarily Urban Fantasy, don’t worry- there is plenty of romance to go around here too. What I love about this book is that it brings new characters to the surface of the paranormal genre that don’t normally get much focus. Jane True is a selkie! How cool is that?

   I just want to touch on the cover of the book- I love it. I wasn’t much into it when I first checked it out… It’s a little silly, but I love that it is different than most of the covers I’ve been seeing lately. Although, I didn’t even realize the chick was naked until someone pointed it out. I don’t know what I was focusing on, haha, but I guess it wasn’t her belly button. The tinge of purple everywhere is cute and I love the snakes around the top.

   So, Jane True is our lovely heroine. She’s always felt different and never really fit in- she attributes this not only to her mother’s crazy history but the death of her first true love. For some ludicrous reason the small town she has grown up in blames her for his untimely death although it happened years ago. Now, unfortunately for Jane, she gets to uncover another corpse- just where her man was found. Her world is turned upside down as she unmasks all that the corpse was hiding. And, whether she likes it or not- she is about to be blown away with the details of her spicy heritage.

   There is plenty of action, love and mystery to keep you on your toes throughout this book. Peeler brings wonderful, likable characters to the table from all walks of life. For a new author, this book was better than I expected. She built an intriguing world but kept moving smoothly with the story. I wanted a fresh, light read with subtle humor- I got just what I asked for. (Ahem, seaweed pubes?) I think the next in this series will only get better, can’t wait to read it. 4 out of 5 Stars, Jane True!