Review: Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler

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? (summary from the website of Nicole Peeler)

Click here to read chapter one of Tempest Rising.

My thoughts...I really enjoy this debut novel by Nicole Peeler.  Let me start with the characters.  Jane True, our heroine made me smile through out the whole book with her quick witt and her arguments with herself.  Having endured a very traumatic experience and some very unfriendly neighbors she lives her life day by day.  Then we meet Ryu, a vampire investigator who has come to town to interview Jane about a mysterious death.  Ryu is everything we would expect, sexy, smart sophisticated, rich and did I mention sexy?  Jane and Ryu are just the half of it.  Nicole Peeler introduces readers to an incredible world full of some very interesting and unique characters.  Some of them were truly frightening, others incredibly magical.  She did a great with the characterization in the book. 

I enjoyed the storyline of Tempest Rising.  There were quite a few unique twists and turns that kept me turning the pages until the very end.  The story did not leave you hanging with a cliffhanger, however it did leave you wanting more of Jane True and her new friends, particularly Anyan who only makes several appearances in the first book.  This book is geared for adults due to some graphic scenes which were steamy but still tastefully written.  Overall, I enjoyed the writing style. 

As for cons...I am hard pressed for anything negative to say about this book other than the fact that I have to wait so long for the next in the series. 

Tracking the Tempest

July, 2010

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this to a mature reader who enjoys a good paranormal series. 

For more information on Nicole and her books, please visit her website. 
I was lucky enough to interview Nicole, she ROCKS!  Click here to read it.

If you enjoyed Tempest Rising, you may also like:
1. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
2. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
3. The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay