Main Characters:
Jane True – a swimmer, who at first doesn’t really know why she doesn’t fit in. She’s half-human (her other half is selkie). She lives with her father who is sort of sick. Her mother abandoned her years ago (we find that is because she wasn’t human, and she needed to go back to the sea). She was blamed for the death of her boyfriend, even though it wasn’t her fault. Her favorite part of the ocean has a whirlpool (which is the town attraction). She loves to swim in the frigid ocean at night. And one night, she discovers a dead body.
Ryu (full name Ryu Baobhan Sith) – A vampire and sort of the paranormal FBI. He comes to town to investigate the death of the guy Jane finds.
Anyan – the dog, the shifter, the potential rival love interest. Rescues Jane a few times especially in the end. He doesn’t seem to like Ryu much either.
Nell – a gnome, who with Trill, help Jane learn about what she is and the supernatural world around her.
Trill – a kelpie who helps Jane learn about what she is.
Jarl – Orin and Morrigan’s second. Really doesn’t like humans. And likes halflngs even less. It’s unclear whether he had Jimmu killing for him or not. But he’s an evil one, and one to watch.
Jimmu – a naga (a two-formed/aka shifter), who’s second form is a serpent. Admits to the killings of the halflings and goblins. Appears that he was working for Jarl. While Jarl escapes, Jimmu doesn’t make it to book 2.
Grizzie and Tracy – Grizzie, a former porn star, and Tracy, Grizzie’s girlfriend, together own and run the shop where Jane works.
Main Premise: Someone is killing the half-bloods. The supernatural world, with it’s creepy rulers, seems to have a problem with half-lings. Jane and Ryu end up heading to the compound towards the end of his investigation. At a dinner, all hell breaks loose and there is a battle. Jimmu is revealed to be the killer, Jane is rescued, and its clear that the politics are deadly in this world. The Queen is against scientifically finding out why the supes are having trouble reproducing but there seems to be some other connection to scientists too (might be revelaed later **idk, shrugs shoulders**). And there is the romance between Jane and Ryu and the potential for Anyan complicating things since we learn in the end how much he cares for Jane.
Locations: Rockbill Maine, Quebec (where the supe royal compound is located)
Other important things to remember: The politics are clear cut and confusing at the same time. The Alfar are the King and Queen of the supes. The current King is Orin and the Queen is Morrigan. Nyx is Ryu’s cousin and she does not like humans. One of the problems that seems to be driving the weird politics of this series is that birth rates are dropping.
Review: I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The cover art set high expectations and I was not disappointed! I love the characters. Ryu is awesome – I have seen that some folks compare this to the Sookie novels, but Ryu is so much sexier then Bill. And Jane is smart and I love both her inner voices. When her libido talks, it totally cracked me up – every time. It was refreshing to see other creatures from mythology (a bunch I had to look up) instead of just seeing shape shifters and vamps. I was also a little surprised at some of the details in the steamy parts, since I pulled this off the sci/fi shelf not the romance shelf. But that made me love it that much more! I thought the reveal about Jane’s past was good timing – well enough into the book that the other mysteries had come into play, and it was a much more “human” problem then I expected, which was a nice change too. I read it cover to cover in one day. I couldn’t put it down. And I can’t wait for what Jane does next! Ryu too… 🙂
Book Series Tracker 