Red-Headed Stepchild (Sabina Kane Series #1)

Great start to a new series.

My thoughts...Welcome to the world of Jaye Wells where the humor witty humor flows freely, the sexual tension is strung tighter than a violin and the action keeps you up at night. Jaye introduces us to Sabina Kane, a kick-butt heroine who's half-vampire/half-mage blood makes her the perfect weapon. She is a trained assassin who is sent to do her bloodthirsty Grandmothers dirty work. Sabina's character is fun to read. She showed significant growth by the end of the story which made her more memorable. Her potential love interest, Adam, is everything readers will want out of a hero. Sexy, hexy, and tough but very secretive. I do have my reservations about him, I think I may change my opinion as the series progresses. Another memorable character is Giguhl, the demon. I think we may see more of him in future installments.

Red-Headed Stepchild kept a steady pace until about three-quarters of the way through when everything turned up a notch. This was also about the time when some secrets were revealed and the potential romance heated up. While readers learn a lot about Sabina's vampire side, little is revealed about her mage half. Book two in the series, The Mage In Black (April 2010) should explore her abilities more. I look forward to seeing where her adventures take her.

This book will appeal to UF fans. There are enough paranormal elements to keep it interesting, it is fast-paced and it offers the right amount of romance. That being said it has not hit the list as one of my favorites, YET. I am going to keep reading to see if Sabina Kane can set herself apart from the others of her kind.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Recommended

I waffled between 3 and 4 stars for this one. I really liked this book, although didn't love Sabina as much as I thought I would. She grew on me by the end, but all her back and forth loyalty/trust issues, while understandable, got a little annoying. Anyway other than that I did like it. There wasn't much romance, although given Sabina's trust issued it probably would have felt forced if there were. We did get to see her grow and gain some close friendships.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Sassy sarcastic humor w/action & mystery

Sabina, a half-vampire half-mage assassin is meeting her long time friend and mentor David at the grave of her latest snack. David doesn't know but he is Sabina's next job. To eliminate him for the Dominae, as they told her he has turned to a growing and potential dangerous group to the vampire community. To prevent this community from growing and potentially killing vampires Sabina finds her next mission is to become cast out by the Dominae and be taken in by Clovis, half vampire and half demon leader. Sabina finds now herself a spy, which she feels she is no good at. While Sabina is fighting for the vampire community that raised her, she learns many things about herself and the different races that open her eyes to different thoughts. Will she remove the threat or create a bigger one in its place...

I enjoyed the world created by Jaye Wells here. Half-vampires, -mage, -demon, or anything is not accepted in this magical world. Particularly between of these three races. They all are against each other, but have a truce to not bother each other as well. But this truce is stretched with the political games played. There is a separation of the races and cultures here. You get to see the boundaries of them and what happens if they start to blur. This story tells the main story at hand and leaves you with questions in the back of your mind yet to be answered on Sabina and a few other small pieces. This is nicely done as you don't have to read further in the series, but you want to, to see what those pieces will lead to.

Part of what I enjoyed in the book where the characters. Sabina is a wonderful main vampire character. Even though you get the feel from her she was not completely accepted by the Vampire community, and more so her grandmother - the leader of the Dominae, she is strong. She grows up independent and ars kicking strong. Sabina is one to be put on a path and she sticks to it. Sabina is sassy and determined. You know she'll have a sarcastic remark for just about anything and look forward to it. The dry sarcastic humor made me smile and really gave me a great feel for Sabina's character. But the secondary characters help complement Sabina as they are very different from her. And a potential love interest will catch your heart too.

The mystery of the mission is a great journey to go on with Sabina. I enjoyed this book very much and would suggest to many Urban Fantasy readers to give it a try. But, you have to love strong, bold, sassy and sarcastic characters.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A great start...

This is book 1 in the Sabina Kane series and I really enjoyed it. Sabina's actions and feelings about things were for the most part annoying, but when you look at the big picture, its all really completely justified. There is being sheltered and then there's what Sabina's childhood was like which is exponentially worse. Seeing her POV on certain things is very frustrating, but that is part of her story and I'm really looking forward to the next one now that her blinders are off and the truth is out. There are some great secondary characters, even though some didn't quite survive, but all in all this was a very good read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not original but still entertaining

I believe that this author read Richelle Mead's Succubus Series and Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series and then wrote this book. I'm not saying that's a bad thing because I like those authors and there are some unique takes on the whole vampire genre. I am looking forward to reading The Mage in Black. It's a quick and easy read and it's offbeat and quirky. The grandmother is little one-dimensional but that may have been the point. If you like strong women who can take care of themselves while kicking butt and taking numbers then you will enjoy this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Interesting

A good book, but don't read it if you dislike foul language and sexual scenes. An interesting new take on vampires.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

There's urban fantasy and then there's URBAN FANTASY.

If you're looking for something a bit different in your urban fantasy novels you really can't go wrong with Red Headed Stepchild. Honestly, the title is lacking but the story is packing. Buy this book, put on your suntan lotion, then read it on the beach because you will not be able to put it down and you'd hate to get a sunburn. Also, what's up with reading with direct sunlight, always hurts my eyes.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Sabina is Awesome!

This chick is racking up there with one of my all time butt-kicking female faves. A fast paced fun adventure that leaves me waiting for the sequel.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Interesting concept...

but just wasn't as good as the back cover led me to believe. Hopefully, the second book in the series will be a little better.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wow

I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was original and I just loved all the characters. I can't wait until the next book in this series comes out.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Now this I liked.

i just love finding a new favorite author, don't you? ms wells has created a universe that we all can enjoy. i really loved it. vampires, witches and hybrids all living, loving, hating, fighting together. i can't wait for mage in black.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Mediocre at best

The writing was very sub-par, the plot predictable and the characters either one dimensional or taken straight from the vampire sterotype list.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Red-Headed Stepchild

I am new to the fantasy books I started with the twilight series and now I have started this one. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to find out what happens in the next book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Half-Vampire Half-Mage.and all trouble

This is a very exciting, well-written book with a fresh new outlook on vampires. In the world that Jaye has created, preternaturals (vampires, mages, demons and faeries) are all living and are born instead of made. Mages and Vampires are the resulting descendents of Lilith and Cain and all have a genetic marker of red hair. Even though they are of the same lineage, they are sworn enemies. Sabina Kane is a vampire-assassin extraordinaire. Her parents were murdered at the time of her birth, for mating outside their races. Raised by her grandmother, the head of the vampire council (Dominae), Sabina is one of the best assassins you never want to meet. Sabina has been ashamed of her mage heritage and treated as an outcast by her maternal vampire family her entire life. Time and time again the Dominae have proven to her how expendable she is. Her latest assignment given happily to her by her grandma sends her practically on a suicide mission. She must infiltrate a rival vampire-cult and assassinate their leader. In the middle of this assignment, the paternal mage side of her family has sent a mage, Adam Lazarus, to seek her out on their behalf. Unfortunately it's not to invite her to a backyard bbq but to convert her loyalties for the war that is to come. Adam is one tough-hot mage that won't take no for an answer. Sabina can't seem to catch a break. She can't even hit the local bar for a pint of blood-wine without families from past assassin jobs attacking her at will. And to top it all off she was given the lovely assignment of assassinating her best friend. The threat of war is at the boiling point between the vampire and mages and she is caught somewhere in the middle. If her current assignment doesn't kill her first, she will have to choose sides in this race-war. She should stay loyal to the vampires, who are the devil she knows or choose the mages and take her chances? I loved Sabina's character. She's able to be tough and kick-butt but at the same time is very vulnerable and naive. There is quite a bit of fun and dark-humor in this novel, tons of action and lot of sexual tension. For those who love urban fantasy, I can't recommend this one enough. I look forward to the second book in this trilogy Mage in Black.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A great read!!

Half vampire, half mage Sabina Kane is an assassin working for the Dominae vampire council. Her latest job is to infiltrate the renegade group of vampires led by Clovis Trakiya who is recruiting vampires and other paranormal beings to ultimately overthrow the Dominae.

Raised by her grandmother, a powerful leader in the Dominae council, Sabina has always been required to suppress the mage side of her abilities. In the midst of infiltrating Clovis' group she's approached by a mage who has some interesting information for her. Unsure of who to trust she tentatively listens to what he has to say and learns quite a few things that rock her to the core and changes her life forever.

I'd been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this book ever since I first read about it a couple of months ago. Initially the first few chapters had my head spinning with the different names, beings and groups but once I got the hang of who and what everyone was the rest of the story fell into place.

I love that it was a darker type of fantasy tale but still had a lot of humor and plenty of sarcasm from the characters. Sabina is a kick-ass heroine who's been lied to for most of her life. You kind of feel sorry for her in a way but can't help admiring her for the way she soldiers on. Throw in a demon who's addicted to infomercial shopping and you have the makings of an excellent read.

This is the first book in a new series about Sabina but this story arc is tied up nicely in the end. The only downside of reading this is that I'm going to have to wait so long for the next book. Highly recommended for all urban fantasy and paranormal lovers.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

an exciting action-packed urban fantasy

Half breed Sabina Kane has not been comfortable in the world of the vampire that she grew up in with her mom. She has limited knowledge of her patriarchal side of the world of the mage; only enough to despise them. Amongst the vampire brood she grew up with, she is a pariah of sorts even within her maternal family only worthy of the lowly occupation of vampire assassin.

Her latest mission leads her to meeting Adam who tells her about her paternal family. She begins to widen her knowledge of other species even as her maternal grandmother demands she obey and do her job; the only task suited for one whose blood is half tainted. Her assignment is to infiltrate a rival vampire clan and kill its charismatic demonic guest or perhaps leader. The mission, if successful, may devastate the uneasy peace between the vampires and the mages, but her grandma insists she do the assignment or be an outcast for betraying her family.

RED-HEADED STEPCHILD is an exciting action-packed urban fantasy starring an intriguing heroine who grew up knowing she is worthless because of her half-breed heritage. In the vampire world of her maternal family hybrids are expendable; a belief her grandmother enforces all the time. The story line follows closely Sabina¿s escapades as her latest mission enables her to learn more about her paternal roots. With humorous asides starting with drinking human blood laced with cannabis to the final confrontation in Central Park, fans will relish the adventures of Sabina as she begins to obtain self-esteem.

Harriet Klausner

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommend

Love this book

Highly recommended!

Sabina is in a horrible position. Not only is she the child of two different species, who hate each other immensely, she is also the granddaughter of the leader of one of those groups. Trained as an assassin, she is needed, but hated, by not only the others of the species, but her own grandmother.

Sabina is one tough cookie, she has had to be. Getting close to anyone is not something she allows herself to do, under any circumstances. She sees herself as tough and cold, and tries to live her life in that manner. However, things are due to change when Sabina finds out shocking secrets about who, and what she really is. This is a gorgeous, creative beginning to a killer series, with a strong heroine, who only begins to learn in this first installment just who she is, and who she can become.

Very highly recommended. Strong world building, strong characters, and a very well defined storyline. The author doesn't rely on kinky sex to keep her story going, as do too many authors I see today (no, I am not a prude, but come on people - - rape as 'intimate sex'? - grow up), her battle scenes are believable, and she takes her time developing the character's psychological growth.

Read it!! Then pick up the rest of the series, you won't be disappointed.

So Good!!!!

This is the first book I read by this author and I loved it!!!! I can't wait to read the next one in the series!!!

Great read

The series is interesting and well thought out. The characters grab you. The writing is simple and enjoyable.