Review and Read-A-Long Discussion: Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells

Red-Headed Stepchild
(Sabina Kane #1)
Jaye Wells
Release: April 1, 2009
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In a world where being of mixed-blood is a major liability, Sabina Kane has the only profession fit for an outcast: assassin. But, her latest mission threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races and Sabina must scramble to figure out which side she's on. She's never brought her work home with her---until now.

This time, it's personal.

This book is part of a read-a-long I am co-hosting with Jennifer from The Book Nympho and Jenese from Readers Confession. If you've read the book or plan to read it in the near future, please join us for the discussion, which is hosted this month at The Book Nympho. You can check it out HERE! 

 We will be reading the rest of this series over the next few months. Check out the read-a-long schedule at the end of my review and please join in on the fun!

Review:

Red-Headed Stepchild is the first in the Sabina Kane urban fantasy series focusing on half vampire, half mage, full assassin Sabina. This UF  has it all: a few of the paranormal world's staple supes, a kick ass leading lady, and a great combination of mystery and mayhem.

When I began reading, I wasn't sure how well Sabina and I were going to get along. She is fully committed to being an assassin for the rulers of the vampire world, which includes her very controlling and secretive grandmother. Sabina does whatever her grandmother says and kills whoever her grandmother tells her to kill, usually without question, and this is evidenced by her actions at the book's opening.

Sabina is a typical assassin in that she's a hard ass who keeps to herself and has few friends. But what's great about this story is Sabina's growth during this book. As she gets involved in the story's plot and meets others outside of the vampire race she becomes a slightly warmer and friendlier person and I look forward to seeing how she continues to grow throughout the series.

The characters that lead to Sabina's growth include a mysterious and frustrating mage, Adam, with whom a romantic relationship will most likely continue to develop in future books (this one was light on the romance but still managed to have some occasional sexy moments) and a hilarious, naive nymph named Vinca who provided some lighter moments in the book.

Another character was the demon who becomes bound to Sabina, Giguhl. At first he was just a comedic relief type of character but eventually I grew very attached to him and he provided some heart for the story.

The world of the Sabina Kane series is one vampire lovers will enjoy, with vampires behaving as they should: going outside only at night, drinking blood from unsuspecting humans, and not really interacting much with the human population. Vamps like to stick among their own here, with special rooms in bars and clubs for those of the fanged variety. This isn't a book where humans are aware of the paranormals. We didn't learn too much about the mage side of things, as Sabina has shunned that half of her for most of her life, but it looks like book two is steering us in that direction. I'm interested to see how the world of the mages compares to that of the vampires.

All in all, I finished this book feeling glad that I read it and satisfied in the story. I was more engaged in the second half of the story than the first, but overall I am pleasantly surprised and can't wait to crack open the next in the series!

Recommended for fans of: urban fantasy, vampires, Deadtown series,  Dreg City series, and hairless demon cats.

    

  4 / 5 stars

Read-a-Long Schedule:

1/25/13: Red-HeadStepchild
review/discussion HERE 
2/22/2013: The Mage in Black
review/discussion @  Goldilox and the Three Weres 

3/29/2013: Green Eyed Demon
review/discussion @  The Book Nympho  

 4/26/2013: Silver Tongued Devil 
review/discussion @ Readers Confession

5/31/2013: Blue-Blood Vamp
review/discussion @ The Book Nympho  

On the LAST Friday of every month we will post our reviews, share our favorite quotes and there will be about 3 discussion topics/questions to talk about.

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