Book Review: Eye of the Tempest by Nicole Peeler

Review: Eye of the Tempest
Series: Jane True – Book 4
Author: Nicole Peeler
No of Pages: 319
Release Date: 26 July 2011

Nothing says “home” like being attached by humans with very large guns, as Jane and Anyan discover when they arrive in Rockabill. Seeing Anyan fall awakens a terrible power within Jane, and she nearly destroys herself taking out their attackers.

Jane wakes, weeks later, to discover that she’s not the only thing that’s been stirring. Something underneath Rockabill is coming to life: something ancient, something powerful, and something that might destroy the world.

Jane and her friends must act, striking out on a quest that only Jane can finish. For whatever lurks beneath the Old Sow must be stopped…and Jane’s just the Halfling for the job.

My Thoughts:
Eye of the Tempest was another fast paced instalment in this fantastic series.

Jane accidentally short circuits herself when she pulls the water from several human beings to protect Anyan during an attack. It kills the men, and it nearly kills her as well. When she wakes up, a month has passed and strange occurrences are becoming more frequent in Rockabill.

Jane once again had me in fits of laughter; her trademark libido vs. virtue monologue is absolutely hilarious. Jane is growing as a character; those changes are quite obvious but also well earned. Her training is increasing and because of it she is becoming more powerful learning new tricks to impress us with in each new adventure.

Anyan was a little bit of a disappointment for me this time; I feel his real character is starting to show through. He has gone from this adorable, burly man who any woman would count their lucky stars to be with to more distant and a bit of a jerk. Anyan always seems to be around when Jane is naked or he even turns up to get her naked, but he doesn’t seem to treat her properly. When Ryu and Jane were sleeping together it was obvious that Ryu was using her for blood, but with Anyan it’s a little more subtle. The connection between them doesn’t seem to be there. As Jane pointed out herself Anyan always seemed to cop a feel, but they had never even kissed properly.

For me, this was a little bit of a letdown with Anyan, it might just be my natural distrusting ways, but if I were Jane I’d put my foot down and not give over anything until I knew where I stood.

The actual story was once again very well written. It didn’t have the adventure in that Jane actually stayed in Rockabill for nearly the entire novel, but it did have a deeper story. One in which Jane got to meet a being that was literally millions of years old. Jane also had to man up because Nell and Anyan, her two most powerful allies, were rendered completely helpless and it was up to Jane and Blondie, who Jane didn’t trust, to help them.

Peeler’s writing was once again superb; I do feel though that she is playing up a little too much on her Jane monologues. After such high praises of the ingeniousness of it in previous books, Libido and Virtue were appearing what felt like all the time. Every new situation Jane was put into it felt like those two felt the need to be heard, it was actually kind of annoying after a while because it was obvious what was happening, just because a device has worked in the past doesn’t mean you have to become a one trick pony.

Eye of the Tempest was once again a fabulous read, it kept me engrossed from start to finish and I once again cannot wait for the next instalment.

Others in this series:
Tempest's Rising
Tracking the Tempest
Tempest's Legacy
Tempest's Fury

Book Review: Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler

Review: Tempest’s Legacy
Series: Jane True – Book 3
Author: Nicole Peeler
No of Pages: 341
Release Date: 1 January 2011

After a peaceful hiatus at home in Rockabill, Jane True thinks that her worst problem is that she still throws like a girl – at least while throwing fire-balls. Her peace of mind ends, however, when Anyan arrives one night with terrible news...news that will rock Jane’s world to its very core.

After demanding to help investigate a series of gruesome attacks on females – supernatural, Halfling, and human – Jane quickly finds herself forced to confront her darkest nightmares as well as her deepest desires.

And she’s not sure which she finds more frightening.

My Thoughts:

Yet another fantastic instalment of Jane True, packed full of side splitting antics.

Jane is devastated, she has just found out that her mother has been murdered and now she is on a mission, she is going to help Anyan and Ryu find her murderer. As they venture into the borderlands they find that this operation is a lot bigger than originally suspected. Purebloods and Halflings are going missing left right and centre and showing up in research labs either dead or mutilated.

Peeler has once again enthralled me with her world. I have said it before and I will continue saying it, I love her mix of species. This isn’t a vampire novel, nor is it a werewolf novel, it is: an everything novel. From selkies to genies to succubi to imps to brownies and gnomes. People aren’t sexualised, some aren’t even human, but all are mentioned and all play an important part.

Jane is still reigning as one of my favourite female characters and she is only getting better. Jane is now struggling with her new ruthlessness, after her mother dying and a friend gone missing she wants revenge, she wants to hurt people and she’s not afraid to like it. Jane revels in the thought of lobbing mage balls at people, seeing them hurt as much as she does inside, and she realises also that she may be willing to kill. It is a new side to the odd multi levelled character we met in Tempest Rising.

Jane is coming into herself now, she isn’t afraid and that new kickass ability and her steady decrease in vulnerability only adds more and more to her already lovable character. Her libido and her virtue are still fighting, and so are various other parts of her mind, and the fact that she has kept that through all she has been through is remarkable. Jane is still Jane but better.

I loved Anyan from the beginning; he is exactly my type of male. Strong, protective and intelligent he also isn’t afraid to teach Jane how to use her magic which only makes him more likable, he doesn’t want to shelter her which is refreshing. The only thing I didn’t like about him was his habit of calling Jane “honey” towards the end and I am hoping that he breaks his newfound habit very soon.

Speaking of annoying, Ryu returns. Ryu is turning into a character that makes my skin crawl. We all know that guy at work who’s past his prime but still thinks he can get any woman he wants, when really people are talking behind his back because he is a sleaze. That’s Ryu in a nutshell, every time I visualise the guy I add another layer of grease.

Tempest's Legacy was another fantastic instalment in this mind blowing series. I cannot wait until Eye of the Tempest comes out because this series is only getting better as it goes on.

Also in this Series:
Tempest's Rising
Tracking the Tempest
Eye of the Tempest

Book Review: Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler

Review: Tracking the Tempest
Series: Jane True – Book 2
Author: Nicole Peeler
No of Pages: 350
Release Date: 1 July 2010

JANE TRUE HAS ALMOST COME TO TERMS WITH HER SUPERNATURAL HERITAGE...ALMOST.

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and Ryu - Jane's bloodsucking boyfriend - can't let a major holiday go by without getting all gratuitous. An overwhelming dose of boyfriend interference and a last-minute ticket to Boston later, and Jane's life is thrown off course.

Ryu's well-intentioned plans create mayhem, and Jane winds up embroiled in an investigation involving a spree of gruesome killings. All the evidence points towards another Halfling, much to Jane's surprise...

My Thoughts:

Back into the crazy world of Jane True, and the story is only getting better.

Our story picks up about four months on since the end of the last book. Jane is learning how to use her magic and although she hasn’t mastered a lot of offensive magic, she is getting quite good at shields under the watchful eye of Nell the Gnome.

This adventure really starts in Boston after she goes to visit Ryu the sexy vampire. A rogue Halfling is on the loose and death by fire has become a recent occurance in the world of supes. After getting tangled up in the mess and the Halfling taking a liking to Jane she helps out with trying to solve the case.

Jane is once again hilarious with her internal monologue. She is also intelligent enough to spot things overlooked by others. The development of her powers in Tracking the Tempest definitely adds a whole new element to listening to how her brain works.

Ryu I didn’t like in this one, he was very condescending to Jane in front of his collegues and even Jane wondered at a point in time if we were now seeing the real Ryu. He became an arrogant pig and in hindsight makes some of his actions from Tempest Rising a little clearer.

Anyan, completely swoonworthy once again with his all maleness and complete gentleness, with Jane starting to gravitate towards him especially furthering their friendship as he took over her training in Boston was really sweet especially after the way Ryu was treating her.

We also have a plethora of new characters introduced in the form of Ryu’s investigative team. Caleb the pantless satyr was constantly good for a laugh and very adept at healing all of the teams various injuries, Daoud the guy with the general store in his pants and Julian the Halfling recharger were all excellent additions to the cast of characters and I definitely hope to see them reappear later on.

Tracking the Tempest had me in fits of laughter once again with Janes thoughts and the new characters various one liners. The underlying mystery carrying on from Tempest Rising added extra levels to Tracking the Tempest and that mystery alone will have me drooling for more. I once again cannot wait until the next instalment of this awesome series, Tempest’s Legacy.

Also in this series:
Tempest Rising
Tempest's Legacy
Eye of the Tempest
Tempest's Fury