Ron & Dawn S. (Harlowbean) - , reviewed on 7/17/2010 + 18 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

If you are truly looking for a different and unique take on urban fantasy, then stop because you have just found it! It starts with Peeler's heroine, Jane True, the town outcast and freak, due in part to her parents and to a terrible accident that the citizen's of Rockabill will not let her forget even though Jane can neither forgive or forget. An apt analogy early in the book explains that Jane feels like that anonymous key on your key ring that you can never find where or what it fits into (who hasn't felt that way at some point). Despite all this she is comfortable in her own skin and with her life, she loves sex almost as much as she loves to eat, and what an appetite. You can't help but laugh at Jane's inner dialogue, sometimes because you too easily relate and at other times at the somewhat inappropriate setting/timing of her conscience battling her libido.

Peeler wonderfully populates her world with a variety of not your usual preternatural suspects; nahuals, barghests, selkies, spriggans, ifrits, dryads and nagas. To this she also adds gnomes, goblins, succubi, incubi and vampires. The author steeps her supernaturals in deep mythology along with science and evolution to explain their existence. As Ryu explains to Jane, he is what humans commonly refer to as a vampire but in his world baobhan sith (baa-van shee), they are not undead but in-human, they eat food but feed off of human emotions. Djinns/genies still grant wishes but what gets rubbed is the surprise. Peeler takes your "normal" supernatural beings and gives them a twist and a tweak which keeps you wondering who or what you may bump into next.

Jane's discovery of the corpse of a man(?), bobbing in the Old Sow and her piglets whirlpool, brings about her introduction to this other world and to Ryu. He becomes her guide to this new world and its inhabitants and quickly her lover. After more deaths, the mystery deepens as well as the differences between the humans and the supernaturals. The author called her book "comic hormance", I would say it is humorous urban fantasy, mystery and romance. For those who like romance, Ryu certainly won't let you down and for those who prefer little to no romance in their urban fantasy, Jane and Ryu's interludes don't get in the way of a fascinating read. Yes, there is some explicit sex and language as well as cursing, so this is definitely an adult read. The author does a very good job with pacing and alternating between action, mystery, sex and humour. Some may find that the story slows down at points compared to some of the full throttle series out there, but it is needed to build the necessary layers that put this book above your average urban fantasy fare. Jane's world is so absorbing, so be careful you could get sucked in like a body in the Old Sow and find it difficult to come up for air.

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