Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells Book Review

So…I have a thing for redheads..I know I’m suppose to be doing a book review and not personal confessions but I had to put it out there so people would know that I might have a slight bias towards loving this book so much.  But really when the first sentence of the book is: ”Digging graves is hell on a manicure, but I was taught good vampires clean up after every meal.” How can I not love the book!

The protagonist of this book is Sabina Kane, a half-vampire assassin, who at the beginning of this book is on the verge of finding out that she really doesn’t know anything about her heritage or her family.  And who is on the verge of being shot through the heart with a wooden arrow.  As you can imagine, both of these revelations put her in a pretty pissy mood.  While trying to figure out where she fits in her shifting world view, Sabina picks up some new friends and powerful enemies along the way.  One of my favorites of these new friends is the shape-shifting demon who tries to kill her, Gighul.  While Sabina tries to find who sent Gighul to kill her, the demon is crashing on her couch, eating cheesy poofs and racking up her credit card bill while feeding his newly found infomercial addiction. Oh, and did I mention that his other form besides the cloven hoof, horned demon form is a fluffy black and white cat! The interactions between these two are mostly hilarious snark that left me with the need to explain why I was snorting and giggling to anyone who happened to witness it. Another favorite sidekick is Vinca who is the total opposite of Sabina. She is a saccharine sweet faery who, as the story goes on, you learn has a rough edge and also a shady past possibly connected to the porn industry. She definitely grows on you as a character and makes for a hilarious roommate. 

The bad guy, Clovis, is a weird mix of repulsion and attraction for Sabina. The author did a great job of writing this character and I often felt the need to take a shower to get rid of the ickiness I felt after Sabina’s interaction with him. Of course there is a potential romantic interest as well, the “sexy hexy” or mage Adam that always leaves you wondering what his true intentions are and if Sabina can trust him.  Not much happens between the two of them in this book but there are definite possibilities for “action” (I hope!) in the next book Mage in Black.

The author, Jaye Wells, does a great job of world building and easily integrates the background story and mythology about the different creatures in her book with the action and realizations her main character goes through. She also leaves several story threads unfinished that leave tantalizing hints at what may come in her next book which will be a definite read for me!

 This was a 4.5 out of 5 for me - a Delicious read!