Title: GREEN-EYED DEMON
Author: Jaye Wells
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Imprint: Orbit
Pub Date: 03/01/2011
Category: ADULT: Fantasy
This is an excellent book. Urban fantasy full of all the elements I love, great characters, rich setting, interesting plot, a healthy touch of romance and lifted by humour.
The blurb
The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. She has to save her sister from her mysterious captors. And in order to do that, she has to broker a deal between the mages and the vampires before all hell breaks loose.
But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won’t be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about, she’s got to save herself from the ghosts of her past. Because the past is haunting her. Literally.
My Review
This is essentially a mystery. The problem Sabina has to solve is, where is her blood thirsty grandmother holding her sister hostage? It’s not easy to find out and she has to work with a werewolf, a voodoo practitioner, mages, a demon, a fairy (in more ways than one) and another Vampire. There are plenty of dead ends along the way and a dark and desperate fight at the end
Sabina is definitely kick-ass, so much so that she has anger control issues, but she’s aware of it and she’s working on it. Her team, a green demon complete with hooves and horns and a sexy mage are both well rounded interesting characters and their complex relationships with Sabina are thoroughly believable and enjoyable. I loved the ‘mortally challenged’ description of humans.
Secondary characters are also well drawn and I particularly liked Pussy Willow and her relationship with the demon. Sabina’s insights into her and others motivations enriched the story a great deal, as did Sabina’s personal growth. Without this aspect, it would have been a bit shallow and personally, I could have had a little more of it.
The barriers to Sabina and Adam’s relationship going one step further was an inner one and totally believable, as was the events that lead to its removal. Wells has a good sense of what makes people tick.
The setting of New Orleans was delightful and so well portrayed that felt I got a real taste of the city. The surrounding sense of diversity and magic added a rich flavour to the book and the incorporation of the voodoo elements were fascinating.
A great ending. I trusted it would be basically happy, and it was. After all the darkness, it really needed to be. Thank goodness for magic and thank you Jaye for not disappointing me.
I give it 5 stars and recommend it for anyone who likes urban fantasy with a good dose of romance. It was quite dark, but there was sufficient lightness in the characters to make up for that.
