A entirely original yet familiar introduction to a new world of urban fantasy. Jane True is stuck in a ho-hum life in small-town Maine as the village pariah. Because of the nature of her parentage (child out of wed-lock, gasp!) and a freak accident that left her crippled by her own grief and the town's collective hatred she has little to look forward to. The death of another local thrusts her into a paranormal society she didn't know existed let alone was part of. In walks Mr. Steamy/Sexy vampire, Ryu, and out pops a host of unique, colorful, lovable, crazy, weird, and/or interesting characters.

Jane True is somewhat reminiscent of Sookie Stackhouse as she tumbles down the rabbit hole and doesn't know who to trust. But she is her own character entirely. And I love her internal ramblings. They seriously made me laugh out loud. Nicole Peeler puts the mental ramblings we all have, but never admit to, on paper. Or at least I hope I'm that funny in my head. I especially love the whole devil on one shoulder and angel on the other inner dialogue. Only it's Jane's libido and her guilty common sense that battle. Especially when her libido was that carnivorous plant from Little Shop of Horrors. (Feed meeeeeeee!)

I also love that while there are vampires in this book it is not a vampire book. Matter of fact, vampires aren't even the "ancient all powerful, apathetic to the workings of us puny humans" characters in this book. So while this is a paranormal book and the characters are similar to the myths of vampires, shapeshifters, ect, they are original but without being TOO off the beaten path.

I love, love, love this series. Nicole Peeler has carved out the perfect little niche for her world and her characters and I can only hope it's long lasting. Plus, I can tell she could do side-stories on other characters because she sets this up so well. Tempest Rising fell in the same category as Halfway to the Grave, Some Girls Bite, Stray, and Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs: Books that started up an AWESOME series and that I couldn't put down.

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Some of the characters:

Jane True, Ryu, Anyan, and a wide cast of various supernatural characters.

The story:

Jane True lives in Rockabill, Maine. She thinks she is an average plain Jane and is an oddball compared to the town folks. Not only is she insecure in her own self but most of the people in the town look down on Jane because of the death of her boyfriend years ago (they blame her) and because the town folks think Janes mom (who ran off years ago) was some crazy woman.

Jane tries to isolate herself, avoiding the stares of the town, enjoying the few friends she has and taking care of her dad (in a co-dependent way). Even though she tries to fit in, she knows that her desire to swim every night despite the fierce waters and cold temperature is a habit that she cannot break. It is Janes odd desire to swim, that opens the door to an entire world Jane was not prepared to enter.

After discovering a body in the grips of a whirlpool, Jane is forced to cross paths with the supernatural community. This is where we meet Ryu, a very hot, hunky, slightly egotistic vampire, and Anyan, a hellhound that is much more than your average hellhound (is there such a thing?).

Lost In the World:

It was hard to keep up with the cast of characters. The author introduces the reader to the characters at the same time Jane learns about the creatures around her. I sometimes felt overwhelmed and wished I had a glossary of supernatural creatures so I could flip back to it.

Will I read the next book in the series?

This book was VERY funny at times. I rarely laugh aloud and I have to say I laughed more times in this book then I ever had before. I loved Janes personality, her wit, her one-liners, and her insecurity. Yes, that does sound like Sookie and it is a darn shame that people will compare Sookie to Jane. The Sookie Stackhouse series is a great series, it is original, and nothing can compare to it. Tempest Rising should not be compared to it. While Jane True is similar to Sookie, the series involving the two similar women is very different. I will read the next book and I cant wait!

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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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This book was full of surprises. Jane starts out with a fairly normal life in a small, coastal Maine town and then suddenly, a parallel world opens up to her. The descriptions of the supernaturals are detailed and often hilarious. There's lots of intrigue, a little violence and sex. Some of Jane's interior monologues are LOL funny. I can't wait to read the next one.

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This is the first book in the Jane True series. There are at least 6 books contracted for this series with the third book, Tempest's Legacy, out in January of 2011. This was a very good start to this new series. It is a fun read with a great plot and interesting characters.

Jane lives in a small coastal town in Maine. For the most part her life is fairly normal except that she loves to go swimming in the ocean, at night, in the cold. When some bizarre murders take place in her town of Rockabill a super hot man, err vampire, named Ryu gets in contact with her as a paranormal investigator. Ryu tells her that her mother was a selkie, so Jane is half selkie. Sparks between Jane and Ryu fly, but when they find Jane's name is next on the list of murder victims, Jane is drawn into the dangerous world of the supernatural faster than she ever wanted to be.

This was a fun read and a good story. I enjoyed Jane's down-to-earth attitude and her sharp sense of humor. Jane is just your every day woman drawn into crazy circumstances and she tries to make the best of things. She does know her limits though, and backs off if things get too hot for her to handle. Ryu and Jane have a fun relationship, but it never seems totally serious. It seems like him and Jane are together for the fun of it, and that is fine.

There are a lot of interesting characters in this book and you never know what new surprising creature awaits around the corner. It was fun to read about selkies, I don't think I have read a book featuring selkies before so that was very creative. The author treats supernaturals as just a bunch of separate races, so it ends up being an interesting and refreshing take on vampires as well.

The book was easy to read, well written, and paced well. The end is tied up nicely but leaves some threads hanging for the next book. This book tends more towards paranormal romance than urban fantasy, although there is a lot of mystery and investigation here.

Overall a fun read, kind of a fluffy read, but well done overall. If you are a fan of Molly Harper, the Aisling Grey series, or even the Sookie Stackhouse books you should enjoy this book. It is interesting, light and fun. The characters are never in too much danger and they all have pretty fun attitudes. A great read and I look forward to reading the second book, Tracking the Tempest.

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Interesting concept; Jane is 1/2 human (dad) and 1/2 selkie (mom). Her mom appeared (and disappeared) during a stormy night. Jane was 6 when her mom disappeared. At the start of this book, Jane is 26 and has no idea what she is. She is also dealing with trauma from her past; her mother's disappearance, the death of her high school boyfriend that she blames herself for, and the judgmental small town that she lives in. Jane loves to swim in the ocean; no matter the time of year. She swims. Cold doesn't affect her.
I feel like I should have liked this more than I did. It's a good mix of supernatural creatures (you have goblins, gnomes, kelpies, vampires, etc). But I hated the town. I was indifferent to Jane. I wish Jane had been motivated to leave her shitty, judgemental town. Her dad was too dependent on Jane. I get he had heart issues. Issues that kept him from holding down a job, but he could still leave the home to hang with his friends. She did the cooking, cleaning. She even served him his food while he sat at the table. He was a grown ass man.
An average read, no desire to find out what happens next.

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I found this to be an absolutely delightful book. The main character, Jane True, is extremely likable and you will find yourself caring and rooting for her from the first few pages. It is a first-person account and the dialogues with herself are a real chuckle and some real belly laughs. It is a story of self-discovery and growth as an individual.

There are some rather explicit sex scenes, but nothing over the top and they do play into the story and are told in a very humorous way. The book does stress safe sex (The book is definitely not YA). The humor in the book is first-class and is consistent throughout the book. The book also has good stopping points (a plus for me) but is also a good read from start to end. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.

From the Internet (with some editing):

Tempest Rising is the first book in Jane True series by Nicole Peeler. We are introduced to the heroine of the story, a woman named Jane True. She's half selkie and half-human and is unaware of it and her actual origins, but she knows that she always feels the urge to swim in the sea regardless of how the weather is and doesn't feel cold at all.

Jane is a resident of a small town in Maine known as Rockabill. She's been haunted since her mother left her and her father when she was only six years old. There is also trauma caused by the drowning of her first love in an accident that she blames herself for. Janes comes to learn about her true self when the small town of Rockabill becomes the center of supernatural attention after the murders of two supernaturals and a halfing.

Nicole Peeler does a fantastic job in world-building, creating a world that's so large that encompasses every single mystical creature you could ever think of. However, what's truly surprising and amazing at the same time is the fact that each of these mystical creatures mentioned in this story is slightly altered from the true mythos surrounding them.

For example, while vampires need blood to survive, they can function during the day and can be fed off of emotion, and the genies do have something for you to rub, and it is definitely not their lamp. Throughout the story, we get to learn that just about every mythical creature that humans have ever written or talked about is alive and living around us.

Even though Jane has dread about the world that she is introduced to, she embraces it with vigor and mostly because she is in a relationship with Ryu, a vampire. Even though the romance between Jane and Ryu plays a major role in the story, it's also not the reason for the story. One thing you will love about the book is the fact that Jane isn't ashamed of her sexuality, and she engages freely with Ryu. You will also like the idea that Peeler made sure that Jane and Ryu engage in safe sex. Ryu promises our heroine that he can't get her pregnant and that he doesn't carry any diseases, but despite his frequent reassurances, she demands that he wears a condom.

You will agree that there are many books in this genre that talk about safe sex, but the fact that Peeler chose to include it in this story should be appreciated. Jane always takes time to think about her safety, despite her lust, and that's a message that all young women and men need to hear.

In the first few pages of Tempest Rising, we are introduced to a lesbian couple who own a bookstore where Jane works and acts as both her friend and boss. It's not always easy to find marginalized folks appearing in books because they often fall into stereotypes.

Male and female couples often exist, but the issue here is that they are often stereotyped whenever lesbian couples are featured in the media. And unlike most stories, the fact that the story is set in a small town in Maine helps explain the deletion of people of color. Instead of including racial diversity, the author ventured into the diversity of the supernatural world, which helps make sense geographically. Far too often in urban fantasy books, people of color are either completely erased or simply reduced to minor figures within the story.

Jane is also a caregiver to her aging father. Their relationship is intricate as her father is in complete denial of the true nature of his wife/Jane's mother, a selkie. At one point in the story, Jane recounts her being institutionalized, and the facility is described as horrible. That's an important discussion, but the author simplifies it, assuring the reader that her heroine didn't belong there as she isn't crazy. It is also part of one of the back stories of interactions with supes.

In most urban fantasy stories, the female protagonist has to survive unspeakable horrors but remains untouched by them. However, that doesn't happen in this case; we see Jane fight depression after the death of her first love, which was real and saddening. The depression and her institutionalization resulted in people stigmatizing her identity, which showcases the ableism that we also experience in our social circles.

Tempest Rising is a fantastic series debut novel. It's the story where Peeler introduces us to this new world and her heroine. We get to know more about the character and how she interacts with the world and the people around her, perfectly setting us up for more. The plot is a murder mystery, but the investigation of the murder mystery takes a back seat to the introduction of the new world and Jane's learning of this new world and of herself.

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Really amazing book! I loved the style of writing which is really current and relatable even though the story is out of this world and unordinary. I love the vampires in this - at least they dont' sparkle. I recommend this book for people who enjoy reading about the supernatural because they like it, not because it's hip.

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