Jonathan W. (runeweaver) - reviewed on 1/15/2023 + 22 more book reviews

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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