Tempest Rising

Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler
****

I first saw artwork on this book last fall, and just fell in love with the cover. I bought it right away, as soon as I could get it - mostly because of the cover. I rarely buy books based solely on the cover, but it's a cute cover.

Tempest Rising is written pretty well. The humor is just non-stop, lots of quips and one liners. I love the way the Jane True not only talks to herself, but argues with herself. The thing that kept me reading in fact, was the humor. The dialog between characters was okay - especially with the humor. However, this book just wasn't as exciting as I thought it was going to be. It was a fun read, but there wasn't a lot of action. Correction, there's action - just not alot of adventure action.

Jane True has secret swimming sessions on the ocean, and seems to be an outcast in her little hometown. Although there are some "townies" who are very supportive of her, she seems to focus on the negative reactions of people (hell, I probably would too). Her boss couple - Tracy and Grizzie both seem to have a checkered past. If I were to read any more of this series, it would be for these two characters. They are a lesbian couple, with lots of personality. One thing I found amusing about Jane's character is that she's not afraid to admit when she might be enjoying the attention of another woman, and she's not ashamed or all bothered about it - even though she is heterosexual. I found that refreshing.

There are some other characters that are engaging, they are introduced in this novel and would be fun to read more about. The bagboy, (really a man) the couple who own a bar, and the family that runs the restaurant in town.

Jane's character has not only suffered from her mother disappearing, and the disapproval of most of the town, but she's also been grieving for a boyfriend that she lost. This plays a pretty large part in her character.

During one of her nightly swims, she finds a dead body in the ocean. This is just the beginning of quite a mystery. The discovery of a dead body brings about a revelation about her own heritage, and she ends up going out of town and being in the middle of a dangerous mystery.

There is a lot of discovery in this novel, a little bit of actions (like fights and danger) and a lot of thought processes from Jane True. If you like mystery, with paranormal elements and some sexy situations, then this is a good read for you. If you like way more action...then you might be a little disappointed. The best thing about this book, for me, was the humor that flows throughout the pages. There were alot places where I just laughed out loud while reading.

I like to laugh, I like funny books, I like the cover of this book.....I just felt like I had read a funny book. Which is okay...I feel like I read a romance that happened to have paranormal elements and a mystery, instead of an urban fantasy, or even a fantasy book. There's nothing really wrong with that, it's just not what I'm looking for personally in a book. Tempest Rising is listed as a fantasy/horror book, but I didn't feel like I was reading a horror book. Not at all. I think it should be marketed under paranormal romance. If this had been so, then I might have had different expectations going into reading this.

A pleasant, light humorous read
Sequels - Tracking the Tempest coming July 10, 2010
Tempest's Legacy January 2011

Challenges:
New Author Mini-Challenge (league of Reluctant Adults)