Red-Headed Stepchild

Jaye Wells

Apr 2009 · Sold by Orbit

About this eBook

In a world where being of mixed-blood is a major liability, Sabina Kane has the only profession fit for an outcast: assassin. But, her latest mission threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races and Sabina must scramble to figure out which side she's on. She's never brought her work home with her -- -until now.

This time, it's personal.

Ratings and reviews

First in the Sabina Kane urban fantasy series about a half-vampire, half-mage assassin hated and manipulated by her vampire family. My Take Wells introduces the traumas and characters of the series in this story. And I am not impressed. Wells is overly dramatic and kept me checking to see how much more of this I had to crawl through. However, I did enjoy the prequel The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2 Publisher: Running Press: Vampsploitation so I'll go on to try The Mage in Black to ensure it's not just first book jitters. And Wells has created an interesting set of cultures in the vampires, the mages, and the fae with a nice bit of tension and conflict. She certainly has an original theory for the evolution of vampires. I wish Wells had provided greater background on Sabina's career as an assassin at least to equal what was provided in the prequel. What's a "mancy"? Wells first seems to consider it as a separate species from vampires, mages, and fae but then she goes on to use the term to refer to mages...I think. I hope the writing gets better. Sabina is just too easy in her acceptance of Clovis. She'll make one crack, Clovis calls her on it, and she immediately caves...puh-lease. I can't imagine a blind and deaf idiot falling for her routine. Wells writes as though Sabina had some smarts and...it just ain't there for me. Instead of moving in with Vinca, she should have insisted on her own space. I'm beginning to think Wells created a macro to automatically paste the same sentence in every few chapters. I'm really getting bored reading "Vinca's gift of prophecy hand't exactly been impressive so far." I'm assuming that if Lavinia is a vampire "alpha" that we won't be reading of any shifters... Wells does provide some good teasers. The Story Sabina's grandmother has ordered her to kill her friend and fellow assassin, David Duchamp. For David has gone over to the enemy, a traitor to his people. It's the confrontation at Sepulchre while Sabina is drowning her unhappiness that provides her grandmother with the excuse to force Sabina to undertake an undercover assignment infiltrating Clovis' group. And introduces her to Adam Lazarus, a mage sent to find her. So much conflicting information is flying back and forth. Clovis' true purposes and the lengths to which he pushes Sabina. Her grandmother's actions. The truth behind the blood winery and its ingredients. Adam's kidnapping. It all clues Sabina in to the betrayals against her. The Characters Sabina Kane is a half-breed: half-vampire, half mage. Her grandmother, Lavinia, and all other vampires consider her a lesser being and treat her as less. Heck, it's the only reason a woman of such noble bloodlines on both sides is forced into assassin training. She has spent her entire life, so far, trying desperately to please her grandmother. Her mother's name was Phoebe--she died in childbirth while Tristan`s body, her father's, was never found. Giguhl/Mr. Kitty is a fun demon. Sent to test Sabina, he can't go home again until Sabina finds out who sent him. I sure did enjoy his Shopping Channel exploits! Lavinia is the Alpha of the Dominae--"the joke is that she pre-dates the discover of fire"; Persephone; and Tanith are her co-rulers. Ewan is a vampire who owns Sepulchre, a very popular club in Silverlake; he deals in information and considers himself Switzerland. Too bad, grandma didn't! Clovis Trakiya is a half-vamp, half-demon mixed-blood who has started his own little religious cult--think of all the sexual abuses in the real-life cults and polygamy group and you'll have a good idea of what he's up to. He's preaching unity amongst all the races and recruiting vamps, fae, and mages and negotiating an alliance with the Hekate Council [of mages] which is creating problems for the Dominae, the vampire ruling council. Franco Allegheri is Clovis' second-in-command. Vinca is a nymph, a fae, with

I'm looking forward to getting more into this series. I laughed so much and so hard at the "cat" in this book. Well written story. I'm anxious to find out more. Book number 2 here I come.

This book was ok. The concept was a little different but the plot was obvious. I would read more if there was nothing else

About the author

Raised in Texas, USA Today bestselling author Jaye Wells grew up reading everything she could get her hands on. Her penchant for daydreaming was often noted by frustrated teachers. She embarked on a series of random career paths, including stints working for a motivational speaker and at an art museum. Jaye eventually realized that while she loved writing, she found facts boring. So, she left all that behind to indulge her overactive imagination and make stuff up for a living. Besides writing, she enjoys travel, art, history, and researching weird and arcane subjects. She lives in Texas with her saintly husband and devilish son. Find out more about Jaye Wells at www.jayewells.com.