Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells

Sometimes being unique is not a requirement for writing a good story. Jaye Wells’ Red-Headed Stepchild is not unique. In fact, it’s cookie-cutter urban fantasy with all the clichés. But, Wells uses all the same old urban fantasy elements to crank out a decent story.

Sabina Kane, a half-vampire / half-mage assassin for the vampire governing body, has been raised by her maternal grandmother after the ill-starred match of her vampire mother and mage father leaves her an orphan. Sabina is just as sassy, pretty, tough, etc. as every other heroine in every other paranormal urban fantasy, so for the first half of the book I was cringing as Wells stayed right on course for what we all knew was coming.

There is Comic Relief in the form of a demon sent to kill her and a nymph/faerie who is supposed to spy on her. There is Romance of a sort between S... Read More

Mage in Black by Jaye Wells

Jaye Wells is getting better. Mage in Black is the sequel to Wells’ debut novel, Red-Headed Stepchild. In Red-Headed Stepchild, Sabina Kane foiled a plot by the head of the vampires (her own grandmother) and is now on the run from vampire assassins.

In Mage in Black, war is brewing between mages and vampires. Sabina, who was raised by vampires, is caught in the middle. Having discovered that she has a twin sister who was raised by mages, she visits mage headquarters in New York, where she runs afoul of a pack of werewolves and is targeted for assassination by a traitor within the mage camp.

While Mage in Black embraces many of the tropes of the urban fantasy genre, the story remains fresh and the plot speeds along nicely. Sabina is a great protagonist, and sh... Read More

I recently had the great pleasure of dining and talking with urban fantasy author Jaye Wells, whose Mage In Black hits shelves today. In fact, in our two-book giveaway, one lucky commenter on this interview will receive a free copy of Mage in Black while a second will receive a copy of Red-Headed Step Child. So, be sure to comment below.

Ms. Wells is one of my favorite new urban fantasy authors. Her books are driven by action and suspense and spiced with humor and remind me of the popular series by Jeaniene Frost and Karen Chance. To be honest, though, I was a bit nervous about a face-to-face lunch with Ms. Wells, because during my research, I stumbled across repo... Read More