Red-Headed Stepchild (Sabina Kane, #1)

by Jaye Wells

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.

• ISBN10: 0316037761
• ISBN13: 9780316037761
• Publish Date: 1 April 2009 (first published 1 January 2009)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown & Company
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Silvara]

Check out my other reviews, discussions and link ups at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon.

“By now, I should have learned that luck, if she was a lady, was a mean-spirited bitch with a grudge against me.”


Some of this worked really well, and some of it just... didn't. For a lot of the book we don't know exactly how old Sabina is. She's half vampire, and half magic user. We know she went to school to train to be an assassin. So I figured she must be somewhere in her late 20's to mid-30's. Especially when she has some blonde moments.

Then we find out later that Sabina is actually in her 50's... Granted, there are a lot of surprises for her in a short amount of time. But someone that old, especially one who is supposed to be one of the best assassins around, shouldn't have had quite that many dropped balls.

I liked her, I just think that some of the things she did were unbelievable for her age and training, and just used to further bits of plot that could have been done differently. But this is a first book, so maybe she gets better in the next one?

I quite liked Adam, loved Giguhl and Vinca, and I can't wait to meet Maisie! Sabina's grandmother, as well as Clovis were done really well. There were a few moments where you weren't sure who was a bad guy and who was actually a good one. And the plot twists! Some of them I saw coming miles away, and others took me completely by surprise.

I liked how the magic was done, as well as some of the world-building lore. (Though some of it needed explaining sooner than actually happened. Like the applewood.) Some things were explained right away, like being able to tell the relative age of a vampire by the shade of their hair. All vampires have red hair, the lighter it is, the younger the vampire. Sabina has red and black hair since she's half and half.

Overall, it wasn't bad, it just could have been done better in regards to Sabina herself. I already own the 2nd book, so hopefully the things that irked me a bit in this book will be better in the next one.

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

[littleread1]

Mostly predictable UF. Narration left a lot to be desired. Story was unique enough that I still want to continue though. Probably get the paperbacks or ebooks for the rest. That narrator did not work for me. :-?

[Amanda]

Original review (11/12/2012): http://onabookbender.com/2012/11/12/review-red-headed-stepchild-by-jaye-wells/

I think what initially sold me on this book was the connection between vampires and red hair. It’s not that I have a thing for red hair (unless you count my decade long love affair with getting my hair colored in varying shades of violet-red and orange-red, in which case I suppose I do have THING, but, really, my hair usually looks brown-ish unless you’re in the sunlight, so I’m not counting it, and this is probably WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION but there you go). It was that the concept was so unique that I knew I was going to have a fascinating world placed before me. And indeed, it was.

My only complaint with this world, though, was the mancy/mage terms and how they were used interchangeably. I didn’t quite understand the connection, especially since mancy just made me think of necromancy, though there was never any mention of this. Anyway. While I don’t think we got the whole picture of Sabina’s world, by the end of the Red-Headed Stepchild, it’s pretty clear that the series will only continue to expand on what we already know. After all, despite her assassin title, Sabina is actually quite sheltered in her world. We’re only privy to what she knows. This, I think, works well for the set up of this first book.

Sabina makes for a very good urban fantasy MC. She’s not overly unique or breaking new grounds, but she’s fun and she has attitude. The whole, “I’m all alone and I don’t need people, but then I meet all these people, and maybe I do like these people and need them after all” line? Yes. That’s Sabina. But it’s good, and it works. And Sabina’s supporting cast are no slouches, either. Sabina’s demon/minion/cat Giguhl was utterly delightful. I want more of him. The romance is minimal–very minimal, actually–but there is a definite love interest. (And yes, he’s worth it.)

The end of the story leaves us with a lot of uncertainty about what is in store for Sabina and her paranormal world. But Red-Headed Stepchild holds potential for a great series, and though it is obvious we don’t have all the answers or facts, there was enough to put the second book on my wishlist (and then purchase it a couple days later).

[Melanie]

I really enjoyed this series. I think the characters where great. I can't wait to see how the story moves forward.

[mitabird]

3.5 stars

[Jo]

Half-vampire, half-mage Sabina Kane is an assain for the Dominae, the three women who rule over vampires. The result of a forbidden love affair, Sabina always tries to impress her grandmother Lavinia, the Alpha of the Dominae, who constantly reminds her of the circumstances of her birth. When the Dominae set Sabina the assignment of infiltrating into a cult trying to reunite all the dark races - vampires, mages, and fae - spy on the leader, and eventually kill them, Sabina gets a lot more than she bargained for. She's stalked by a mage, ends up with a demon for a room mate, and finds out some family secrets. The more involved she gets, the more dangerous things get, and she has to decide just who's side she's on.

This book is absolutely amazing! I loved every second of it. The inner struggle Sabina goes through to try and impress her grandmother, yet meeting disapproval at every turn for something she has no control over is difficult to read. It's awful that someone would be on the end of such prejudice from a member of their own family, and I kept willing Sabina to stand up to her grandmother, but as Alpha of the Dominae, she treats her with the respect that comes with her position.

The story has twists and turns you don't expect, and various love interests, unsure of who she should trust and go for. You're kept guessing about the "cult" right until the last minute, trying to work out whether it's legit or not. The characters are just fantastic. Sabina is strong and vulnerable all at the same time, and her interaction with the other characters are so entertaining. You've got to love Vinca, the nymph, with her overly friendly and enthusiastic little girl nature, and Adam, the mysterious mage who always turns up, challenging all Sabina knows. And then there's Giguhl, the demon sent to kill her, who ends up being an unwanted pet. He is just hilarious! Seriously, he might just be my favourite character throughout the whole book! And I just have to share some of the funny moments with you:

Page 42

"Is that all you bought?"
His eyes shot to the left. "Um."
I clenched my teeth. "What else?"
"A Super Mega Juicer, he said quickly. "But, Sabina, seriously that juicer is a miracle machine."
"I'm a vampire, Giguhl. The only liquids I drink are blood or alcohol. I don't do juice."
"You might want to consider a little roughage in your diet. According to the commercial, an increase in fiber will help you be more regular."
Red-Headed Stepchild is really an awesome book, and I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the next book, The Mage in Black.

Red-Headed Stepchild is really an awesome book, and I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the next book, The Mage in Black.